Game Thread GAME# 39: WARRIORS @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 8, 2016 - FRIDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), CSNNW

[Darkwebs]

2015-16 Regular Season Record
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
33 - 2
(16-2 Road)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
15 - 23
(8-8 Home)



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

PG

STEPHEN CURRY VS DAMIAN LILLARD

SG

KLAY THOMPSON VS C.J. McCOLLUM

SF

BRANDON RUSH VS AL-FAROUQ AMINU

PF

DRAYMOND GREEN VS NOAH VONLEH

C

ANDREW BOGUT VS MASON PLUMLEE


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WHEN: 7:00 PM (PST), FRIDAY, 1/8/2015​

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

RADIO BROADCAST:

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--------------BENCH--------------

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

CLARK , LIVINGSTON , IGUODALA , BARNES

McADOO , THOMPSON , SPIEGHTS , EZELI

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

FRAZIER , HENDERSON , CRABBE , HARKLESS

CONNAUGHTON , LEONARD , DAVIS , KAMAN

INJURIES
WARRIORS
James Michael McAdoo (sprained toe, left foot): DOUBTFUL.
Leandro Barbosa (left shoulder sprain): OUT.
TRAIL BLAZERS
NONE



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

LUKE WALTON--- TERRY STOTTS



OFFICIAL WARRIORS' GAME NOTES
OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

• Friday marks the first of four matchups between the Trail Blazers and Warriors in 2015-16.

• Golden State won all three of its games against Portland in 2014-15, marking its second season sweep over the Trail Blazers in the past three seasons (3-0 in 2012-13).

• The Warriors are 8-2 against the Trail Blazers over the past three seasons. During that stretch, the Warriors are 4-1 at the Moda Center.

• Damian Lillard averaged 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in three games against the Warriors last season. Lillard has scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games against Golden State.

• Warriors guard Stephen Curry has averaged 31.9 points in his past 10 games against the Trail Blazers. Curry has scored at least 30 points in fi ve of his past six games against Portland (two games with 40+ points).

• Four players in this game are ranked in the top-8 in the NBA in three-point field goals made. Stephen Curry (1st, 150 3PM) and Klay Thompson (2nd, 110) are first and second respectively, while CJ McCollum is ranked sixth (89 3PM) and Damian Lillard is seventh (88 3PM).

• Mason Plumlee and Draymond Green are two of three players in the NBA this season with at least 300+ points, 300+ rebounds and 100+ assists.

• The Warriors are fourth in the NBA in rebounding with an average of 46.8 boards, while the Trail Blazers are ranked fi fth in the league with 45.8 rebounds per game.

• Golden State is the top three-point shooting team in the NBA at 42.2%, while Portland has limited its opponents to a .349 shooting percentage from beyond the arc (15th in NBA).

• Portland hosted and defeated Golden State (118-101) in the preseason on Oct. 8. In that game Allen Crabbe scored 25 points, while Stephen Curry scored a game-high 30 points.

• Warriors guard Klay Thompson is the son of former Trail Blazer Mychal Thompson, who played seven years in Portland (1978-86) after being selected fi st overall in the 1978 NBA Draft.


• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 120-94
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 79-27
AT THE WARRIORS: Warriors lead, 67-41

​

 

[KingSpeed]

I cannot wait for this game so you guys can see what I'm talking about. We're Golden State's worst nightmare.

As for the poll, of course he can.

 

[riverman]

Go Good Guys!

 

[Scalma]

I think the team (specifically the backcourt) is going to bring their A game. Doubt it'll be enough but should be a fun one anyway.

 

[illmatic99]

How many times will Terry check the list?

 

[BBert]

How many times will Terry check the list?

I bet whoever does the paper work will check it about 100 times, have a panic attack wondering if its right when they hand it to the refs, then check it 100 more times in his sleep.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

In answer to the question, I said no, simply because it's so hard to win an NBA title, the odds are stacked against him leading us to one. I'll hold out hope, but I'm not betting on it.

 

[Tunchi]

Hopefully Dame has a great game win or lose.. He needs it

 

[BBert]

In answer to the question, I said no, simply because it's so hard to win an NBA title, the odds are stacked against him leading us to one. I'll hold out hope, but I'm not betting on it.

That's why I haven't answered the question. I think he's capable of it, but there is nothing saying the rest of the team will be when he is.

 

[KingSpeed]

Double digit win for Blazers tonight.

 

[Blazer509]

Let's just hope GS comes in like the Cavs did the other day.

 

[BBert]

Double digit win for Blazers tonight.

JinxSpeed! SMH

 

[Dan Marang]

Hopefully Dame has a great game win or lose.. He needs it

I remember Lillard having some rather spectacular games against GSW early on- so for some reason I attributed him to being individually successful vs the Warriors when in fact they are responsible for 2 of the worst games of his career

In case the link isn't working: http://bkref.com/pi/shareit/2bVL7

Lillard's career numbers vs GSW are really middle of the pack when looking at "by opponent" stats.

Meanwhile... Steph typically saves his best for Portland - as evidenced here ( http://statm.us/e/NkxEe5XKPg )

For a better look- here's breakdown of shot by location (dark blue and big means "stupid good"): (Interactive Link)

 

[KingSpeed]

Dame dropped a season high 38 points at Oracle during his rookie year. I was there. He was hitting from everywhere.

 

[Strenuus]

Dame dropped a season high 38 points at Oracle during his rookie year. I was there. He was hitting from everywhere.

*checks schedule*

Something is off.........................

 

[KingSpeed]

*checks schedule*

Something is off.........................

Sorry. 37 points. 15/25 shooting. Curry shot 7/22.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201301110GSW.html

 

[Tunchi]

I remember Lillard having some rather spectacular games against GSW early on- so for some reason I attributed him to being individually successful vs the Warriors when in fact they are responsible for 2 of the worst games of his career

In case the link isn't working: http://bkref.com/pi/shareit/2bVL7

Lillard's career numbers vs GSW are really middle of the pack when looking at "by opponent" stats.

Meanwhile... Steph typically saves his best for Portland - as evidenced here ( http://statm.us/e/NkxEe5XKPg )

For a better look- here's breakdown of shot by location (dark blue and big means "stupid good"): (Interactive Link)

How do you feel about Dame? I think he's slightly overrated right now whose starting to become more and more of a chucker. I have this argument on this site all the time, but what makes me love Lillard at the same time so much is his leadership, dedication and just plain loyalty he shows to this city and franchise.

But really he hasn't been quite efficient for my liking. I think CJ should be our main scorer since hes much better in the mid range and is plain more efficient than Dame. I think Dame should cut his attempts a little more and pick his spots better. Let CJ do the shooting since hes better at it and that way Dame can be more of an exclusive play maker while at the same time he can get better shots off..

Dame is shooting 41% from the field and 36% from 3. Draymond Green for example is shooting 41% from 3 this season. Al Fariq Aminu is shooting better from 3 than Dame is. Dame is shooting the exact same % as Nick Young (tied at 60th in the league). All of this is despite being 2nd in the league in 3pt attempts per game (6th in overall attempts despite having only played 31 games).

He is 101st in the league in FG%, despite the fact that he is shooting the most shots per game of anyone in the league.

Yes he is averaging almost 7 assists per game, but he is 50th in the league in AST/TO ratio, basically right with Mario Chalmers, Joe Johnson, and Evan Turner). Yes, Iso Joe has essentially the same AST/TO ratio as Damian.

Now FOR THE 100th TIME don’t get me wrong, I love Damian. But he is only having a good season in the sense that he is absolutely dominating the ball when he is on the court. I know, we need him to take those shots, we don’t have anyone else to set up the offense, etc. The point remains, this is not his best season despite what the numbers would lead you to believe. He is basically just an inefficient chucker right now, as much as it pains me to say it..

 

[KingSpeed]

How do you feel about Dame? I think he's slightly overrated right now whose starting to become more and more of a chucker. I have this argument on this site all the time, but what makes me love Lillard at the same time so much is his leadership, dedication and just plain loyalty he shows to this city and franchise.

But really he hasn't been quite efficient for my liking. I think CJ should be our main scorer since hes much better in the mid range and is plain more efficient than Dame. I think Dame should cut his attempts a little more and pick his spots better. Let CJ do the shooting since hes better at it and that way Dame can be more of an exclusive play maker while at the same time he can get better shots off..

Dame is shooting 41% from the field and 36% from 3. Draymond Green for example is shooting 41% from 3 this season. Al Fariq Aminu is shooting better from 3 than Dame is. Dame is shooting the exact same % as Nick Young (tied at 60th in the league). All of this is despite being 2nd in the league in 3pt attempts per game (6th in overall attempts despite having only played 31 games).

He is 101st in the league in FG%, despite the fact that he is shooting the most shots per game of anyone in the league.

Yes he is averaging almost 7 assists per game, but he is 50th in the league in AST/TO ratio, basically right with Mario Chalmers, Joe Johnson, and Evan Turner). Yes, Iso Joe has essentially the same AST/TO ratio as Damian.

Now FOR THE 100th TIME don’t get me wrong, I love Damian. But he is only having a good season in the sense that he is absolutely dominating the ball when he is on the court. I know, we need him to take those shots, we don’t have anyone else to set up the offense, etc. The point remains, this is not his best season despite what the numbers would lead you to believe. He is basically just an inefficient chucker right now, as much as it pains me to say it..

Jared Dudley shoots better than Steph Curry.

 

[Strenuus]

Sorry. 37 points. 15/25 shooting. Curry shot 7/22.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201301110GSW.html

Nooo... that wasnt it........

 

[Strenuus]

How do you feel about Dame? I think he's slightly overrated right now whose starting to become more and more of a chucker. I have this argument on this site all the time, but what makes me love Lillard at the same time so much is his leadership, dedication and just plain loyalty he shows to this city and franchise.

But really he hasn't been quite efficient for my liking. I think CJ should be our main scorer since hes much better in the mid range and is plain more efficient than Dame. I think Dame should cut his attempts a little more and pick his spots better. Let CJ do the shooting since hes better at it and that way Dame can be more of an exclusive play maker while at the same time he can get better shots off..

Dame is shooting 41% from the field and 36% from 3. Draymond Green for example is shooting 41% from 3 this season. Al Fariq Aminu is shooting better from 3 than Dame is. Dame is shooting the exact same % as Nick Young (tied at 60th in the league). All of this is despite being 2nd in the league in 3pt attempts per game (6th in overall attempts despite having only played 31 games).

He is 101st in the league in FG%, despite the fact that he is shooting the most shots per game of anyone in the league.

Yes he is averaging almost 7 assists per game, but he is 50th in the league in AST/TO ratio, basically right with Mario Chalmers, Joe Johnson, and Evan Turner). Yes, Iso Joe has essentially the same AST/TO ratio as Damian.

Now FOR THE 100th TIME don’t get me wrong, I love Damian. But he is only having a good season in the sense that he is absolutely dominating the ball when he is on the court. I know, we need him to take those shots, we don’t have anyone else to set up the offense, etc. The point remains, this is not his best season despite what the numbers would lead you to believe. He is basically just an inefficient chucker right now, as much as it pains me to say it..

Also, funny... Dame is on his way if it continues to have the highest assist rate of his career. (right now at 6.8, high is 6.5)

 

[Dan Marang]

How do you feel about Dame? I think he's slightly overrated right now whose starting to become more and more of a chucker. I have this argument on this site all the time, but what makes me love Lillard at the same time so much is his leadership, dedication and just plain loyalty he shows to this city and franchise.

But really he hasn't been quite efficient for my liking. I think CJ should be our main scorer since hes much better in the mid range and is plain more efficient than Dame. I think Dame should cut his attempts a little more and pick his spots better. Let CJ do the shooting since hes better at it and that way Dame can be more of an exclusive play maker while at the same time he can get better shots off..

Dame is shooting 41% from the field and 36% from 3. Draymond Green for example is shooting 41% from 3 this season. Al Fariq Aminu is shooting better from 3 than Dame is. Dame is shooting the exact same % as Nick Young (tied at 60th in the league). All of this is despite being 2nd in the league in 3pt attempts per game (6th in overall attempts despite having only played 31 games).

He is 101st in the league in FG%, despite the fact that he is shooting the most shots per game of anyone in the league.

Yes he is averaging almost 7 assists per game, but he is 50th in the league in AST/TO ratio, basically right with Mario Chalmers, Joe Johnson, and Evan Turner). Yes, Iso Joe has essentially the same AST/TO ratio as Damian.

Now FOR THE 100th TIME don’t get me wrong, I love Damian. But he is only having a good season in the sense that he is absolutely dominating the ball when he is on the court. I know, we need him to take those shots, we don’t have anyone else to set up the offense, etc. The point remains, this is not his best season despite what the numbers would lead you to believe. He is basically just an inefficient chucker right now, as much as it pains me to say it..

Let me preface this by saying I love Dame. There are things about him that are very difficult to quantify- however there are some things that are quantifiable that I really despise. Particularly his defense. But as far as a quantifiable assessment, I haven't really dove down that rabbit hole this year. While I want to truly call him an elite player- there are questions I have that I don't have the best answers for yet sooooo......

I'm going to dive a bit deeper into this season this weekend- particularly on Damian to see how it compares both in a historical context and who's comparable. I feel like at this point he is what he is- but how that relates to this current iteration of the Blazers is still debatable - and what his and CJ's roles are this season will more than likely be different than what they are in the coming years.

Just for arguments sake- CJ's numbers this year, as great as they are are nearly identical to Dame's soph campaign LINK TO COMPARISON so in the grand context of things I'm not ready to hand the offense over to CJ just yet. More than likely I'll end up posting something Sat/Sun- as it's own separate thread that will give a full synopsis of the Dame/CJ dynamic.

 

[KingSpeed]

Dame made some great defensive plays in our last game.

 

[KingSpeed]

The butt kicking starts in an hour.

 

[Sinobas]

This could be a fun game...our games don't mean much, but beating the Warriors would be like our championship!

 

[Sinobas]

Dame and CJ really have to be on tonight!

 

[Chris Craig]

 

[EGame]

CJ gonna drop 60+ after that fuckup last game.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Whew...

 

[Sinobas]

That would be funny if we eeked into the playoffs as the 8th seed and beat the Warriors in the 1st round.

 

[EGame]

Whew...

Can we put Stotts as inactive?