The Portland Trail Blazers know that if they don’t shoot better than 40 percent from behind the arc vs the Golden State Warriors, this series is over. The Blazers shot 25 percent from deep in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and will try to rectify that in Game 2 tonight. The Warriors will be without Kevin Durant again but they’re 5-1 SU in six games this year without the all-star forward.
The Warriors opened as 7.5-point favorites with a total of 219.
Blazers vs Warriors Game Center
Standout Stats
- Game 1 confirmed a lot of what most people thought about this series. The Warriors are better. Golden State shot 50 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from behind the arc as the Splash Brothers led the charge. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 62 points and 12 three-pointers in the win.
- Kevin Durant missed Game 1 and has been ruled out for Game 2 with his status for Game 3 still to be confirmed. However, that hasn’t really mattered for the Warriors because they’re so stacked they can just win anyway. The Warriors are 32-10 SU and 23-16-3 ATS in 42 games without KD since the start of the 2016-17 season.
- Three-point shooting failed the Blazers again in Game 1 as they went 7-for-28 from behind the arc (25 percent) and that was their issue vs the Nuggets in round 2. In four road games vs the Nuggets, the Blazers shot 34-for-121 (28 percent) from behind the arc.
- The Blazers may have won a regular-season game at Oracle Arena back on December 27 but their history in Oakland does not inspire confidence in their chances tonight. Prior to that win in December, Portland had lost 13 straight games in Oakland and only covered in five of those games.
- The Blazers only managed to put up 94 points in Game 1 and their scoring takes a massive dip in road games in the postseason. The Blazers are the highest-scoring team at home in the playoffs at 117.8 points per game (six games) but that number drops to 103 in seven road games.
- The Warriors came out firing in Game 1 vs the Blazers and that’s been their track record since Game 1 against the Rockets. The Warriors are 7-0 ATS in the first quarter in their last seven games and on the flip side, the Blazers have been a letdown in that spot. Portland has failed to cover the spread in the first quarter in its last four games.
My Best Bet for Blazers vs Warriors
Warriors -7.5
I would also recommend taking the Warriors to cover the -4 first-half spread but I think the full game spread is the safer pick. Golden State showed in Game 1 how it operates with more ball movement and less iso-ball and it translated to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry killing the Blazers from behind the arc.
I do expect Damian Lillard to have a better performance but not enough has been made about the ability of Thompson to shut down CJ McCollum, who was the main reason the Blazers beat the Nuggets in Game 7. Portland’s supporting cast will need to step up in order for the Blazers to cover the spread and I don’t anticipate that happening until they return to Portland for Game 3.
