Takeaways from Warriors' Loss to Pistons: Dubs Need to Trade for Paint Presence

The Golden State Warriors (27-23) trimmed a 20-point deficit to three in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't get over the hump in a 131-124 loss to the Detroit Pistons (35-12) on Friday at Chase Center.

Stephen Curry had a team-high 23 points, but he left the game in the second half with knee soreness.

Cade Cunningham had a game-high 29 points and 11 assists.

Here are two takeaways from Friday's game.

Warriors Need to Trade for Paint Presence

The Warriors were outscored 62-40 in the paint on Friday. They were also outrebounded 53-42.

Jalen Duren had his way inside, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Isaiah Stewart came off the bench and made a big impact with 14 points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile. Al Horford and Quinten Post combined for 19 points and nine rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the best possible cure to the Warriors' paint problems on offense and defense. But if they don't land him, they need to address the issue by trading for a center.

I wrote a Myles Turner trade idea on Friday. Using the Kuminga contract as the centerpiece of a Turner trade might be their best bet. But if they trade Kuminga for a wing upgrade instead, they can try to make a second trade for someone like the Blazers' Robert Williams III, who is making $13.3 million. And if they need to go to the bargain bin, they can try to get Jock Landale ($2.3 million salary) from the Grizzlies.

We know the Warriors don't have much offensive talent, which leads to some turnover issues like they had Friday with 18. The combination of the turnovers and being dominated in the paint is too much to overcome. They need to try to fix the latter by Thursday's trade deadline.

Santos Clearly in the Top Seven of the Rotation

Gui Santos had another stellar game Friday, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He had a couple of driving baskets that the Warriors desperately need.

Santos has been playing well for a while, but it's new for him to play 25 minutes in a game when most of the rotation regulars were healthy.

The only other games this season in which he played 25-plus were at Cleveland (missing Steph, Butler and Green), vs. Oklahoma City (missing Steph, Butler and Green) and at Minnesota (missing Steph, Butler and Green).

Earlier in the season, Post and Will Richard were clearly ahead of Santos on the rotation pecking order, but that's no longer the case.

The Warriors are desperate for Santos' size (6'7") and physicality. But it's more than that. He finished January shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Outside of De'Anthony Melton, no one is more valuable off the bench than Santos.