Game Thread GAME# 66: BLAZERS @ WARRIORS - MARCH 11, 2016 - FRIDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), CSNNW

[Darkwebs]

VS

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
34 - 31
(14-19 Road)
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
57 - 6
(28-0 Home)






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WHEN: 7:30 PM, FRIDAY, 3/11/2016

WHERE: ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA

TV BROADCAST:

RADIO BROADCAST:

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--------------BENCH--------------
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

ROBERTS , HENDERSON , CRABBE , CONNAUGHTON

HARKLESS , LEONARD, DAVIS , KAMAN

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

CLARK , LIVINGSTON , BARBOSA , RUSH

IGUODALA , McADOO , SPEIGHTS , VAREJAO

INJURIES
TRAIL BLAZERS
NONE
WARRIORS
Festus Ezeli (left knee surgery): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

TERRY STOTTS --- STEVE KERR



WARRIORS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES
BLAZERS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES ​

• Friday marks the third of four regular season matchups between the Trail Blazers and Warriors in 2015-16. It’s the first of two contests at ORACLE Arena.

• Portland and Golden State have split the season series thus far (1-1), with the Trail Blazers winning the most recent matchup (137-105) on Feb. 19.

• Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Portland owns a 5-17 record on the road against Golden State.

• Portland’s 32-point victory against Golden State on Feb. 19 represents the Warriors’ largest margin of defeat since a 39-point loss to Denver (4/9/12).

• Damian Lillard scored a career-high 51 points on 18-of-28 shooting (9-12 3-PT) against Golden State (2/19). Lillard tied franchise records for points scored in a single half (32, second half) and made three-point fi eld goals in a single game (9, career-high).

• Damian Lillard has scored at least 20 points in four consecutive games against Golden State (averaging 35.0 points in that span).

• In two games against the Warriors this season, Damian Lillard has averaged 45.5 points on 54.5% shooting (15-27 3-PT) and 8.5 assists.

• In two matchups this season, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have combined to score 129 points (64.5 ppg), while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have combined to score 116 points (58.0 ppg).

• Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum and Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson are the only two pairs of teammates in the NBA this season to currently both rank in the top-10 in three-point field goals made.

• Stephen Curry has scored at least 20 points in nine consecutive games against the Trail Blazers (33.3 ppg), and has made at least four three-point field goals in four straight contests vs. Portland.

• Warriors head coach Steve Kerr played for the Trail Blazers during the 2001-02 season.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 121-95
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 80-28
AT THE WARRIORS: Warriors lead, 67-41

 

[kjironman1]

Yes i see the Warriors losing a home game but not until they have locked up the #1 seed and the best record in the NBA. Then they will be subject to a loss.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a few predictions about the game tonight. First off my gut feeling is that the Warriors will be taking this game seriously. I also feel the Blazers will be taking this one very seriously also. This should be a great game to watch for all involved. I feel the Blazers will come out very strong and try to take control early. The real important thing is to be in the game at the end on the road right? If the Blazers can keep it close for 3 quarters anything can happen. If they are close with 4 mins left then they can get this game.

I think you will see a totally different type of game plan from the Warriors tonight. Last game you only saw Bogut for about 14 mins and the warriors allowed the Blazers to play small. The combination of five players in double figures and two more for the Blazers with 9 points and one of the Blazers starters getting 51 was way too much for any team to deal with. I suspect you will see a very different game. The Technical call on Green won't be called as readily and i would expect they use the same double scheme that both Boston and the Raptors used on Dame. Needless to say they will not be willing to give up 50+ points tonight.
The Warriors also now have Anderson Verejao who along with Bogut will get some minutes that the Blazers will have to counter. Last game you saw very little Meyers Leonard. Only mop up for about 4 mins. You also only watched Plumlee for about 20 mins. Vonleh and Harkless with a heavy dose of Henderson and Aminu was the winning combo. Needless to say Henderson and Crabbe need to step up again as well as Aminu. Stotts will have to counter what ever Kerr decides to go with. At this point i don't see a matchup problem because the Blazers have an answer for everything they got.

Tonight i see a good game that the Blazers absolutely can win. They have to play defense like they were two weeks ago however. That means they need solid games from the guys not named Lillard. If they can do that then the Blazers will be in this game. However....If Curry and Thompson are hitting everything and this game goes south early i personally go all rest mode and pull Lillard, CJ, Aminu and Plumlee. Rest the guys that they need to get a win tomorrow. The big picture is that this game is not that important really. They need to get the games they are supposed to win. Tomorrow is one of those game and reality speaks volumes here.
Possible changes and adjustments make this game very different. I suspect you will see Meyers at the 5 again and some more Davis when Anderson V is in there. Ed Davis is my Pick tonight. Yes i know Lillard and CJ are going to score but the little things are what will make or break this game. Ed Davis could very well be the difference in this game. I have a second pick also. That guy is Henderson. They need his defense.

Go Blazers!
Kjironman is a fan!!!

 

[Strenuus]

I hate 7:30 tips... It's already long enough to wait until 7... regardless, super excited for this game! Really want the win.

 

[illmatic99]

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...mparisons.html#incart_river_mobileshort_index

Since when did getting compared to a transcendent MVP become a bad thing?

 

[Tunchi]

I don't think we have much of a shot tonight. The Warriors are undefeated at home and our last few games on the road ended in L’s. Dame might drop 40 but we lose by 15.

115-100 Warriors

PS I had them losing by 22 the other day but didnt realize GS played last night so I adjusted it

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Golden State is pretty good, and that's why I predicted we'd only win by 22.

 

[BBert]

I think the Warriors will come out fired up and try to blow us out. Ideally that will cause them to shoot their load early and we will come back and get within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Then the refs will wake up and it will be game over.

I still say we should rest our guys Popovich style and let GS lose interest playing against our backups.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think the Warriors will come out fired up and try to blow us out. Ideally that will cause them to shoot their load early and we will come back and get within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Then the refs will wake up and it will be game over.
.

This is my prediction as well. I almost would hate to see us get out to a big lead early because you know GS (like most good teams) would make a big run, and then their crowd would be in a frenzy. I think we have a better chance staying within 8-10 for most of the game and then hoping Dame catches fire in the 4th.

 

[dreamcloud]

I don't think we have much of a shot tonight. The Warriors are undefeated at home and our last few games on the road ended in L’s. Dame might drop 40 but we lose by 15.

115-100 Warriors

PS I had them losing by 22 the other day but didnt realize GS played last night so I adjusted it

GSW didn't play last night by the way, they last played on Wednesday

 

[Draco]

I hate 7:30 tips... It's already long enough to wait until 7... regardless, super excited for this game! Really want the win.

Add two hours here; sucks so much with west coast sports.

Only cool part is if your out late at bars there's always games going on.

 

[Draco]

I think the Warriors will come out fired up and try to blow us out. Ideally that will cause them to shoot their load early and we will come back and get within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Then the refs will wake up and it will be game over.

I still say we should rest our guys Popovich style and let GS lose interest playing against our backups.

Yeah we'll see; sometimes trying too hard can be bad as well because you try to do too much. It's a fine line having enough energy to get hustle plays but not make mistakes. If you believe they weren't trying hard in the loss to us that rational makes sense. I think they tried they're hardest in that game as evident by their great first quarter we just played even better.

Go Blazers!

 

[PtldPlatypus]

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...mparisons.html#incart_river_mobileshort_index

Since when did getting compared to a transcendent MVP become a bad thing?

The comparison made it sound as though what was amazing from Dame would be just routine from Steph. It detracts from an outstanding performance, because it serves to highlight his perceived inferiority to the other guy.

 

[Draco]

There were some betting projections that give us nearly a 20% chance to win which surprised me. I spent some time looking at more of the numbers; even though Golden State has this streak we have a better chance than many here assume.

How many opponents were on the second of a back to back or traveling on a long trip from the East coast during this Warriors home win streak? How often was the opponent more fatigued or injured? I'd guess the vast majority of their wins. We have two full days rest while they only have one; that's rare as well.

Go Blazers!

 

[illmatic99]

The comparison made it sound as though what was amazing from Dame would be just routine from Steph. It detracts from an outstanding performance, because it serves to highlight his perceived inferiority to the other guy.

It's not perceived. Dame himself calls Steph the best PG in the NBA. That's the first thing he said in his postgame interview after dropping 51 on him.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

It's not perceived. Dame himself calls Steph the best PG in the NBA. That's the first thing he said in his postgame interview after dropping 51 on him.

OK...that doesn't mean that he is going to be OK with having every accomplishment painted in the light of "That's almost as good as this other guy who's better than you." Especially when the comments say that Dame is impersonating the other guy (as was said about the Indiana game). I can completely understand why he would be offended by comments like that.

 

[Sinobas]

The Blazers should play their 3rd stringers, just to avoid letting GS have an opportunity for revenge. And if GS pulls their starters, we put ours in, and keep fucking with them the whole night.

 

[Draco]

The Blazers should play their 3rd stringers, just to avoid letting GS have an opportunity for revenge. And if GS pulls their starters, we put ours in, and keep fucking with them the whole night.

Great idea; we can keep playing the 3rd stringers the entire rest of the season to fuck with the 9th seed. When we miss the playoffs that'll show them!

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I had a dream about the game last night, but all I remember from it is that we were up 45 to 2 after the first quarter.

 

[Natebishop3]

 

[Spud147]

I feel the same way I feel now before the last game against the warriors. Like I'm watching a horror movie through my fingers... Maybe that's a good sign.

 

[BBert]

ROFL!!

 

[Orion Bailey]

Weird. First time to this thread, but not able to vote. Only see the results... but my answer is Yes nonetheless.... in about 4 hours, this will be confirmed.

 

[KingSpeed]

Go Blazers

 

[Jade Falcon]

Let's go Blazers! This is going to be a brutal game; let's hope we're on the ball tonight.

 

[Strenuus]

Go Blazers

lol, "authentic fan" those signs say...

 

[Jade Falcon]

lol, "authentic fan" those signs say...

LMAO, you noticed that too? It's like they're desperate to distance themselves from the "bandwagon" claim.

People like my father ain't no bandwagon. He's been a life-long GS fan since the early 70's.

 

[Sinobas]

Hi, my name is Noah Vonleh, and I've only made one jump shot the entire season.

 

[kingslayer]

Gotta love those illegal Warrior picks

 

[EGame]

this is going to be ugly isnt it.

 

[kingslayer]

Lol can you tell Klay was butthurt