The Warriors are on a six-game winning streak and have won nine of their last ten games. Stephen Jackson is a big reason why. Golden State of Mind, my SB Nation sister-site, details how Captain Jack's defense has improved the Warriors in this insightful post.
We should be prepared for a track meet tonight: the Warriors are the fifth-fastest team in the league, averaging 97 possessions per game. However, the Magic have been successful playing at that pace. This season, they are 5-1 when they have 97 possessions or more.
Baron Davis is a certified Magic-killer. He dropped 38 points on us last year in Orlando just a few years after posting back-to-back triple-doubles against us in the playoffs. He'll be licking his chops tonight; at 6'3" and 215 pounds, he should be able to bowl right over our 5'10", 180-pound Jameer Nelson.
Speaking of Jameer, he struggled mightily last night: 1-of-9 shooting for 2 points. We'll probably see a lot of Keyon Dooling at the point tonight. He has the size to match up with Davis, and he's a much better defender anyway.
The last time we played the Warriors in Oakland, the result was bittersweet. Dwight Howard tore the Dubs apart to the tune of 30 points and 25 rebounds, but Trevor Ariza sprained his right MCL and missed 22 games; the Magic went 5-17 in those games to drop their record to 27-30.That's no coincidence.
There's a great chance that Dwight will go for 20+ rebounds tonight. The Warriors are the worst team in the league at allowing offensive rebounds, as their opponents have grabbed 30.4% of their own misses this season. What's the over/under on putback dunks for Dwight tonight? 6.5? And would anyone actually take the under?
J.A. Adande wrote about the Magic's league-best road record for today's Daily Dime at ESPN.
More at ESPN: the Magic are tops in Marc Stein's Power Rankings this week. The Warriors are 9th.
