Just when we were almost ready to bury the Golden State Warriors, they retaliate with back-to-back road blowouts over two of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.
The Warriors must now prepare for another East contender, the Indiana Pacers. But this time around, they’ll be playing from the comfort of their own home court. Can Golden State further extend its dominance in Oracle Arena this Friday?
[sc:NBA250 ]Let’s take a closer look at this stunning matchup below. After this, check out the NBA’s other Friday night blockbuster with our preview for Oklahoma City vs. Dallas.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Indiana Pacers vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland
When: Friday, January 22, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Indiana Pacers at Golden State Warriors – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Indiana Pacers (23-19)
[sc:NBA240banner ]Thanks to a 97-94 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers have finally snapped their three-game losing streak. Indiana held Phoenix to just 34.6 percent shooting from the floor, the team’s best mark against any opponent this season.
However, the Pacers nearly gave up a 20-point lead in the second half of that game against a dwindling Suns club. Most of their struggles have been on offense, specifically from beyond the arc, where they shot just 23.4 percent over the last four games – most recently going for just 4-for-20 in the previous game.
Considering that the Warriors have held opponents to shoot just 23.4 percent from downtown in their last five outings, Indy needs its firepower to be rekindled ASAP. All-Star starter Paul George has got to catch fire, most of all. He’s only averaging 19.5 points per game (a far cry from his season average of 23.7) on 38.1 percent shooting from the floor in his last eight outings.
Maybe former Golden State starter Monta Ellis can provide George some help from the wing. Ellis led all Pacers with 20 points on Tuesday, and is averaging 20.3 points on 48-percent shooting over his last three. Then again, he had only averaged 10.8 points on 31.7 percent shooting from the floor in his last four contests with his old club that put him on the map.
Still, there is reason to believe that Pacers can hand the Dubs their first home loss this season, as they have split their last six meetings (3-3 SU/ATS) against the Warriors.
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (39-4)
After going nuclear against the Cavs on Monday, the Golden State Warriors staged another 30-point rout on Wednesday with a 125-94 drubbing of the Chicago Bulls. The NBA’s best team since the start of the season has now notched a pair of authoritative road victories over the East’s best ball clubs to shed any notion that they’re on a decline.
Stephen Curry was his usual unbelievable self in Chicago, tallying 25 points, seven boards and 11 assists. The Dubs also shot 52.6 percent from the field as a team, while limiting the Bulls to just 37 percent and 1-of-20 from the three-point line.
Another night like this on Friday will all but secure Golden State’s 38th-consecutive home win, which would then be tied for the third-best mark in NBA history alongside Larry Bird and the ‘85-‘86 Celtics. While everybody has already heard of Golden State’s invulnerability in Oracle Arena over and over again, it’s also worth noting that the team has not lost a game that was held on a Friday for the past 11 instances (7-3-1 ATS) dating back to last season.
However, for the Warriors to really be unstoppable, versatile forward Draymond Green has got to pick up his slack, as the triple-double monster has only averaged 8.5 points per contest over his last four. On Wednesday, Green only put up six points, but did haul in 10 rebounds and dish out nine assists.
Although Green has not been in peak form of late, there’s always Splash Brother No. 2 in Klay Thompson who could take over his scoring duties from the perimeter. In the 131-123 victory on December 8 against the Pacers at Indiana, it was Thompson who erupted for a game-high 39 points for the Dubs’ 23rd-consecutive win of the season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Warriors do indeed extend their blemish-free record in Oakland to 38 games, 113-95.
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