There will not be a Stephen Curry-Damian Lillard shootout this Thursday when the Golden State Warriors visit the Portland Trail Blazers, but that shouldn’t make this matchup much less exciting. Will the Warriors get a rare win on the road? Or, will the Blazers give Golden State an L?

Catch this game live on Thursday, February 9, at 11 AM, Manila time

Away: Golden State Warriors (28-26/7-20 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Jordan Poole
  • SG: Klay Thompson
  • SF: Andrew Wiggins
  • PF: Draymond Green
  • C: Kevon Looney

Playing in their first game without Stephen Curry after the two-time league MVP suffered an injury that will sideline him for multiple weeks, the Warriors managed to take care of business. With Klay Thompson shooting the lights out, the Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder at home last Tuesday, 141-114. 

The Warriors will have to hope that Thompson’s hands are still on fire when they take on Portland. Thompson emptied the clip on the Thunder, scoring 42 points with 12 3-pointers. Even without Curry, the Warriors have enough firepower to thwart the Blazers.  Curry was also not around when the Warriors beat Portland at home back in December, 118-112.  Jordan Poole and Thompson carried the Warriors in that game, scoring 41 and 31 points, respectively, while also combining for 12 of Golden State’s 17 treys. 

Speaking of which, the Warriors are fifth in the NBA with a 38.4 3FG%.

Home: Portland Trail Blazers (26-28/14-12 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Damian Lillard
  • SG: Anfernee Simons
  • SF: Josh Hart
  • PF: Jerami Grant
  • C: Drew Eubanks

After winning three games in a row, the Blazers are now looking their way out of a two-game losing skid. They followed up their 129-121 loss in Windy City to the Chicago Bulls last Sunday with a 127-108 defeat at home on Tuesday at the hands of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Portland sorely missed injured big man Jusuf Nurkic against the Bucks, especially because the Blazers got massively outrebounded, 55-28. 

The Blazers should fare better on the glass this time around versus the Warriors who, unlike the Bucks, are not a top-five rebounding team this season. Portland even grabbed more rebounds than Golden State in the first meeting, 49-46. Damian Lillard, who gutted out 28 points in the Bucks game fired 34 points in the December loss to Golden State. The Warriors are so bad against the spread when they’re not playing at home. 

In fact, they are just 8-18 ATS on the road this season. Conversely, the Blazers are 14-12 ATS at home.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Blazers (-3) cover the spread. 

Over/Under: The total (235.0) hits the Over.