The Warriors open a six-game road trip Saturday knowing they won’t have Stephen Curry, which is reason enough to ignore the sub-mediocre records of their next four opponents.
First up are the Atlanta Hawks, whose 33-36 record belies the fact that they have through a spate of injuries to win five of their last seven games. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins with Warriors Pregame Live at 3 p.m., with tipoff from State Farm Arena scheduled for 4.
The priority for Golden State (41-29) is containing Hawks point guard Trae Young, who is averaging a team-high 24.1 points per game and tops the NBA in assists at 11.4 per game. His 40 double-doubles lead all guards.
It’ll be up to Brandin Podziemski to keep Young from getting into the paint and generating offense with lobs, driving and kicking to shooters — and one of the league’s most dangerous floaters. He’s averaging 28.2 points over his last seven games.
Podziemski will get plenty of help from Moses Moody and perhaps Jonathan Kuminga, as their length could make things difficult for the 6-foot-1 Young. Gary Payton II could be a factor, but he missed Golden State’s win over Toronto on Thursday with left knee soreness and is listed as questionable.
The goal for the Warriors is to make Young a volume shooter and avoid fouling. He’s not an efficient scorer (shooting 40.6 percent from the field, including 32.8 percent from deep this season), but his 414 made free throws rank third in the league.
Young will be carrying a heavier load than usual, as Atlanta is without several key weapons. Dynamic power forward and No. 2 scorer Jalen Johnson and center Clint Capela, a certified lob threat, are out for the season.
Another area of concern for Golden State is the bench battle. Atlanta’s bench players, led by Caris LeVert and Terance Mann, have been among the NBA’s top five in scoring all season and are No. 3 in March.
Being without Curry is always a challenge for the Warriors, as he is the longtime hub of their offense. They will lean on the playmaking of Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green to manufacture offense.
After controlling their turnover rate through most of last month, the Warriors lately have resumed their old habit of giving the ball to their opponent. The Hawks, behind NBA steals leader Dyson Daniels, rank No. 2 in that category.
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