With Golden State leading the series 2-0, the Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers will head north to Portland for Game 3 on Saturday night. This will be the first of two consecutive games at the Moda Center.
Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers Game 3
LINE: Golden State -6 (+100); moneyline -235
Total: 217 (-102o, -105u)
Warriors show they can defend too
Game 2 may have made it clear that the Golden State Warriors can play their first-round series versus the Portland Trail Blazers without Kevin Durant. Durant is nursing a left calf strain and this made the Warriors sit him out versus the Blazers on Wednesday. It was not a problem for the Dubs as they cruised to the victory, 110-81.
They’ve also delivered a message to the rest of the league with the convincing win, without any of their stars having a particularly huge game. Thompson made just 6-of-17 shots, Curry 6-of-18 and Green 1-of-5, although he did have 12 rebounds and 10 assists. They still won by almost 30 points due to their depth and the great defense.
Aside from Kevin Durant, guard Shaun Livingston was also out with an injured hand, and forward Matt Barnes is still recovering from a sprained ankle and foot, giving the team two less players in the rotation. Many thought that this could be the end for the Golden State Warriors’ winning streak as they were coming into the game vulnerable and with a diminished team. The Warriors squashed any doubts by limiting Blazers to just 33 percent shooting, shutting down not one, but both of their stars and leading by 25 before entering the final period.
They shot just 44 percent themselves as the three ball was not falling for the Splash Brothers, again. They combined to shot 7-of-20 from downtown, a below average efficiency, but certainly much better than the Portland Trail Blazers duo’s 1-of-7. Five different Warriors scored in double digits, and amazingly, two of them were Pachulia and McGee, who took advantage of the center-less opponent.
Coach Kerr said that if Durant isn’t 100 percent, the Warriors would be cautious with him, and he’s officially questionable to play on Saturday. Livingston’s and Barnes’ availability is unknown at this point.
Place: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Date/Time: Saturday April 22th, 2017. 10:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
High flying Lillard and McCollum hit ground in a loss
The postseason has been a tale of two games for McCollum and Lillard, who were terrific in Game 1 but lousy in a lopsided defeat Wednesday night. McCollum gone 4-of-17 for 11 points and Lillard shot 5-of-17 from the field for his 12 points, also coughing up 4 turnovers. It was not simply the law of averages, the Warriors wouldn’t give them any kind of space to work with. It didn’t matter that the Blazers’ supporting cast was much better in the second game compared to the first.
The Portland Trail Blazers, particularly without center Jusuf Nurkic, can’t win if Lillard and McCollum are bottled up. They can’t win without any rim protection, but their defense was beating up top, where the bad shooting of the guard combo has influenced their will to compete on the defensive end too. The rest of the team then scrambled to fill the gaps, leading to lob passes to McGee and kick outs.
The fact that the Portland Trail Blazers have played much better at home is hardly a consolation after they looked powerless to navigate through the Golden State motion defense, taking bad shots and committing 19 turnovers. In game 2, Portland shot 30-of-90 on field goals and 7-of-34 on the most valued ones. They also got out-rebounded and out-hustled in any way. Team with low odds to advance against such a formidable opponent can’t show lack of will or effort. Still, they are not as good as in the first game nor as bad as in the last one, and there’s still basketball to be played.
Nurkic is unlikely to play this weekend, and possibly not even later in this series if the Portland Trail Blazers manage to extend it, so the Blazers have to find a way to do it with the current roster. They need Crabbe breaking out of the shooting funk – he shot 44 percent for the deep this season and is just 1-of-8 from downtown in two postseason games. They need much better effort from the coaching staff on recognizing how to alter their defensive schemes to fit current needs. But most of all, they need their stars at the top of their games.
Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers Game 3 Trends & Prediction
Golden State swept the regular-season series against the Trail Blazers, 4-0. They’re now 6-0 this season against Portland and have won 12 of the last 13 times the teams have met. Last time the Blazers won, Lillard scored 40 and Curry didn’t dress. The Warriors failed to cover only twice in their last 10 games and are 41-40-3 against the spread this season. They are a bit worse on the road, with the 19-21-1 ATS record. As for the total points, you should look for the under. Golden State are 33-51 against the projected total points line, and the most unders are coming on the road, where the Warriors have a 13-28 O/U record.
The Blazers are 41-43 ATS this season after splitting two games in Oakland. They are 22-19 at home ATS, where they’ve won 25 games this season. Their total points record shows more overs, as they went 45-38-1 so far this season, but the recent trend of just two overs in the last 7 games is concerning.
Without Durant, who is hopeful to play, but I doubt the Warriors take a chance after the last year’s experience with Curry, the Warriors are 3-point favorites in my book for this game. The books are giving us a +6 point on the home team after the Game 2 humiliation, so that’s as clear of a bet as it can be. The problem is, we need to wait for the confirmation for KD, that will likely lower the value. If he plays, this is a no bet situation. The total points line has been set at 217, going down from the first two games, but not as much considering that the Warriors are missing their second best scorer. With Durant, the line should be at 221 in this game, so there’s no space to play either side with the current offer.
My Pick: Portland +6 (-105)
Total: Pass
