Warriors at Grizzlies
The Golden State Warriors got off to a rough start on their road trip and don’t figure to turn things around against an opponent that has given them plenty of trouble. The Warriors will look to snap an 11-game losing streak in the series when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Golden State could be catching Memphis at the right time, as the Grizzlies are losers of five of their last six home games and were crushed by the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The Warriors and the Grizzlies are both dealing with an injury to a key player and Golden State is falling into a pattern of slow starts without Andre Iguodala on the floor. “There’s no magic formula but we have to play hard and play better, especially on the road,” Stephen Curry said. “It’s frustrating. We have to be able to turn it on early and set the tone as starters for the rest of the team.” The Grizzlies are missing center Marc Gasol and just got Zach Randolph back against the Clippers after a two-game absence due to a toe injury.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), SportSouth (Memphis)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (11-9): Golden State has already lost to the Grizzlies twice this season, including a 108-90 setback in Memphis on Nov. 9. The Warriors dropped an 88-81 overtime contest at home to the Grizzlies on Nov. 20 which began a string of six losses in the last nine games. Golden State fell into a 27-point hole against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and had to post a 42-15 advantage in the fourth quarter to grab the win. The Warriors were not quite able to dig themselves out of a giant hole on Friday. “We gave (the Rockets) extra possessions early in the game to get their confidence going,” Curry said.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (9-9): Memphis is getting strong play from Kosta Koufos in Gasol’s vacated starting spot, with the Ohio State product averaging 11.2 points and 11.6 rebounds in the last five games. The facet of Gasol’s game that the Grizzlies miss the most is passing, where Gasol excelled as a high-post passer sending the ball down low to Randolph or firing it back out to Mike Conley for 3-point attempts. Memphis is 2-4 since Gasol went down early in a game against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 22 with a sprained MCL, and he is considered week-to-week.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Iguodala is reportedly traveling with the Warriors on their three-game road trip and is day-to-day.
2. Memphis G Tony Allen (hip) sat out Thursday’s loss to the Clippers and is questionable for Saturday.
3. Curry is averaging 5.4 turnovers in the last five games.