Golden State Warriors, after losing their opening match of the NBA 2016-17 season, will be hell bent to register their first victory as they prepare to face New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Friday. The Warriors had lost their opening match against San Antonio Spurs by 29 points.
It is not going to be a walk in the park for Warriors against Pelicans, who also lost their opening match to Denver Nuggets. Like the Warriors, they are also eyeing their first win, making matters interesting in their respective second game of the season.
For Pelicans to shine, they will need their star Anthony Davis to shine, and he needs support from rest of the stars. As witnessed in the opening match of Pelicans, Davis was brilliant offensively and defensively as well, scoring 50 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocked shots, but his teammates did not flourish much, which led to their loss.
But, one thing is for sure that Davis is more than ready to shine this season, and if he carries such form throughout the season, Pelicans will be fun to watch. The match also showed that basketball is not a one-man sport, and players need to contribute for their respective teams to win.
Davis is aware that the Warriors are going to come all guns blazing on Friday, and he hopes that the visitors do not kill their spirit with their game.
"After what happened a few nights ago, we know that they're going to come in hungry for a win. We've just got to come out prepared knowing those guys are going to take some bad shots and make them go in. We've got to stay composed and not let that kill our spirit and let the momentum go to them," Fox Sports quoted Davis as saying.
The Warriors are indeed going to be a determined outfit, and with players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, they will hope to send warning signs to other teams in the competition. They might have lost to Spurs, but make no mistake, this Warriors team is capable of defeating any team in the NBA. No wonder they are huge favourites for the title as well.
Warriors, with Curry and Thompson, leading the line in the three-pointer department, are normally spot on with their shooting beyond the arc. But, the duo was below par in the opening night, drilling a combined four threes only. Thompson and Curry will hope to get their shooting boots on for Friday.
However, Kevin Durant will be keen to continue his impressive start to his Warriors career, as the forward scored 27 points and also had 10 rebounds against Spurs. We are quite early into the season, and the trio of Thompson, Curry and Durant will take time to develop some understanding, but after that is done, they will make life tough for defenders in the league.
As of now, they might only focus to script their first win this season, against Pelicans and take things from there.
Where to Watch Live
New Orleans Pelicans vs Golden State Warriors is set to begin at 9.30pm ET (2.30am BST, 7am IST next day). Live Streaming and TV guide for the NBA match is given below.
India: TV: Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
USA: TV: ESPN. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Philippines: Fox Sports
International: NBA Online.
