Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs 12/31/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Daily Fantasy

Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs Preview

In a Western Conference matchup tonight between two teams most expected wouldn’t be out of the playoff picture at this point, the San Antonio Spurs host the Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs are 13-18 and currently sit at ninth in the Western Conference. They won their last game, are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have a 9-8 record at the AT&T Center. The Warriors are currently dead last in the West with a 9-25 record. The Warriors lost their most recent game, are 4-6 in their last 10 and are just 3-14 on the road.

Golden State will be looking to avenge their 127-110 loss to the Spurs back on November 1st. Patty Mills had 31 points in the game and DeMar DeRozan had 11 assists. D’Angelo Russell led the Warriors with 30 points and eight assists.

TV Schedule

Date: 12/31/19
Time: 7 PM ET
Arena: AT&T Center
Channel: NBCSBA, KENS

Injuries

Warriors: D’Angelo Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Kevon Looney, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson (O), Eric Paschall, Ky Bowman (DTD)
Spurs: No injuries

Golden State Warriors Starting Lineup

PG: Alec Burks
SG: Damion Lee
SF: Glenn Robinson III
PF: Draymond Green
C: Marquese Chriss

Warriors Analysis

Golden State WarriorsAfter stringing together a nice four-game winning streak over New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and Phoenix Suns, it all came crashing back to a halt in a 141-121 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

If that wasn’t enough, D’Angelo Russell, who had been leading the team, was sidelined yet again, albeit a minor issue, but it will keep him out of action tonight.

“I’m good,” Russell told reporters. “I’m good. It’s part of the game, obviously, injuries are part of the game. Thank God it wasn’t nothing too serious, just a little shoulder contusion. The contact, hard contact — kind of knocked the wind out of me, but I’m good now.

Russell led the Warriors with 35 points and Alec Burks scored 16 off the bench. Marquese Chriss scored an additional 16 off the bench, and he is likely to start tonight with Willie Cauley-Stein out. Damion Lee came up big with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Steve Kerr will likely look to Burks to replace some of the scoring load with Russell out, but they also need much more from veteran forward Draymond Green.

Warriors Quick Links: Warriors Starting Lineup, Warriors Roster, Warriors Depth Chart, Warriors Injuries, Warriors News, Warriors Schedule

San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup

PG: Dejounte Murray
SG: Bryn Forbes
SF: DeMar DeRozan
PF: Trey Lyles
C: LaMarcus Aldridge

Spurs Analysis

San Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs’ issues with consistency still plague them. After a blowout win over Memphis last week, they lost a close game to the Dallas Mavericks before coming up with a much-needed win on Saturday 136-109 over the Detroit Pistons.

In the game, the Spurs, who shoot amongst the fewest three-pointers in the league, found their stroke from beyond the arch. LaMarcus Aldridge, in particular, seems to be feeling a bit more comfortable shooting the long ball.

“Now teams have to guard him all the way to the 3-point line instead of sagging off, clogging the lane and giving less space for everyone else,” guard Bryn Forbes said in the San Antonio Express-News. “He’s been doing a great job. He’s been hitting them.”

In a game where Andre Drummond was limited to 21 and Blake Griffin had just 12 points, Aldridge went off for 25 points and 12 rebounds. But Aldridge didn’t do it alone. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 in the game and added eight assists.

Bryn Forbes, who has been going through a cold streak, finally started to find the bottom of the net with some regularity as he scored 18. Rudy Gay came off the bench for 16 and Dejounte Murray had 13 points.

For Spurs fans, it was a nice change of pace seeing Lonnie Walker IV in there for 16 minutes and Marco Belinelli playing just three minutes. It was a decision validated by Walker’s play as he racked up eight points and made several key defensive plays.

Spurs Quick Links: Spurs Starting Lineup, Spurs Roster, Spurs Depth Chart, Spurs Injuries, Spurs News, Spurs Schedule

Key Player Matchups

LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Marquese Chriss

Chriss had one of his best games against the Mavs, but he still won’t be much of a match for Aldridge, especially if the veteran big man continues knocking down three-pointers. Chriss also has relatively low numbers against the Spurs, whereas Aldridge seems to raise his game, and average, to 22 points per game against Golden State.

DeMar DeRozan vs. Glen Robinson III

Robinson has either been hot or cold this year, and that’s likely not exactly what Golden State brass expected, especially when given a bigger role due to injuries. He showed in the win over Houston that he can put points up as he scored 18, but his percentages dropped against Dallas. DeRozan’s last stretch of games has mostly been positive and he can easily score 20+ a night even on bad nights.

Daily Fantasy

DeMar DeRozan is the fantasy standout in tonight’s game. He is available for $7,1k on FanDuel and has a projection of 39.8 points. Draymond Green steps up into the spot with Russel out. He has a $6,1k salary and is projected to notch 33.6 points.

Bet on Matchup

If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can bet on this matchup. Sports betting is legal in PA. Our top-rated online sportsbook bonus offers can be found in our articles: Fanduel Sportsbook promo code, DraftKings Sportsbook promo code & Pointsbet promo code.

Post
Michael is Chief Editor at Lineups.com. He has decades of combined experience in traditional print journalism and online media and is the publisher of the Project Spurs Network, which includes 13 team-specific sports media sites and the flagship ProjectSpurs.com. He is also the creator of the first Spurs podcast and the longest-running sports podcast on the internet, the Spurscast, and was formerly the host of the News 4 San Antonio Sports Roundtable.

Hot NBA Matchup Previews Stories

Featured NBA Articles