By Frank Gomez

e-mail: thebasr@gmail.com

Although it was a little sketchy for a stretch, the Warriors were finally able to put away the Portland Trailblazers and break there 3 game losing streak with a 101 - 93 victory. Portland held its own for about 3 and half Quarters but the “Weary Leg” monster showed up at the end of the fourth and that’s when the Warriors were able to put the game away by getting some key turnovers instead of committing them. 

Led by Stephen Curry and David Lee, the Warriors offense seemed to have finally struck a chord and rhythm that it hadn’t seen in a while. Curry ended the night with a line of 32 pts on 12-19 shooting, 6-8 from the 3 pt Line, 6 Reb, 7 Ast, 4 Stl, and only 1 Turnover. Curry took charge of the offense early and never really relinquished the reins. So much so, that Monta Ellis ended with a crazy line of 4 Pts on 2-9 shooting, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO’s, and an impressive 12 Assists. A line that Warriors fans are definitely not accustomed to by Monta.

But by Monta becoming a pure distributor, Curry was free to run the offense and run it he did. He looked for his shot early and when it wasn’t there he swung the ball to get the tired legs of the Blazers moving. One of the beneficiaries of the ball movement was David Lee who also had a solid night and was able to provide the Front court the much needed offense to off set LaMarcus Aldridge’s impact. Lee ended the night with 26 Pts on 12-21 shooting, 5 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 Ast, and 3 TO’s. 

Lee’s importance on offense proved itself late when he was able to win the offensive battle by consistently knocking down the 17 ft pick and pop jump shot that the Portland defense kept giving him.

Also the Warriors definitely stepped up defensively due in large part to the extended run that Ekpe Udoh had on the floor last night. Udoh really anchored the defense after Biedrins went down during an awkward leg split after a block attempt. Ekpe had the highest +/- on the team with a +18 while on the court and that fact did not go unnoticed by the media during the post game press conference and locker room interviews. 

It was a solid win, albeit against an exhausted Portland team but at this point in the season the Warriors need to rack up all the wins they can however they can. What will be interesting is if Monta will continue to pull his ball dominant game back for the betterment of the offense and if Ekpe will be FREED and allowed to start at Center even though Mark Jackson says No. Especially with Oklahoma City in today, the Warriors are going to need all the defense they can muster to slow down Durant, Westbrook, and Harden.

By Frank Gomez

e-mail: thebasr@gmail.com

So the Warriors are coming into tonight’s game in not the greatest of moods. They are coming off of 2 pretty demoralizing home losses to the Indiana Pacers (Friday) and the Memphis Grizzlies (Monday) and are currently in the midst of a 3 game losing streak and and overall record of 5-11.

Losing is contagious and if the Warriors can’t make a stand in tonight’s game against a Portland Trailblazers team, who is on the final leg of a Back to Back to Back. The rest of the season begins it’s slow submergence to irrelevance in this shrink wrapped NBA season.

Let’s look at what the Trailblazers are bringing to tonight’s game.

First and foremost, Portland is a solid deep team even if it is coming off its second game in 2 nights. Wesley Matthews, Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, and Nicolas Batum round out a pretty formidable back court rotation. Especially with Jamal Crawford coming off the bench and being given the green light to score, the Portland bench does its job and does it well. So the Warriors have to get to the bench early in hopes that tired legs will lead to turn overs and less then stellar defense.

Then there is LaMarcus Aldridge who is playing at an All-Start caliber PF level this season. He is currently averaging 22.7 Pts, 9.1 Reb, 2.7 Ast, and 0.7 Blks per game. The silver lining for the Warriors is that Aldridge’s averages against the Warriors fall well below his season averages at Oracle. For his career, Aldridge has only averaged 15.3 pts, 7.2 Rebs, 2.2 Ast, 0.8 Blks, and 2.2 TO’s. Let’s hope that tonight Aldridge plays to his career average versus the Warriors and is suffering from a bit of the Back to Back to Back Blues.

Finally you have Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace who fill out the front court for the Blazers. Camby just last night had a 22 reb and 5 Blk night while Wallace chipped in with 11 Reb and 2 Stls. Needeless to say the Portland Frontcourt is a formidable one and will really test not only the Warriors backcourt in getting to the rim but also the frontcourt in boxing out and getting rebounds. I shudder to think that Camby could clear 25-30 Reb’s tonight if he had a full day’s rest. Let’s just hope for some really tired old Legs!

Ultimately the Warriors fate tonight will rest on how well David Lee plays against Aldridge and if he can turn him into a perimeter player. As well as whether or not Curry and Ellis can limit their turnovers and penetrate in order to get wide open looks for Klay Thompson & Dorell Wright. Also I’m interested to see how early Mark Jackson goes to his Bench if the starter’s end up not being able to cobble together some offense against a weary Blazers teams.

Every game seems more telling than the next for the Warriors but a win tonight can at least stem the tide of growing anxiousness among Warriors fans about this years iteration of the team under Mark Jackson.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter: @MR_FJG_SON and use the hashtag #TheBASR. Or hit our FB fan page & pose some questions that I will try and ask the players tonight when I cover the game.