Warriors game day: Can Golden State handle Houston’s 3-point exploits?
Steve Kerr, 3rd season with Warriors (177-29 with Warriors and overall); Mike D’Antoni, 1st season with Rockets (33-12 with Rockets and 488-438 overall)
On air: TV on ESPN, CSN Bay Area; Radio on 95.7 The Game
Warriors: PG Stephen Curry (24.6 ppg, 6.1 apg), SG Klay Thompson (21.2 ppg, 2.0 apg), SF Kevin Durant (26.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg), PF Draymond Green (10.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 7.7 apg), C Zaza Pachulia (5.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
Rockets: PG Patrick Beverley (9.3 ppg, 4.4 apg), SG James Harden (28.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 11.6 apg), SF Corey Brewer (4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), PF Trevor Ariza (12.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), C Montrezl Harrell (10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Warriors injury report: C David West (non-displaced fracture, left thumb) is out.
Can the Warriors limit Houston from three-point range?
Though its three-point exploits get more attention, Golden State leads the league with an opponent three-point shooting percentage of 32.1.
No team tests the Warriors’ perimeter defense more than the Rockets, whose 667 three-pointers through their first 45 games are the most ever by a team through that point of a season.
Houston has netted 10-plus three-pointers in all but three games, including an NBA-record 27 consecutive games from Oct. 28 to Dec. 17.
First-year coach Mike D’Antoni gives his shooters the green light, and with Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon in the fold, he has a bevy of long-range marksmen.
The driving force behind Houston’s surprising climb to No. 3 in the Western-Conference standings, Harden leads the league in assists and ranks second in scoring.
Though the Warriors held Harden to 8-of-23 shooting in their Dec. 1 loss to the Rockets, Harden helped make up for it with 15 rebounds and 13 assists.
A savvy veteran who is one of the Warriors’ best passers, he has typically entered late in the first quarter and totaled 11-13 minutes.
Kevon Looney, who has logged a combined 17 minutes in his past six games, figures to eat up most of West’s playing time.
Quotable: I saw (Houston) play in the preseason, maybe it was one of their games in China, but it was automatic.