The best team in basketball comes to town tonight to take on our own Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers are coming off two very disappointing losses, a one-point squeaker/collapse versus the mediocre Dallas Mavericks, and a semi-blowout at the hands of the ascendant OKC Thunder. The Blazers are currently barely holding on to fourth place in the west, while the Warriors have climbed back into first and seem destined to stay there after winning 18 of their last 20 games. So, will this be a game worth watching, or a just depressing highlight reel of Warrior domination on our home floor? There’s reason to hope for a good game here. Read on to find out why…
So far this season these two teams have played twice and each won one game. As invincible as the Warriors can seem at times, the Blazers do have ways to beat them. Damian Lillard often plays on a higher plane against his former hometown team, famously torching them for 50 points in this very same February matchup two years ago. And last year, on Valentines Day, the Blazers won this key third meeting as well, though that might have had something to do with some artistic voodoo sitting in the stands. The key in this game will be strong play from the Blazer role players. New acquisition Rodney Hood needs to step up big on both ends of the floor, as does pleasant surprise Jake Layman. If these guys can hit big shots and slow down the Warrior juggernaut on defense, the Blazers stand a chance.
And then there’s the Seth/Steph Curry situation. When you think about it, these brothers serve as a fair metaphor for the whole Blazer/Warrior match-up. Steph, the Warriors captain and former league MVP, is a super star. On any given night he can sink an opponent’s dim hopes with a barrage of ridiculous, nearly un-defendable shots. His younger brother Seth, who was acquired by the Blazers this year, is not nearly as accomplished a player. But Seth can play ball. He’s actually making 3-pointers at a higher percentage than his older brother this season. Legend has it that these two brothers would battle it out for hours on their backyard hoop in North Carolina, and usually Steph would win. But every once and while little brother Seth would find the rare weakness in his brother’s game, and snatch an unexpected victory. Could this be one of those times?
The Blazers also have three other factors working in their favor tonight:
1) The Warriors played a tough game against the Utah Jazz just last night and even though they won, they should be tired.
2) The Warriors All-Star Center, Boogie Cousins, who recently joined the active roster after recovering from an achilles tear, will be resting tonight. This is a huge break for the Blazers as Cousins almost always feasts on Portland. Hey, watch this semi-irrelevant but funny clip of Cousins using his head in a game earlier this week:
Klay Thompson threw himself an assist off of DeMarcus Cousins head during the Warriors / Heat game 😂 pic.twitter.com/sRerFF8g1m
— throughouttheassociation (@associationvibe) February 11, 2019
Oh, and reason #3 the Blazers have a chance to win this game? It’s at home, in the Moda Center, where the Blazers are 23-8, one of the best home court records in the NBA. Sure, the Warriors tend to bring out a lot of “away” fans, especially in nearby Portland, but the advantage still goes to the good guys, and if you aren’t lucky enough to have a ticket to the game yourself, it’d be worth gathering around a big screen and checking this one out. If the Blazers put out a unlikely win, it’d be perhaps their best game of the season, and a statement for things to come. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN and tip-off is at 7:30pm.