Our upcoming NBA game of the week sees the Western Conference-leading Trail Blazers face the struggling Golden State Warriors.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (12-6) @ GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (12-7)
AEDT: Saturday, Nov. 24, 2:30pm
PT: Friday, Nov. 23, 7:30pm. Oakland, CA. Oracle Arena (19,596)
In a matter of days, the Golden State Warriors have gone from world-beaters to, well, still world-beaters, but they’re struggling a little bit.
No one is worried about the Warriors making everything work before they cruise-control through the playoffs and compete for their third straight title. But the recent Durant/Draymond controversy has people (rightfully) worried about the team after this season. It seems likely that Durant will leave to try ring-collecting somewhere a little less ‘established’, to put it nicely.
But I digress.
Onto this Saturday, where the Warriors will continue to correct course after they went 1-5 during Curry (and Draymond’s) absence over the last six games. And their one win came against the height of NBA ineptitude, the Atlanta Hawks.
If it wasn’t clear before that Steph Curry is the engine that makes the Warriors go, it is now. When Curry’s on the court everyone has more space to operate in the offence. The Warriors will be anticipating his return, but he’s been ruled out for this game.
The key storyline in this match-up is if Durant can lead the Dubs without Curry, and if he can coexist with Draymond, who is likely to play for the first time in five games. Lately, Durant has been mediocre by his standards, shooting a horrendous 15% from three-point range in the last six games.
For the Blazers, everything is going better than expected. Damian Lillard and CJ McCullum are their usual selves. But improvements in guys like Zach Collins and allowing Evan Turner to run the second unit have given the Blazers depth. Their bench is ranked fifth in 3PT percentage and assist averages. They’re moving the ball and hitting their threes – basically everything you want offensively from your second unit.
For those reasons, and the odd state of the West, the Blazers find themselves second in the conference. So, we have, on paper, two of the best teams in the West facing at Oracle Arena – the Warriors’ home. But the Warriors are missing one quarter of their star foursome. If the Blazers go into Oracle and beat the wounded champs, that’d be something.
| Regular Season Stats | Blazers | Warriors |
| Points Scored/G (rank) | 114.2 (8) | 115.4 (7) |
| Points Allowed | 110.2 (13) | 111.1 (17) |
| Rebounds | 50.4 (2) | 45.5 (14) |
| Assists | 20.5 (27) | 28.2 (1) |
| Blocks | 4.7 (24) | 6.2 (6) |
| Steals | 6.1 (29) | 7.2 (20) |
| Turnovers | 14.9 (14-T) | 14.9 (14-T) |
| FG % | 45.5 (13) | 49.2 (1) |
| 3PT Shot % | 35.8 (13) | 38.3 (3) |
| Opponent FG % | 44.4 (7) | 45.0 (10) |
| Opponent 3PT Shot % | 35.6 (17) | 32.5 (2) |
Our tip
The Warriors get a much needed few games at home. With little defensive talent on the wing for the Blazers, Durant is in for a big night. If Draymond Green returns, he will galvanise the Warriors defence to a win.
