Tonight at 6:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers take on the young and fiery Golden State Warriors. The Trail Blazers return home after a surprising loss in Sacramento on Friday. One of the up and coming teams in the West, the Kings broke away from the Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter to hand the Trail Blazers their first loss of the season. Catch tonight’s game on CSNNW or Rip City Radio (620 AM) to see if the Trail Blazers can give the Warriors their first in the loss column.
Fresh off a home victory against the lowly Lakers (love the sound of that!) last night, the Warriors come to Portland for the second half of a back-to-back. Thompson had a very happy Halloween. The fourth year player from Washington State signed a four year, $70 million extension with the Warriors Friday. It didn’t take him long to prove that he was worth the money and the roster spot. Against the Lakers, Thompson posted a career-high 41 points on 14-18 shooting. The other half of the Splash Brothers has had great success when visiting the Trail Blazers. Curry has played six lifetime games in Portland in which he is averaged 29.7 points. In the last three meetings against the Trail Blazers, Curry has averaged 40.7 points.
How will the Trail Blazers respond to their first loss of the season? They are no longer a quiet threat after last season’s tremendous play. Teams know who they are and what they are capable of. I expect the Trail Blazers to come out with a winning game plan. Lillard will have to counter the play of Curry. So far this season, Lillard hasn’t had an explosive performance. He had 10 points in the opener against Oklahoma City and 20 points Friday in Sacramento. I can live with low point production but Lillard has yet to shoot over 30 percent from the field. That needs to change tonight.
I was all in on the Chris Kaman signing and, so far, he has proved valuable. He has scored 12 points in each of the first two games and played an average of 21 minutes. He provides a huge offensive boost off a Trail Blazers bench that was last in scoring a season ago. The Warriors also added some depth in the offseason with the additions of Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa. Livingston’s impact has not yet been felt but Barbosa has added some quality play at the point guard position. He scored nine points in 17 minutes last night and will probably receive a bulk of the back-up point guard position tonight.
The game will be determined by two factors:
1. Can the Trail Blazers contain the Splash Brothers? Curry has torched the Trail Blazers on their home court and Thompson is coming off a career night. Lillard and Matthews will have to prove that they have improved their defense. Batum could see some action against Thompson if Matthews struggles early.
2. Who wins on the boards? Aldridge and Lopez will need to keep Green and Bogut off the offensive boards. The Kings had 14 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Trail Blazers 49-38. The Warriors have averaged 43.5 rebounds through the first two games while the Trail Blazers have averaged 40 rebounds. I believe there must be more emphasis on the inside game for the Trail Blazers going forward. Last season, Lopez was a monster on the offensive glass which created multiple opportunities for the Trail Blazers on many possessions. In a game full of offense, the small things such as rebounding might play a big factor in who wins the game.