Game Thread GAME# 34: WARRIORS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 3, 2021 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM, ESPN & NBCSNW

[Darkwebs]

2020-21 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
19 - 16
(7-10 Road)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
19 - 14
(9-6 Home)

______________________________
---------PROBABLE STARTERS---------

PG

STEPHEN CURRY VS DAMIAN LILLARD

SG

KELLY OUBRE Jr. VS GARY TRENT Jr.

SF

ANDREW WIGGINS VS DERRICK JONES Jr.

PF

DRAYMOND GREEN VS ROBERT COVINGTON

C

KEVON LOONEY VS ENES KANTER

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------- JERSEYS -------

---

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WHEN: 7:00 PM (PST), WEDNESDAY, 3/3/2021

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

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-------------- RESERVES --------------

-- GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS --

MANNION , WANAMAKER , MULDER

POOLE , LEE

BAZEMORE , TOSCANO-ANDERSON

PASCHALL , WISEMAN , SMAILAGIC


---- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ----

SIMONS , BLEVINS

ELLEBY , LITTLE , HOOD

ANTHONY , GILES



INJURIES
WARRIORS
Marquese Chriss (right ankle surgery): OUT
Klay Thompson (right Achilles tendon): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Harry Giles (left calf strain): QUESTIONABLE
C.J. McCollum (left foot fracture): OUT
Jusuf Nurkic (right wrist fracture): OUT
Zach Collins (left ankle stress fracture): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

STEVE KERR --- TERRY STOTTS



OFFICIAL WARRIORS' GAME NOTES
OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

• Portland's March 3 game against Golden State will be the third and final meeting between the Trail Blazers and Warriors during the 2020-21 season. The season series is tied, 1-1.

• LAST MEETING: Portland and Golden State played back-to-back games on Jan. 1 and 3. The Warriors came out on top in the most recent matchup, 137-122. Damian Lillard led Portland with 32 points (10-24 FG, 6-15 3-PT, 6-7 FT), four rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes, while Stephen Curry led Golden State with a carerhigh 62 points (18-31 FG, 8-16 3-PT, 18-19 FT), five rebounds and four assists.

• Enes Kanter added a season-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field (8-10 FT), to go with 12 rebounds, one assist and one steal.

• Stephen Curry not only recorded a career-high in scoring on Jan. 3, but his 18 FTM were also a career-best.

• Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists on Jan. 3.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 128-106
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 85-31
GOLDEN STATE HOME: Warriors lead, 75-43

 

[Darkwebs]

With the win against the Hornets, the Blazers finally got back into the winning column after losing 4 in a row.

This is the penultimate game before the All-Star break, so I wanna see the Blazers come out with an extra pep in their step. Even without the impending vacation, I would think the Blazers have enough internal drive to come out with some fire, facing a conference foe, and a sort-of-rival these past several seasons.

Moreover, this is the last of 4 consecutive Blazers game that have been nationally televised. Can't have an embarrassing letdown here.

This will be a good test to see if the Blazers are actually back on track: to go from playing an injured sub-500 team of the East to playing a legitimate playoff team in the West.

And if the Blazers can win these 2 remaining games before the break, they can end the first half of the season on a 3 game win streak, which would give the Portland players and fans some good feelings to dwell on during the week off.

Alright, enough yappin', let's make this happen!

 

[kjironman1]

Blazers get another day off at home. Need a good game on Wednesday. This is a winnable game.

 

[kjironman1]

One note about this game.
The Warriors last played the Lakers Sunday night and got creamed. They will have two full days rest and are playing the Blazers on the first of a road B2B. They play the Suns on Thursday in Phoenix. You can bet they want to get this win.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

I wouldn’t consider GSW a legitimate playoff team. Right now, they’re a play-in team and I don’t see that changing esp since we get CJ back and they don’t get Klay back.

 

[Jon]

lets try to hold Curry to less than 40 this time.

 

[Strenuus]

Great poll question. I actually had to think about it.

My main takeaway on why I slightly favored Lillard is I think we have the better players at the 2 and the 5. Trent and Kanter help this team, and since we were excluding injured players... I value them higher than oubre and looney.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I would say the current starting lineups are about the same.
The Warriors seem to have the X factor off the bench though with Mulder.

 

[illmatic99]

This is our last game against GS in the regular season. 1-1 in the season series so far. We gotta get this to get the tiebreaker wrapped up.

It doesn't get mentioned at all in any of our broadcasts or in the mediasphere, but i can't keep stressing how important it is to be in the top 6 in the standings at the end. Cannot afford to get into the play-in if we want to advance in the playoffs. However, wee keep dropping these in-division and in-conference games that can really come back to bite us in the ass. We currently have the worst conference and division records in the top 8, and with how close the west will end up, these are games we might look back on and kick ourselves.

Hope the guys get the impact of this game and the coaches bring it up.

 

[illmatic99]

lets try to hold Curry to less than 40 this time.

I wonder if Terry even thinks about doubling him this time around. God that was one of the most stubborn coaching decisions this season when he kept showing Curry the same defense every possession and got cooked for 60.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I wonder if Terry even thinks about doubling him this time around. God that was one of the most stubborn coaching decisions this season when he kept showing Curry the same defense every possession and got cooked for 60.

I am not sure I would double him until the 4th quarter.

 

[illmatic99]

I am not sure I would double him until the 4th quarter.

game will be over long before then if we dont

 

[Pinwheel1]

game will be over long before then if we dont

Well, I suppose if he starts to go off then you try something different. (Doubling him) But the flip side is when you double someone 30 feet from the basket you are leaving someone else wide open....and Curry is a good passer out of the trap. And you know he will still draw the fouls even when doubled. (Whether they are legit or not)

Not sure I want other players getting into a rhythm either. I would start off with Jones on him and Covington on Wiggins, Trent on Oubre. This means Dame will have to guard Draymond.

Wiseman will be a problem against the 2nd team center, whoever that is.

 

[HolyBackboard]

I'm not sure doubling Curry is the cure here. Due to how well he moves off the ball, doubling could lead to even more communication break downs on the defense. The key is communication however. He's always moving on offense, with and without the ball. Off-ball is where he's so lethal, so it'll be important for Portland to talk on defense and understand their assignments and strategies defending Steph. On-ball, I wouldn't blitz situational blitzes, although please do not utilize this strategy with Kanter! We saw Brad Beal dribble right past Enes when he went out to blitz last week.

Overall, try to force the ball out of his hands and see if their role players can consistently hit from the perimeter. If he is shooting, make sure it's a contested look without fouling. And limit the wide-open looks he gets in transition as well as from defensive breakdown when he's moving off screens.

 

[Darkwebs]

I would say the current starting lineups are about the same.
The Warriors seem to have the X factor off the bench though with Mulder.

 

[Zach Collins Enthusiast]

Put Lillard on Curry on defense - that's the way to win it.

 

[stampedehero]

Golden State at Portland | 2021-03-03 | National Basketball Association | Yahoo! Sports

 

[illmatic99]

Put Lillard on Curry on defense - that's the way to win it.

Have you seen the way Dame has been defending the last ten games or so? We'd get massacred. It's clear Dame is battling a bunch of nagging injuries and is saving his energy for offense. Can't really blame him either. Neil's refusal to sign players even without tax implications is taking a toll on Dame's wear and tear.

 

[kjironman1]

Put Lillard on Curry on defense - that's the way to win it.

You forgot the GREEN.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Have you seen the way Dame has been defending the last ten games or so? We'd get massacred. It's clear Dame is battling a bunch of nagging injuries and is saving his energy for offense. Can't really blame him either. Neil's refusal to sign players even without tax implications is taking a toll on Dame's wear and tear.

I agree Neil should have another PG on the roster in case of an injury to Dame, but I doubt that player would be good enough to help cut down on the minutes that Dame plays. I am told that CJ is a duplication of Dame, I wonder if we are seeing the effects of Dame carrying the load by himself.

 

[wizenheimer]

I agree Neil should have another PG on the roster in case of an injury to Dame, but I doubt that player would be good enough to help cut down on the minutes that Dame plays. I am told that CJ is a duplication of Dame, I wonder if we are seeing the effects of Dame carrying the load by himself.

maybe, but I'd need to know what injuries are nagging him. A bad ankle can happen at anytime

this was posted in the last game thread:



that's for the full season so far, including the 12 games of Nurkic and 12.5 games of CJ. It might be that Dame feels lots of pressure, knowing that if he doesn't produce elite offense for the team and himself, the Blazers go nowhere, regardless of health

 

[wizenheimer]

this is how to defend Curry:

 

[illmatic99]

I'm a strong advocate for maintaining good mental health in the workplace. Quick addresses it a bit with what Dame has been dealing with behind the scenes. We saw his posts on IG but this kinda stuff wears on you. We've all been dealing with this the past year to some extent. Makes what Dame is doing on the court that much more impressive.

https://theathletic.com/2424011/2021/03/03/portland-trailblazers-damian-lillard/

 

[crandc]

Major article on Dame in today's SF Chronicle

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...rd-got-people-discussing-whether-15995721.phphttps://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...rd-got-people-discussing-whether-15995721.php

 

[e_blazer]

Major article on Dame in today's SF Chronicle

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...rd-got-people-discussing-whether-15995721.phphttps://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...rd-got-people-discussing-whether-15995721.php

I'd love to read the article, but not enough to sign up for a subscription. Care to give us a brief synopsis of the high points?

 

[Chris Craig]

 

[crandc]

Didn't realize you need subscription. I get the paper so I'm covered.

For well more than half a decade, Portland guard Damian Lillard often heard some variation of the same reaction whenever he delivered a dazzling performance: “You’re just like Steph!”

This was intended as a compliment, given that Warriors guard Stephen Curry is a generational player who spearheaded a dynasty. But Lillard, like almost all great players, is supremely self-confident. To him, the suggestion that he is similar to Curry is akin to saying that Lillard is a knockoff version.

Lillard has emerged as a legitimate candidate for MVP. Few doubt that his per-game averages of 29.6 points on 44.5% shooting (38% from 3-point range), 8.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds are at least deserving of consideration for the league’s top individual honor.

But what solidifies his case is that, with CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined by injury, Lillard has propelled a flawed roster to a virtual tie for fifth place in a crowded Western Conference. No player in the league is more effective in crunch time than Lillard.

According to NBA.com, he enters Wednesday night’s nationally televised matchup against the Warriors at Moda Center having scored 82 points on 60% shooting (55.6% from 3-point range) this season in 62 “clutch” minutes — situations in which the game is within five points over the last five minutes. Such numbers are no surprise to Golden State, which has become well-acquainted in recent years with what’s known as “Dame Time.”

Therein lies perhaps the most compelling part of the latest phase of the Curry-Lillard rivalry. For the first time in his career, Curry is trying to do something on which Lillard has built a Hall of Fame resume: helping middling rosters overachieve.

On multiple occasions in recent years, Portland was expected to drop off, only for Lillard to lead it back to the postseason. This is why he should be granted some leniency for struggling at times against elite defenses in the playoffs.

Each time Lillard steps on the floor in the regular season, he knows the Trail Blazers likely need a big outing from him to win. In the spring, the time of the year the NBA’s heavyweights have eyed for months, Lillard can look exhausted against a wave of traps. It’s no mystery how the Warriors went a combined 12-1 — one five-game series and two sweeps — against Portland in the playoffs during their recent dynasty.

Curry doesn’t figure to hear, “You’re just like Dame!” anytime soon, which is a credit to the career he has put together. But it’s clear that, if nothing else, Lillard has narrowed the gap behind Curry for the title of the league’s top point guard.

The winner: the viewing public.

“That talent always brings the best of of you,” Curry said of the Lillard matchup. “We love those kinds of environments, and the opportunity to go back and forth.

“It’s always a good vibe when you go against someone who plays at such high a level.”

 

[Zach Collins Enthusiast]

Have you seen the way Dame has been defending the last ten games or so? We'd get massacred. It's clear Dame is battling a bunch of nagging injuries and is saving his energy for offense. Can't really blame him either. Neil's refusal to sign players even without tax implications is taking a toll on Dame's wear and tear.

Dame is much better when guarding on the ball and he has 4 players helping him out whereas if he plays off the ball on defense, he never help defends and his side of the floor is wide open for opposing players to penetrate to the basket.
Bottom line: if Dame is on Curry we have a better chance of containing the Warriors as a team

 

[Pinwheel1]

this is how to defend Curry:

Looks like the Knicks vs the Pistons in the late 80's

 

[BonesJones]

Cant wait for drop scheme against Curry.