A new journey begins for the Golden State Warriors as they kick off their championship defense with an Opening Night showdown versus Anthony Davis and the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena. Both teams faced one another in the first round of the playoffs last year, which Stephen Curry and company dominated en route to a 4-0 series sweep. Will the Warriors continue imposing their will and start the new season with a bang? Or will the Pelicans steal this one and play the spoilers?
Read on below for a complete breakdown of this intriguing Western Conference matchup. For more NBA game previews, click here for Pistons at Hawks and here for Wizards at Magic. Enjoy.
[sc:NBAArticles ]New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
When: Tuesday, October 27, 2015, 10:30 PM ET
Line: New Orleans Pelicans (+9.5) vs. Golden State Warriors (-9.5) – view all NBA lines
Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans
[sc:NBA240banner ]Fresh off a 45-win season wherein they made the postseason for the first time in four years, the New Orleans Pelican have to feel better about a second-straight appearance for their 2015-2016 campaign. They have a solid, young roster that’s spearheaded by their renowned and much-improved superstar in Anthony Davis and a new head coach in Alvin Gentry.
However, the Pelicans will be in for a gruesome test in just their first game of the season. It will be against the defending champions at Oracle Arena. They’ve only managed to notch one victory in their past 10 meetings with the Warriors. Furthermore, they have six players currently injured and that includes their versatile guard in Tyreke Evans, who’ll be out for two months after undergoing surgery on his right knee.
With a depleted roster, the pressure will be on Davis to provide huge numbers in leading his team to victory. The 22-year-old power forward, who averaged 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and a league-leading 2.9 blocks in 2014, will surely receive the most attention on defense and attract double teams in the paint. If that’s the case, he’ll be forced to kick the ball out.
Fortunately, he has the pair of Eric Gordon and stretch-four Ryan Anderson to pass to. Gordon tallied 13.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contests, while shooting a sizzling 44.8% from beyond the arc last season. Anderson, meanwhile, knocked down a team-best 122 three-pointers in the same year and remains to be one of the best spot-up shooters in the league.
New Orleans is 4-3 in its last seven season-opening games.
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors
It’s hard to win an NBA championship but it’s definitely way harder to defend one. Nevertheless, the Golden State Warriors will try to do so and prove all the rest of their doubters that they can win it again this year. The long climb to the mountain begins later for the defending champions when the New Orleans Pelicans pay them a visit at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors are coming off a franchise-best 67-win season, during which they led the league in scoring (108.6 points per game), defensive efficiency and three-point shooting (39.3 percent). This was mostly thanks to their lethal backcourt duo of the reigning MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The two combined for 525 three-pointers made in 2014, the most ever by a pair of teammates in NBA history, and were named to 2014-15 All-NBA Teams (Curry was First Team while Thompson was Third Team).
But the two aren’t the only names that the Pelicans will have to worry about as there’s still the ever-reliable Draymond Green, the Finals MVP Andre Iguodala and the emerging Harrison Barnes to take note of. All three played key roles on offense and defense during their title run last season.
If there’s one thing, though, that the Warriors have to feel anxious about that would be the absence of their head coach Steve Kerr, who is still recovering from back surgery. Luke Walton has been assigned to take his place for the time being and will have a huge task on leading his team on opening night.
Walton successfully guided his team to a commanding 136-97 road win against the Lakers for their preseason finale on Thursday. Curry and Thompson looked like in mid-season form already during that game, garnering 24 points apiece. Barnes, meanwhile, added 23 points of his own on 9-of-12 shooting.
Expect the champs to carry this momentum into tonight’s matchup and also take advantage of the loud cheers of Oracle Arena to help them launch their title defense on a positive note.
Golden State has won its previous five regular-season home games against the Pelicans.
Writer’s Prediction
Warriors (-9.5) win, 110-98.
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