The Golden State Warriors are living up to expectations as one of the best teams in the NBA.
Marreese Speights is one of the reasons behind that success, and that's far from expected.
Speights looks to help the Warriors extend their winning streak to nine games by capping a perfect road trip Sunday against the sputtering Detroit Pistons (3 p.m. pregame, 3:30 tip-off on FOX Sports Detroit).
Golden State entered the season as a fashionable pick among experts to make a run at an NBA title, and the Warriors (13-2) certainly look capable so far. They trail only league-leading Memphis' 14-2 record, and are one of the highest-scoring teams with a 107.3 average.
Golden State has won eight in a row - its longest since a 10-game run from Dec. 21-Jan. 7 - and with a victory Sunday it will have won every game on a road trip of at least five games in length for the first time since Oct. 27-Nov. 4, 1978.
While the Warriors' success and production have been fairly predictable, Speights' contribution off the bench certainly hasn't.
The journeyman forward is averaging 12.6 points after managing 6.4 last season - his first with the Warriors. He's been particularly impressive over the last six games, scoring 18.7 per contest while shooting 60.0 percent.
"I figured he was a guy who could give us a spark off the bench every now and again, but I didn't see him as our full-time backup center. ... but Mo has been way better than I expected," said coach Steve Kerr, who also called himself "an idiot" for sitting him out for a game earlier this season.
Speights came one point shy of his season high Friday, scoring 27 while hitting 12 of 20 from the field to power a 106-101 win at Charlotte.
"When I'm in a zone, the basket looks like a swimming pool," Speights said.
His effort against the Hornets picked up the slack for Stephen Curry, who made just 1 of 10 from beyond the arc while hitting all seven free throws to finish with 26 points.
Curry is among the league leaders with 24.3 points per game while adding 7.6 assists and sinking 42.0 percent of his 3s. However, he's averaging 17.5 in four career road meetings with the Pistons (3-13).
The Warriors extended their winning streak in the series to six games with a 104-96 road victory Feb. 24. They last won seven in a row against Detroit from Mar. 29 1975-Nov. 2, 1976.
The Pistons are among the worst teams in the NBA, and haven't looked capable of ending their current slide against Golden State while enduring a seven-game overall skid. Detroit, one of NBA's lowest scoring teams at 91.9 points per game, shot 6 of 23 from 3-point range in Friday's 104-88 loss to Milwaukee.
"Everybody's trying to get on the same page, but when we get out there, it isn't working," said D.J. Augustin, who went 1 for 7 from the floor but 7 for 9 from the line to finish with 10 points. "It's rough right now, and we know how the fans are looking at us, but we don't want to lose."
Augustin could return to the bench if Brandon Jennings is back after missing three games with a thumb injury.
Jennings leads the team with 16.0 points per game, and he's put up 21.0 in nine career meetings with the Warriors - his highest scoring average against any opponent.
