The Portland Trail Blazers visit the Golden State Warriors for a marquee matchup between two teams that have been winning in bunches of late. Which between these teams will come away with another victory this Saturday?
Catch this game live on Saturday, November 27, at 11 AM, Manila time.
Away: Portland Trail Blazers (10-9/1-8 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Damian Lillard
- SG: CJ McCollum
- SF: Norman Powell
- PF: Robert Covington
- C: Jusuf Nurkic
The Blazers will look to get back up from a 125-121 upset road loss to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. Portland was a roll, though, prior to that, winning four games in a row before getting tripped up by the Kings. The Blazers fell too much in love with the 3-point shot against the Kings, but shot just 31.6% from deep (12-38), with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum and Lillard combining for only four treys nailed on 18 attempts.
Nevertheless, the Blazers will live and die with their lethal guard combo. Lillard is leading the Blazers this season with 22.3 points per game, while McCollum is right behind him with 20.6 point. The presence of Norman Powell also gives Portland a third wheel, and he’s been playing that role quite nicely. The former Toronto Raptor is putting up 17.0 points per game while shooting 43.8 3FG%. As a team, the Blazers don’t turn the ball over that many times like the other squads. In fact, Portland is top 10 in the NBA with just 13.8 turnovers per contest, which sounds good for a team that is soon going to face one of the peskiest defenses in the NBA this year. The Blazers are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games.
Home: Golden State Warriors (16-2/10-1 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Jordan Poole
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
The Warriors are not waiting for Klay Thompson’s return to show that they are a legitimate title contender this season. Stephen Curry’s hot hands and a crippling defense are enough so far for Golden State to win a ton of games and remind the entire NBA that it’s a force to reckon with. The Warriors will arrive in Saturday’s meeting with Portland on a five-game win streak. They are fresh off an incredible 116-96 win at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, who looked as though they were given a headstart by Golden State before getting blown out in the second half.
Curry scored 25 points with six 3-pointers against Philly, who also committed 18 turnovers. It’s easy to overlook the Warriors’ opportunistic defense because of Curry’s hot hands, but this Golden State unit is allowing the least points per game (100.8) in the league, fewest points in the paint (39.7) per contest, while limiting opponents to the worst shooting percentage from the field (42.0). Moreover, the Warriors are 7-1-1 ATS in their last nine games after one full day of rest.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: It’s a good time to fade the public, considering the Blazers are coming off a loss and the Warriors are on a hot streak again. I’m going with the Blazers to cover (+7).
Over/Under: These are two top-five offenses in the league that will go at it, but I’m taking the Under (225.0).
