The Warriors host the Pistons at Chase Center on Friday, January 30, with tip-off set for 10:00 PM ET.
The Pistons come in at 34-12, first in the East, while the Warriors are 27-22, sitting eighth in the West.
The Pistons just took a 114-96 loss to the Suns, while the Warriors are coming off a loud 140-124 win over the Jazz.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry is still the whole engine at 27.3 points per game, and Draymond Green is the connector at 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
This is Cade Cunningham’s kind of stage, he’s at 25.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 9.7 assists this season. On the interior, Jalen Duren has been a problem at 17.9 points and 10.6 rebounds.
The hook is simple, the Pistons are elite, but this is a brutal spot if they’re banged up, and the Warriors’ shooting chaos can flip any game in five minutes.
Injury Report
Warriors
Jimmy Butler: Out (right ACL tear)
Jonathan Kuminga: Out (left knee bone bruise)
Seth Curry: Out (left sciatic nerve irritation)
L.J. Cryer: Out (left hamstring injury management)
Gui Santos: Probable (right calf contusion)
Pistons
Caris LeVert: Questionable (illness)
Why The Warriors Have The Advantage
The Warriors’ pathway is obvious, shooting and pace. They’re at 36.3% from three as a team, and they move it, 28.6 assists per game.
Also, schedule matters. The Pistons are coming off that Suns game, while the Warriors are fresh after the Jazz win, and the travel legs usually show up in third-quarter defense.
And when Curry gets a rhythm at home, it turns into a math problem. The Warriors just hung 23 threes on the Jazz and hit a season-high 140, they can absolutely blitz a better team if the Pistons’ perimeter defense is a half-step late.
Why The Pistons Have The Advantage
They’re just more stable night to night. The Pistons are putting up 117.4 points per game and allowing only 110.1, which is a legit contender profile.
They also win with real team offense, 26.7 assists per game, 48.0% from the field, and enough three-point volume to punish sloppy rotations.
The biggest edge is the matchup pressure. Cunningham forces help, Duren eats switches, and if the Warriors have to play smaller because of injuries, the Pistons can turn it into a paint and free-throw game fast.
X-Factors
Moses Moody is the Warriors’ swing piece for me. He’s at 11.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists this season, and if he’s hitting threes early, the Pistons can’t overload on Curry as aggressively.
Quinten Post matters too because of the Duren problem. Post is at 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds, and even a “good enough” night from him changes how the Warriors can survive the non-Curry minutes without getting smashed on the glass.
And keep an eye on Gui Santos if he’s active, he’s not a scorer, but his energy can tilt possessions. Even in limited minutes, those extra rebounds and cuts matter when you’re trying to steal a game from the top seed.
For the Pistons, Tobias Harris is a classic playoff-style barometer guy. He’s at 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, and if he’s spacing the floor (32.7% from three this season), it gets way harder for the Warriors to load up on Cunningham drives.
Ausar Thompson is the chaos creator. He’s at 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, plus he can wreck your dribble handoffs and turn live-ball steals into instant points. If he wins his matchup defensively, the Pistons can control tempo.
And if LeVert is available, his ball-handling becomes a huge insurance policy when the Warriors start trapping and speeding things up, because the Pistons can’t afford empty possessions against this kind of three-point volatility.
Prediction
I’m taking the Warriors in a close one. The Pistons are the better team on paper, but the spot is nasty, and the Warriors’ shooting plus home-court juice feels like the deciding edge.
Prediction: Warriors 118, Pistons 113
