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Game Preview: Warriors at Heat - 11/29/19

Established 1946 | 7-time NBA Champions

The Warriors open a season-long matching five-game road trip in Miami.

Warriors at HeatFriday, November 295 p.m.

WATCH: NBCSBA
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Mobile App and Warriors Radio Network

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Last week, the Warriors went on a four-game road trip, and after a brief two-game stint at home, the Dubs are heading back on the road for five straight games beginning with a Friday night trip to South Beach. This will be the first of two Warriors-Heat matchups this season, and this one will come at the start of the team’s longest road trip of the season. The Friday night tilt will feature three of the top five highest scoring rookies in the NBA this season, as the Dubs’ Eric Paschall (17.0 ppg, 2nd among NBA rookies) will go up against the talented Miami rookie duo of Kendrick Nunn (16.5 ppg, 3rd) and Tyler Herro (14.8 ppg, 5th).

LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors put the game away with a 16-2 run late in the fourth quarter to pick up a 104-90 win over the Bulls on Wednesday night at Chase Center. Eric Paschall had 25 points in the win and both Alec Burks and Omari Spellman had double-doubles in the Dubs’ second home win of the season. Full Recap

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE

LAST GAME'S STARTERS

GSW: Draymond Green, Glenn Robinson III, Alec Burks, Eric Paschall and Willie Cauley-Stein

MIA: Goran Dragic, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Meyers Leonard and Bam Adebayo

INJURY & ROSTER NOTES

GSW: Stephen Curry (left hand fracture), D'Angelo Russell (right thumb sprain), Damion Lee (right hand fracture), Jacob Evans (left abductor strain), Kevon Looney (neuropathy), Alen Smailagić (right ankle sprain) and Klay Thompson (left ACL rehab) are out. Team Notes

MIA: TBD. Team Notes

A LITTLE DRAY GOES A LONG WAY
Going into Thanksgiving, the Warriors were one of four NBA teams with a league-low four wins. It’s no secret that injury woes have left the Warriors with shorthanded roster that lacks experience, but the team has been more competitive in recent weeks and the return of some veterans should only help the squad. Once such vet is Draymond Green. While his statistical averages don’t jump off the stat sheet (8.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 5.4 apg, this fact might: The Warriors have won the last two games in which he has played. Green was a plus nine in his 24 minutes on the floor on Wednesday night in his return to the court after missing the previous three games with right heel soreness. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year is a source of leadership for the younger Dubs, and he’s also capable of making the play when the team needs it most, as was all over the floor on Wednesday night during the team’s game-clinching 16-2 run in the fourth quarter.

TEAM LEADERS

MIAMI SCOUTING REPORT
The Heat head into Friday’s game having lost two of their last three games. However, just before that they won five straight games. The Heat are one of the league’s top shooting teams, ranking third in field goal percentage (48.0%) and second in 3-point percentage (38.8%), and also have been an elite defensive team over the first month of the season. Playing in his first season in South Beach, Jimmy Butler leads the team in scoring (18.9 ppg) and assists (6.7 apg), and also the entire NBA in steals (2.6 spg). And he has plenty of help behind him with a productive set of rookies in former Santa Cruz Warrior Kendrick Nunn and sharpshooter Tyler Herro. The Heat have been especially lethal at home this season, going 7-0 and winning by an average margin of 18.3 points, the highest home differential in the NBA. In fact, the Heat haven’t trailed in the second half of a home game since their home opener. The Heat have preyed on opponents visiting Miami this season, and that’s a trend the Dubs will be looking to interrupt on Friday.