The Warriors play the Pistons in Detroit on Friday — with their Christmas Day showdown looming with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Draymond Green missed Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, but he will play against the Pistons. Which is what you’d figure since Green is a Saginaw, Mich., native. On 95.7-FM The Game, we were joined by Marcus Thompson II, a columnist for the Bay Area News Group. We caught up to Thompson before he headed off to Cleveland to cover the Warriors-Cavaliers game on Sunday.

Here’s a link to our interview with Marcus Thompson II.

Among our topics:

–It’s a hypothetical question but one that bears asking: Would the Warriors be the favorites to win it all — like they are now — if you took Green off this team? Thompson answers that question definitively.

–Green is a unique player to say the least. Thompson tries to make a comparison between Green and former New York Knicks power forward Anthony Mason. Green might be a better defender than Mason was, but they have some similarities when it comes to passing ability and ruggedness.

–J.R. Smith will miss three to four months for the Cavaliers. Thompson talks about what the loss of Smith will mean to Cleveland — and he doesn’t think it’s all bad.