NBA Starting Lineups and Match Prediction - Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors - Game 2
Defending champions Golden State Warriors will meet the headstrong Portland Trail Blazers for the second matchup of this high stakes best-of-seven series. GSW outplayed Portland in Game 1 and took a comprehensive 116-94 win to set the tone for the upcoming games.
When: May 17th, 6:30 AM IST
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland (CA)
The Golden State Warriors' Perspective
The Warriors are playing like their 2015 squad that set everything in motion. There is a familiar flow to their game, which incorporates making extra passes, running off screens and most importantly, moving the ball at all times. KD added that ever-elusive isolation finesse to Golden State's arsenal but currently with him out for another game at the least, Steph and his crew seem to be having no trouble whatsoever.
Curry made a playoff career-high 9 three-pointers and dropped a game-high 36 points while his splash brother added another 26 points of his own and the Champs cruised past Portland in Game 1. Defensively, they looked sturdy as ever and seemed to recapture their true self on both ends of the floor.
Predicted Starting Line-up: Draymond Green(PF), Andre Iguodala(SG), Andrew Bogut(C), Stephen Curry(PG) & Klay Thompson(SG)
The Portland Trail Blazers' Perspective
Portland's journey to the Western Conference Finals is nothing short of a blockbuster movie script. They've been through the lowest of the lows over their past couple of years and managed to make it past all the noise, now stronger than ever.
In their first WCF series since 2009, Portland showed a glaring lack of aggression and the will that got them to this stage in the first place. Clearly, the fatigue from a gruelling seven-game series against Denver is starting to take over. Dame shot just 4-of-12 from the field in Game 1 as his team shot a collective 7-28(25%) from beyond the arc. However, expect an answer from the Blazers anytime soon as they're not going down without a fight.
Predicted Starting Line-up: Al Farouq Aminu (PF), Maurice Harkless (SF), Enis Kanter (C), Damian Lillard (PG) & CJ McCollum (SG)
Prediction: The Warriors are playing with their charateristic Jazz-like flow and the odds are not in favour of the Blazers beating them in front of their home crowd at the Oracle in Game 2.