The Portland Trail Blazers take on the visiting Golden State Warriors in Game of the Western Conference Semifinals at the Moda Center. The game starts at 10:30 pm ET on Friday, May 13 and will air on ESP.
The Trail Blazers are expecting a different result after their 125-121 loss to the Warriors on Wednesday. C.J. McCollum had a good game for the Trail Blazers, putting up 27 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Based on each team’s statistical profile, ball protection could play an integral role in this matchup. The Trail Blazers commit the fifth-fewest miscues in the NBA (turnover percentage of 14.1%), while the ball-hawking defense of Portland forces the third-most (opponents’ turnover percentage of 13.8%).
The Trail Blazers have the same record (49-44) both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. The Trail Blazers have no trouble scoring as they rank fifth in the league in offense with 105.1 points per game.
Across the court, the Warriors have a record of 50-39-3 ATS and 81-11 SU. Against the Western Conference, Golden State is 81-11 SU and 50-39-3 ATS. Offensively, they average 114.8 points per game, which is first in the league. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Warriors. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the league at 1.96. Switching gears to Golden State’s defense, the Warriors have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the league at .432. Golden State makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking fifth in points off turnovers with an average of 17.3 per game.
Golden State won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 8-2. Additionally, the Warriors lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – GS
Notes
Golden State ranks first in points allowed per road game (106.6 PPG), while Portland ranks third in points per home game with 108.2.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Portland Trail Blazers are a tremendous 25-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Golden State Warriors have a subpar record of 2-6.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Trail Blazers are just 24-39 this season. Golden State is an exceptional 79-5 when it reaches the century mark.
The Warriors have a defensive rating of 101.2, third-best in the NBA. The Trail Blazers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 106.5 (ranked seventh).
With 98.7 possessions and 1.065 points per possession, the Portland Trail Blazers perform worse on both metrics than the Golden State Warriors. Golden State averages 101.7 possessions and 1.129 points per possession.
Portland has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.8%, 10th-ranked in the NBA. Golden State is a stellar 21-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 28.0 three point attempts per game and are 40-31 when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Golden State Warriors average 31.0 attempts and have a formidable record (73-10) when attempting 25 or more.
Portland makes an average of 4.5 blocks per game (ranked 19th). Golden State ranks higher in blocks with 6.1 (ranked second).
Ranked first, the Golden State Warriors are one of the top-ranked defensive rebounding teams. The Portland Trail Blazers are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked third).
The Golden State Warriors earn an average of 8.4 steals per game and are ranked 10th. The Portland Trail Blazers have a 24-21 record when they allow at least 8 steals.
