Portland’s road woes continued on Tuesday as the Blazers absorbed an 11-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Blazers, who have now lost 15 of their opening 22 road games, will look for a much better performance at their own home floor tonight when they host the streaking Golden State Warriors.
[sc:NBA250 ]Can the Blazers record a major shock? Or will the Warriors continue their hot start? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this Western Conference matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of New York vs. San Antonio and LA Clippers vs. Charlotte.
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Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers Preview
Where: Moda Center, Portland
When: Friday, January 8, 10:00 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (-9.5) at Portland Trail Blazers (+9.5); total: 214.0 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: CSNB/CSNN
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (33-2)
The defending champions stretched their unbeaten run to four games with an emphatic 109-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. It was a fantastic victory by the Warriors who extended their lead in the Pacific division to a whopping 10.5 games.
[sc:NBA240banner ]To no one’s surprise, it was Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who stole the show for the Warriors on Tuesday night. They combined for 53 points on 18-of-35 shooting from the field. Thompson was in sizzling form right from the get-go, scoring 22 of his 36 points in the first quarter. He’s starting to find his range after a slow start this season, averaging 20.9 points and 3.7 rebounds.
The Warriors now set their sights on extending their winning streak to five games when they face the struggling Blazers tonight. One player who’s expected to step up big time this evening is Draymond Green. He led the Warriors to a 3-1 mark last week while averaging 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.5 steals. Green is having a spectacular season, posting career-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. He has already amassed seven triple-doubles this campaign.
The Warriors are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games against the Blazers.
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Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (15-23)
Things are going from bad to worse for the Portland Trail Blazers as they crashed to their second consecutive defeat with a 109-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. The Blazers had no answer for Chris Paul who scored 21 points and dished out a season-high 19 assists. The Blazers have now dropped three of their last four games.
The Blazers will look to get their season back on track when they face the red-hot Warriors tonight. For Portland to snap its losing skid this evening, it needs to improve on its play on the offensive end. The Blazers are 18th in the NBA in scoring, averaging just 100.8 points per game this season. They have failed to clear the 100-point mark in their last three losses.
The onus then is on Damian Lillard to step up his play against the Golden State backcourt. He scored 20 points and dished out nine dimes in his second game back from a foot injury. He leads the team in points (24.2) and assists (6.8) this campaign. Help is on the way for Portland as well as C.J. McCollum makes his return to the starting lineup.
Portland Coach Terry Stotts inadvertently listed McCollum as inactive on the roster sheet on Wednesday, thus denying the Blazers their second-leading scorer in the game against the Clippers. McCollum has been a revelation for the Blazers this season, averaging 21.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
The Blazers are 5-5 SU and ATS in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State (-9.5) extends its winning streak to five games with a 110-94 victory.
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