The Golden State Warriors opened the Kevin Durant era with a loss in their first preseason game of the year. While Steve Kerr only played his starters, on average 17 minutes it was still a little uneasiness about the lineup. Durant managed to take nine shots, Klay Thompson 13, while Green looked for the basket only twice. It was their first live game and as the preseason goes on they will build better chemistry, but they must do so in a hurry if they wish to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.
The Clippers will basically enter the game with the same core they have had for the past three seasons. While the rumors have run extra hard over the last month concerning the possibility of a Blake Griffin or Chris Paul trade the Clippers must use this as motivation. While Doc Rivers may take the same approach that Kerr did in their first game by playing his starters no more than 20 minutes this will still be a highly contested game for that time frame.
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The Clippers have a better bench, which is led by Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass. They clearly have more firepower and experience than the Warriors do.
What should we expect from the starters in their limited action?
Stephen Curry and Chris Paul will attack each other as usual but the real matchup will be in the paint with Griffin and Green going head-to-head. The Center matchup is a complete win for the Clippers as DeAndre Jordan is too powerful for the overmatched Zaza Pachulia. There is not a player on the Clippers that can guard Thompson or Durant one-on-one so the advantage goes to the Warriors. Despite the minute restrictions, this still should be an exciting game.
Here is where you can watch the game live Tuesday night.
Date: Tuesday, October 4
Start Time: 10:30 p.m. (EST)
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Stream 1