The Brooklyn Nets travel to the Pacific coast for a marquee matchup against the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant will not be playing this Sunday, but there’s no shortage of stars from either side. Read on for more about this game.
Catch this game live on Sunday, January 30, at 9:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Brooklyn Nets (29-19/17-6)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: James Harden
- SG: Kyrie Irving
- SF: Bruce Brown
- PF: Kessler Edwards
- C: LaMarcus Aldridge
The Nets are on a tailspin, having lost all of their last three games. The good news for them is that Kyrie Irving is set to join the team on the floor again after missing the last two games because of his unvaccinated status. Brooklyn lost to the Los Angeles Lakers last Wednesday (106-96) and to the Denver Nuggets (124-118) both at home, where Irving is not allowed to play for being unvaxxed against COVID-19. Irving’s presence will be a welcome sight for the Nets, particularly to James Harden, who needs help, with Kevin Durant (MCL) still out.
Harden, who also missed the Denver game due to hamstring troubles, is expected to play in the rematch against Golden State, which crushed the Nets at Barclays Center back in November, 117-99. In that contest, Harden put up 24 points, while Bruce Brown added 14 points. While Cam Thomas is not expected to start this Sunday, he could be a crucial contributor off the bench for the Nets following a 25-point performance against Denver. He could still be feeling it. The Nets are 13-10 ATS in road games, so far this season.
Home: Golden State Warriors (36-13/23-4)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Jonathan Kuminga
- C: Kevon Looney
Unlike the Nets, Golden State is having fun out there of late. The Warriors will enter Sunday’s meeting with Brooklyn on a four-game win streak – a stretch that included victories over the Dallas Mavericks (130-92) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (124-115) last Wednesday and Friday, respectively. The Warriors’ offense is peaking at the moment, as evidenced by the team’s exceptional shooting the past two games., during which Golden State shot 53.4 FG% and burned from deep for 48.1 3FG%.
Stephen Curry, who has struggled recently, appears to have recaptured his form, and that’s scary for the Nets. Curry finished with 29 points on 10/20 shooting from the field and 6/10 from deep in the win over the Nuggets. With Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins flanking Curry, the Warriors’ stretched-out attack could be too much again for Brooklyn’s defense that has become one of the worst this year, as the Nets are just 27th in the NBA this month with 118.0 points allowed per game. Golden State owns a 17-8-2 home ATS record this season.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: James Harden and Kyrie Irving put up big performances but Brooklyn’s leaky defense gets abused by Golden State. Looking at a Warriors cover here (-5.5).
Over/Under: Both teams have the big guns, but the Warriors’ defense could be the reason why the total goes Under (232.5) in this game.
