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Phoenix Suns At Golden State Warriors Game Preview: Slash vs Splash Part 2

The Suns are in the midst of a three game win streak, and are well rested after a three day break over the Christmas holiday. Will the Suns have what it takes to win against the Warriors on the road tonight?

By Sean Sullivan
Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sport

What: Phoenix Suns At Golden State Warriors

Where: Oracle Arena - Oakland, CA

When: 8:30 p.m. (AZ)

Watch: FSAZ (Locally) , NBA League Pass

The Phoenix Suns (17-10) are in the midst of a three-game winning streak, and also three full days of rest after dismantling the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night . Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors (17-13) are coming off an impressive. hard-fought win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas night.

Both the Suns and the Warriors are teams competing for the playoffs, and one could make an argument for either team that they boast the best back court tandem in the NBA. In their last meeting on December 15th, the Suns got the better of the Warriors, winning 106-102 . However, that was a home game for Phoenix, and it was also playing a Warriors' team who was missing one of their best players, Andre Iguodala, who will be active tonight.

Stats:

Suns:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Eric Bledsoe 21 34.2 6.6 13.3 49.5 1.3 3.6 36.0 4.5 5.6 80.3 0.5 4.0 4.5 6.3 3.4 1.5 0.3 2.4 18.9
Goran Dragic 24 35.0 6.4 13.3 48.0 1.2 3.5 33.7 4.5 5.7 79.4 0.7 2.3 3.0 6.0 2.5 1.1 0.3 2.3 18.4
Gerald Green 27 26.6 4.6 10.3 44.1 2.6 6.6 39.0 1.6 2.0 81.1 0.4 2.4 2.8 1.4 1.7 0.6 0.6 2.8 13.3
Markieff Morris 26 25.8 4.7 9.5 49.4 0.3 0.9 34.8 3.0 3.9 77.5 1.8 4.2 6.1 1.7 1.8 1.0 0.5 2.4 12.7
Channing Frye 27 27.0 4.2 9.0 46.5 2.0 4.7 42.1 0.8 1.0 80.8 0.9 4.5 5.4 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.8 3.1 11.1
Marcus Morris 27 23.0 4.0 8.4 46.9 1.5 3.4 45.1 1.5 2.0 77.4 1.0 3.6 4.6 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.3 2.1 11.0
Miles Plumlee 27 28.2 4.4 8.5 51.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.3 44.3 2.8 6.3 9.1 0.6 1.4 0.6 1.8 2.7 9.7
P.J. Tucker 27 30.6 3.1 7.7 40.7 1.1 2.5 46.3 1.5 2.1 71.4 2.0 3.2 5.3 1.7 1.4 1.3 0.3 2.4 8.9
Archie Goodwin 26 10.9 1.5 3.6 41.5 0.1 1.0 12.0 0.5 0.7 63.2 0.3 1.4 1.7 0.3 1.0 0.4 0.3 0.8 3.6
Ish Smith 16 10.5 1.1 3.3 32.7 0.1 0.6 11.1 0.2 0.2 100.0 0.2 1.0 1.2 1.8 0.9 0.7 0.2 0.7 2.4
Dionte Christmas 15 6.7 0.7 1.9 37.9 0.3 0.9 28.6 0.2 0.3 75.0 0.3 0.9 1.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.6 1.9
Alex Len 4 7.8 0.8 1.8 42.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.5 50.0 1.3 0.5 1.8 0.3 0.8 0.5 0.5 2.0 1.8
Viacheslav Kravtsov 12 2.8 0.3 0.5 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.3 50.0 0.4 0.3 0.8 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.7


Warriors:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Stephen Curry 27 37.3 8.1 18.1 45.0 3.3 7.9 41.6 4.0 4.5 87.7 0.6 3.7 4.2 9.3 3.9 1.9 0.3 2.7 23.6
Klay Thompson 30 38.2 7.3 16.2 44.9 3.0 7.2 41.9 2.0 2.7 76.2 0.6 2.7 3.3 2.7 2.1 1.0 0.5 3.2 19.6
David Lee 30 34.3 7.2 14.5 49.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 4.9 82.2 2.9 7.1 10.0 2.0 2.4 0.6 0.3 2.8 18.3
Harrison Barnes 26 32.1 4.7 10.6 44.4 0.9 2.3 40.0 1.9 2.7 69.0 0.6 3.4 4.0 1.7 1.5 1.0 0.2 2.2 12.2
Andre Iguodala 18 34.4 4.1 7.7 52.5 1.6 3.4 45.9 1.4 2.5 57.8 0.7 3.3 4.0 5.2 2.4 1.7 0.3 1.9 11.1
Andrew Bogut 29 28.0 3.6 5.9 60.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 1.5 39.5 2.9 7.8 10.7 1.6 1.7 0.8 1.8 3.1 7.8
Jermaine O`Neal 17 18.6 2.2 4.6 48.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.4 75.0 1.4 3.2 4.5 0.3 1.4 0.5 0.8 2.4 6.2
Marreese Speights 30 11.5 2.0 5.1 38.6 0.1 0.4 30.8 1.0 1.3 79.5 1.3 2.0 3.3 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.3 1.6 5.1
Draymond Green 30 19.8 1.7 4.4 38.9 0.8 2.2 36.9 0.6 1.1 52.9 0.7 3.4 4.1 1.5 1.2 0.9 0.7 2.4 4.8
Toney Douglas 16 11.8 1.5 3.9 38.1 1.1 2.7 39.5 0.2 0.3 75.0 0.3 1.0 1.3 0.9 0.8 0.3 0.1 1.6 4.3
Kent Bazemore 25 6.3 0.8 2.1 39.6 0.3 0.8 35.0 0.5 0.9 54.5 0.1 0.9 1.0 0.4 0.7 0.2 0.1 1.2 2.4
Nemanja Nedovic 20 6.4 0.4 1.6 21.9 0.1 0.8 13.3 0.3 0.3 83.3 0.1 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.7 1.1
Ognjen Kuzmic 10 4.0 0.2 0.7 28.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 33.3 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.4 1.1 0.5
Hilton Armstrong 6 3.3 0.2 0.3 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.8 1.2 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.3


Leaders:

Team:
Suns
Warriors
PPG
Bledsoe (18.9)
Curry (23.6)
RPG
Plumlee (9.1)
Bogut (10.7)
APG
Bledsoe (6.3)
Curry (9.3)
BPG
Plumlee (1.8)
Bogut (1.8)
SPG
Bledsoe (1.5)
Curry (1.9)

Team Stats:

Team:
Suns
Warriors
Record
17-10 (2nd in Division)
17-13, 3rd in Division)
PTS/G
103.8 (7th)
102.6 (11th)
OPP PTS/G
100.4 (17th)
99.2 (10th)
OFF RTG
108.9 (5th)
105.2 (14th)
DEF RTG
105.4 (17th)
101.7 (6th)

Probable Starting Line-Ups:

Suns:

G - Eric Bledsoe

G - Goran Dragic

F - P.J. Tucker

F - Channing Frye

C - Miles Plumlee



Warriors:

G - Stephan Curry

G - Klay Thompson

F - Andre Iguodala

F - David Lee

C - Andrew Bogut

Injuries:

Suns:

Alex Len - Out (sore ankle)

Warriors:

Festus Ezeli - Out (knee)

Ognjen Kuzmic - Out (hand)

Jermaine O'Neal - Out (wrist)

Jordan Hamilton - One game suspension


Keys to the Game:

  • Slash Bros. Vs. Splash Bros: Bledsoe and Dragic are averaging 37 points per game, and are the only two guards, besides Dwayne Wade, who are averaging over 18 points per game while shooting over 48% from the field. Meanwhile, the Splash Bros are averaging 43.8 points per game combined, and are ranked one (Thompson) and two (Curry) overall in the league for number of three point shots taken...and they are both ranked in the top 12 in percentage made as well. The Slash Bros. may or may not win the scoring match-up tonight, but their defense along with their combined assists, rebounds, and steals will all be just as, if not more important in deciding which team comes out on top.
  • Getting Iggy With It: The last time the Suns won, they faced a Warriors team without Iguodala. This time, they will not be as fortunate. Iguodala has been a do it all player for the Warriors this season, averaging 11.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. Iggy is also shooting very efficiently from the field at 52.5% overall, and 45.9% from three. Tucker will have his hands full with Andre tonight, and if he can minimize his overall impact, it will be a huge boost for the Suns.
  • Box Out! The Suns are facing the #1 rebounding team in the league tonight, thanks in great part to Bogut who is averaging 10.7 rebounds per game, and David Lee who is averaging 10.0. The Suns, on the other hand, are the 19th best rebounding team in the league, and it will take more than just Plumlee to keep the Warriors off the glass. Channing Frye will have his work cut out for him tonight against Lee, and the Suns as a whole will need to incorporate a serious "rebounding by committee" attitude tonight if they are going to be successful in mitigating this area of weakness.

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