by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Nov 26, 2021
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
Where to watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, ROOT Sports
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Warriors -6.5
BetMGM: Warriors -6.5
Caesars: Warriors -6.5
Season record
Trail Blazers: 10-9
Warriors: 16-2
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Blazers - Warriors preview and analysis
Recent form
Blazers: lost 125-121 at Kings on Wednesday
Warriors: won five straight; won 116-96 vs. 76ers on Wednesday
The Golden State Warriors just won't stop winning.
I don't know if it's really sunk in that the Warriors are this good again given that Klay Thompson hasn't returned yet, but with No. 11 on the horizon and the Warriors boasting the best record in the league like it's 2017 all over again, things are about to get wild in the Bay Area.
Golden State will look for its sixth straight win on Friday when they host the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center.
Holding a league-best 16-2 record and a 10-1 mark at home, the Warriors are coming off a 20-point victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, but if you watch that first half you wouldn't believe the Warriors had won by 20.
Golden State trailed by nine at halftime, outscored the Sixers by 11 in the third, and demolished them 30-12 in the fourth quarter. Steph Curry had a team-high 25 points and led six Warriors in double figures. Andrew Wiggins had 19 points and six rebounds, and Jordan Poole chipped in with 17.
"We were on our heels most of the entire first 18 minutes. Our identity is our defense. We can score with the best of them but we flipped the switch and got stops and made them take tough shots, especially in the second half and turned that into offense," Curry said. "It was pretty impressive just the energy flip that happened after that first quarter."
Curry has reminded the world why he's one of the best players in the world, averaging 28.2 points and just under seven assists while shooting just under 42 percent from 3-point range and 95 percent from the free-throw line. In his last 10 games, Curry has averaged 30.3 points on 50.6 percent shooting.
Golden State has been just as lethal at the books. The Warriors have covered eight of their last nine with four of them decided by double digits. The Warriors were 10-point favorites against Philadelphia but still had a 10-point margin on the spread.
The Blazers had a four-game winning streak end on Wednesday in a 125-121 loss at the Sacramento Kings that has been a perfect summary over what's been the Blazers' season to this point. They're 10-9 overall and 1-8 on the road in what's been an up-and-down campaign.
When Damian Lillard can score 32 points and dish 10 assists while losing to the Kings, you know things are going bad.
"We just couldn't come up with stops," Lillard said. "When you're not able to score like we usually are, you control what you can control, which is getting stops. Tonight the effort was there. We were just one or two plays short."
The Blazers have gone 3-1-1 against the spread including a push against the Sixers last Saturday, after going 1-3 in their previous four.
Prediction
The Warriors laying 6.5 seems too good to be true. The Blazers look like a horrific defensive team on the road right now and I don't trust Lillard and C.J. McCollum doing anything worthwhile enough to slow down Curry and co. Warriors by 12
Betting trends
Trail Blazers are 0-6 ATS in their last six as an underdog.
Warriors are 10-1 ATS in last 11 against a team with a winning record.
Over is 5-2 in last seven meetings.
Projected starting lineup
Blazers:
PG: Damian Lillard
SG: CJ McCollum
SF: Norman Powell
PF: Robert Covington
C: Jusuf Nurkic
SF: Norman Powell
PF: Robert Covington
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Jordan Poole
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Draymond Green
C: Kevon Looney
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Draymond Green
C: Kevon Looney
Key injuries
Blazers: Anfernee Simons (illness, questionable)
Warriors: Andre Iguodala (hip, out), Klay Thompson (Achilles, out), James Wiseman (knee, out)
Statistical leaders
Blazers:
Points: Damian Lillard -- 22.3
Rebounds: Jusuf Nurkic -- 11.3
Assists: Damian Lillard -- 8.1
Warriors:
Points: Steph Curry -- 28.2
Rebounds: Draymond Green -- 8.0
Assists: Draymond Green -- 7.5
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
