#58: DET @ GSW 2/27/10

Detroit Pistons

Record: 21-37 (23rd) • Point Differential: -4.3 (25th) • Pace: 88.4 (29th)

Off. Efficiency: 104.0 (25th) • eFG: 46.4 (29th) • TO: 15.4 (14th) • OReb: 31.0 (2nd) • FT/FG: 21.8 (22nd)

Def. Efficiency: 108.9 (21st) • eFG: 51.0 (23rd) • TO: 16.2 (7th) • OReb: 26.4 (17th) • FT/FG: 27.1 (29th)

PreThoughts

The Warriors' second-longest homestand of the season ends here. In fact, while nobody was looking, the schedule tipped decidedly in the other direction; after this game, the Dubs will have played 31 times in Oakland and just 27 times elsewhere. (Cross "tough schedule" off the franchise's long list of attempted excuses.) The Warriors have gone 2-3 on this Oracle tilt so far -- the wins were both thrilling in their respective ways, and a victory over the Pistons would be enough to call this homestand a relative success.

The Pistons are not exactly what you'd call tough customers, either. In the teams' last meeting, Detroit prevailed, rising to a record of 11-12... they lost their next thirteen games, however, and now rate worse than the Dubs by point differential. The Pistons feature most of the same defensive flaws as the Warriors, letting opponents score efficiently from the field and often from the line. And while the Warriors shoot fairly well from the field, the Pistons shoot worse than any team that's not based in New Jersey.

However, the Pistons have somewhat stabilized of late, winning six of twelve. Richard Hamilton, overrated and overpaid though he may be, has re-found his form... he's been Detroit's top scorer in each of their last six games, averaging 27.2 points per contest in that span. And the one area in which the Pistons rate well -- offensive rebounding -- is the one area that has most kneecapped the Warriors this season. The Dubs will need a healthy dose of Andris Biedrins in this game to have a chance. Let's hope that he and Nellie allow that to happen.

Warrior To Watch: Stephen Curry, who's earned this label for the foreseeable future. Can he finally post two excellent games in a row?

Piston To Watch: Tayshaun Prince, who's been logging heavy minutes for over a month now, quieting fears about his back problems. The Pistons will look to shake up their roster this summer, and a Maggette package for Prince is a (longshot) possibility the Warriors should pursue.

PostThoughts -- Warriors 95, Pistons 88

No polish, all grit... a nice come-from-behinder here. This was a home-court survival of a terrible Pistons team, so there's no need to wax poetic about it. But sans Monta, Maggette and (for most of the second half) Beans, the Dubs had no shortage of legitimate excuses to fall back on if they lost. Instead, they won.

While the Golden State glory always goes to the guards, this was hardly the finest hour for the often-brilliant Curry/CJ/Morrow troika: they needed 59 shots to score their 59 points, and had 14 turnovers along with their 15 assists. The bigs actually keyed this win. Tolliver, Ronny and Beans scored efficiently (32 points on 20 shots), kept the rebounding battle semi-close (27 boards in 82 total minutes), and even passed crisply (10 assists against 2 turnovers). Tolliver, in particular, had one of his finest games, and is making an increasingly convincing case that the Warriors should pick up his option for next season. He's no world-beater, but he makes for a useful bench big.

Sad to see Beans go down, but given the assheaded treatment he's getting from Nellie, it may be a blessing in disguise.

The Warriors finish this homestand with a thoroughly presentable 3-3 record. The impending road trip may not be pretty -- the Dubs have only beaten one decent team outside Oakland all year, and they'll be facing five decent teams in their buildings in seven nights -- but you can't expect good road play from a bad young team. Before all else, you must learn how to play respectably at home. And the baby Dubs are slowly re-learning how to do that.