PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* Western Conference GAME OF THE YEAR >>> 7-1-1 This Week In NBA!
(NBA) Golden State vs. Portland,
Point Spread: -8.50 | -100.00 Golden State (Away)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -8.50 | -100.00 Golden State (Away)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 21-27 Portland Trail Blazers are in the middle of a five-game homestand and after Friday' 112-109 win over Memphis, have strung together three straight wins for the first time since Nov. 30-Dec. 5. However, the issue the Blazers face rtonight is that the Golden Stae warriors are coming to the Moda center with the league's best overall record (40-7), the league's best road record (19-4) and with the NBA's highest scoring offense (118.1 PPG), not to mention ranking No. 1 in the NBA in defensive efficiency (rank 1st in FG percentage against at 43.2%).
Golden State: The Warriors hosted the Clippers last night and won, 144-98! "It's going great," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told the Portland Tribune. "The record is good, but more importantly, we're making really good strides, improving all the time." Kerr added, "The first month of the season, we weren't close to that. Over the last month, we've really gotten better at that end. That's a great sign considering what we lost personnel-wise over the summer. Our defense has changed quite a bit. We had a couple of dominant centers in (Andrew) Bogut and (Festus) Ezeli. We don't get the shot-blocking from the center position now, but we get solid play from Zaza (Pachulia) and David West. We play a little faster defensively with (Kevin Durant) and Draymond (Green) and Klay (Thompson) and Andre (Iguodala), wings who do a lot of switching. It's been great to see the guys coming around and clicking together." OK Steve, we get it. Life is good when a coach can trot out Durant (26.1-8.3-4.7), Curry (25.0-4.3-6.1), Thompson (21.0) and Green (10.5-8.4-7.5).
Portland: Damian Lillard (26.3-4.8-5.8) is the only player among the league's top dozen scorers not to make the All Star game and scored 15 of his 33 points in the final 6:25 against the Grizzlies. Lillard featured 13 straight Blazer points in a span of 2:40, giving Portland a 106-101 lead with 3:45 to play. "Dame carried us," Portland head coach Terry Stotts said. "It was good to see him have a stretch like that. He hasn't had one of those in a while. It was good to see the ball go through and have him carry the team like that. We don't win the game if he doesn't carry us offensively." Lillard's backcourt partner is McCollum (23.4), giving Portland's the league's second-highest scoring duo. However, the Blazers can't quite match up with the rest of the Warriors' lineup (like everyone else, we should note).
The pick: Curry showed no ill effects of a quad injury by piling up 43 points in just three quarters of action in last night's rout of the Clippers.The 144-point total is the second-highest of the season for Golden State. The Warriors have won the first three meetings this season against Portland and five straight overall, by an average of 25.3 points. The Warriors were able to rest their starters down the stretch in last night's rout of Clippers, so what changes here? Nothing. The Warriors are a 10* play.
Golden State: The Warriors hosted the Clippers last night and won, 144-98! "It's going great," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told the Portland Tribune. "The record is good, but more importantly, we're making really good strides, improving all the time." Kerr added, "The first month of the season, we weren't close to that. Over the last month, we've really gotten better at that end. That's a great sign considering what we lost personnel-wise over the summer. Our defense has changed quite a bit. We had a couple of dominant centers in (Andrew) Bogut and (Festus) Ezeli. We don't get the shot-blocking from the center position now, but we get solid play from Zaza (Pachulia) and David West. We play a little faster defensively with (Kevin Durant) and Draymond (Green) and Klay (Thompson) and Andre (Iguodala), wings who do a lot of switching. It's been great to see the guys coming around and clicking together." OK Steve, we get it. Life is good when a coach can trot out Durant (26.1-8.3-4.7), Curry (25.0-4.3-6.1), Thompson (21.0) and Green (10.5-8.4-7.5).
Portland: Damian Lillard (26.3-4.8-5.8) is the only player among the league's top dozen scorers not to make the All Star game and scored 15 of his 33 points in the final 6:25 against the Grizzlies. Lillard featured 13 straight Blazer points in a span of 2:40, giving Portland a 106-101 lead with 3:45 to play. "Dame carried us," Portland head coach Terry Stotts said. "It was good to see him have a stretch like that. He hasn't had one of those in a while. It was good to see the ball go through and have him carry the team like that. We don't win the game if he doesn't carry us offensively." Lillard's backcourt partner is McCollum (23.4), giving Portland's the league's second-highest scoring duo. However, the Blazers can't quite match up with the rest of the Warriors' lineup (like everyone else, we should note).
The pick: Curry showed no ill effects of a quad injury by piling up 43 points in just three quarters of action in last night's rout of the Clippers.The 144-point total is the second-highest of the season for Golden State. The Warriors have won the first three meetings this season against Portland and five straight overall, by an average of 25.3 points. The Warriors were able to rest their starters down the stretch in last night's rout of Clippers, so what changes here? Nothing. The Warriors are a 10* play.
