The injury-riddled Warriors and their home crowd are once again in for a long night. This time, they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers and the sweet-shooting backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, another team that’s chomping at the bit to help bury the Dubs.

What’s left of the Warriors?

With Klay Thompson (knee) out for possibly the whole season, Stephen Curry (wrist) for at least the next couple of months, and Draymond Green (finger) and D’Angelo Russell (ankle) both considered day-to-day, the Warriors basically paraded rookies and career journeymen in Sunday’s 93-87 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. They fell into a 1-5 record following the defeat.

Russell could return this Tuesday, and he’ll be tasked to carry the scoring load should he be available. He’s behind Curry in scoring at 19 PPG but with an ailing ankle and a 38.6% shooting clip on the season, they may not rush his return in what’s amounting to a lost season.

The young guys’ huge opportunity

Eric Paschall and Jordan Poole are two guys that could benefit the most from this tough Warriors stretch. Both rookies have been seeing heavy minutes, and Pashcall, in particular, is looking like a solid prospect. The former Villanova Wildcat is averaging 13.8 points on 61.1% shooting and will be fresh-off a career-high, 25-point performance.

The shaky Blazers

The 3-3 Blazers, as seen in their .500 record, can’t seem to establish a good pace. They had a pair of good victories last week and came up short of collecting a third one. This past Sunday, just as they were about to hand the Philadelphia 76ers their first loss of the season, one of Philly’s seldom-used players knocked down a game-winning three. Portland lost in a 129-128 thriller.

Nevertheless, there’s no good reason for the Blazers not to return to the win column against the hapless Warriors. Lillard (29.2 PPG) and McCollum (21.8 PPG) should be able to score in bunches and facilitate to the other guys. Expect Rodney Hood to be the third scorer and for the possibly returning Hassan Whiteside (knee) to control the action in the paint.

PREDICTION:

The Blazers win and bomb threes from everywhere. Lillard and McCollum will have a field day against the Warriors’ guards.