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Warriors -6.5 (-110), 2 units: Perception is a funny thing, isn’t it? At best, it gives you a clear purview of a current scenario or situation. At worst, perception can muddle, confuse, and downright deter you from objective realities that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Insert the Blazers vs. the Warriors Thursday night.
How do I say this in a way we can all understand… the Blazers are a shitty basketball team, and the Warriors are not. How’s that? Steph Curry is coming off a remarkable performance at the All-Star game, record-breaking actually, dropping 16 three-pointers throughout the contest. Momentum is a thing in the NBA, probably more so than most other sports; assume Curry “the sniper” enters Thursday’s contest as confident as ever.
And that’s not a good thing for Portland. Portland is one of the worst teams in the NBA at defending the 3-ball, allowing 37.2% to their opponents, which is 29th (out of 30 teams) in the association. Klay Thompson cooled off before the break but I wouldn’t be shocked if he let it rip from beyond the arc in this matchup, too. PS: Golden State has been top 5 in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made all season. Needless to say, if the Warriors get in a rhythm from the perimeter, this could get ugly.
On the flip side, the Blazers experienced some improvement over the last month or so. After trading CJ McCollum and with Damian Lillard likely on the outs, the Blazers now feel like Anfernee Simons’ team. The young-gun has talent, no doubt, but carrying this version of the Blazers will be no easy task. Portland probably has the advantage down low in Jusef Nurkic; if they can feed it to him and run the pick and roll effectively, there’s a shot they cover this line. Obviously, I’m betting against that. The Warriors handled Portland with ease twice already this season. Golden State is also due for positive regression on both offense and defense, while the Blazers are due to devolve in both categories. The coaching, talent, and depth just isn’t there for Portland.
The Warriors lost 4 out of their last 5 games before the break, while the Blazers won 4 straight during the same span. Neither of those trends will continue. I have the Warriors at -9 in this contest; bet Golden State!
