Portland Trail Blazers vs. Golden State Warriors: Injury report, preview, and how to watch

It’s been a steep fall for both the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors since their 2019 West Finals series. Both will look to keep their momentum going during this New Year’s Day game.

Despite neither team entering with a winning record, there’s bound to be some intrigue when the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors do battle on New Year’s Day.

Both organizations should have some excitement about putting a bow on a disappointing 2020, especially given how it pales in comparison to what they did in the year prior. Tomorrow’s game marks the first since since the spring of 2019 in which Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry will share the floor together.

Beyond that, both will be looking to iron out some inconsistencies over the young 2020-21 season. Portland comes in reeling after a 128-105 humbling against the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors will be seeking a three-game winning streak after losing their first two.

As the old adage goes, the NBA is a make-or-miss league. Portland will be running into the Warriors at a time where they’ve begun to make.

Kelly Oubre Jr., for one, opened the season by historically going 0-of-31 on shots outside of dunks, but finally looks to be rounding into form with a strong outing against Detroit. As is Andrew Wiggins, who appears to be warming after starting the year 10-of-34.

Paired with their coming into form and Draymond Green’s potential return, the Portland Trail Blazers could get a tougher challenge than anticipated. They’ve struggled to defend the 3-point line, which thankfully isn’t a strength for this team beyond Curry.

Still, the Blazers will need to be locked in from the jump. Last season, they had little trouble rising to the challenge, particularly Lillard, who averaged 43.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game on 49-44-94 percentage splits.

The Curry-Lillard potential duel will be what excites fans about this game most; it will be their 21st head-to-head duel in the regular season. Beyond that, here’s else should be known about the game.

How to follow the action:

— Date: Friday, January 1st
— Time: 7:00 pm PT
— How to watch: NBATV, or FuboTV
— How to listen: NBA League Pass Radio or Rip City Radio 620 AM

Injury report, per CBS Sports

— (POR) Nassir Little, protocol (expected to be out until Jan. 1)
— (POR) Zach Collins, ankle (out indefinitely)
— (GSW) Marquese Chriss, leg (out for season)
— (GSW) Draymond Green, foot (game time decision)
— (GSW) Alen Smailagic, knee (game time decision)
— (GSW) Klay Thompson, Achilles (out for season)

Projected starters:

— POR — Damian Lillard (G), CJ McCollum (G), Derrick Jones Jr., (F), Robert Covington (F), Jusuf Nurkic (C)
— GSW — Stephen Curry (G), Juan Toscano-Anderson (G), Kelly Oubre (F), Andrew Wiggins (F), James Wiseman (C)