Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers
Saturday, 12/18/10, 10:00 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: Portland -5
Current Betting Line: Portland -5.5
Opening Total: 195
Current Total: 197
Golden State has dropped 12 of its last 14 games overall and may be without guard Stephen Curry for the fourth straight game. “We’re going to go by as if he’s not playing,” coach Keith Smart stated. “It will be a bonus if he is there.” The Warriors would love to welcome him back as he managed to score a career-high 42 points in snapping a four-game losing streak in Portland with a 122-116 win on April 14 last season. The team ranks 13th in the league offensively in averaging 100.7 points per game, while giving up 106.7 points a contest. Golden State is 12-13 ATS on the season and 7-7 ATS as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points over the past three years and listed in that range on the NBA lines page.
The Warriors have been plugging in guard Reggie Williams in Curry’s spot in the starting lineup, as he’s averaged 22.3 points in the last four games. “Right now my job is just to try to step up and fill the void and try to take care of business until he comes back,” said Williams. “Those guys encourage me to shoot. I just have to take it upon myself to be more aggressive.” It’s unfortunate that the squad doesn’t match-up against the Minnesota Timberwolves in all 82 games of the season, as its last two wins have come against them.
Portland is set to play is second game without star guard Brandon Roy in the lineup and will try to win its fifth straight game at the Rose Garden in the process. The Blazers avoided a fourth consecutive loss with a 107-102 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday. “There’s a lot of character on this team,” said center Joel Przybilla. “Guys stepped up through a lot of adversity.” Head coach Nate McMillan may have an even more shuffled lineup tonight, with Marcus Camby and Nicolas Batum each sitting out the second half of Friday’s victory over Minnesota. Portland is 28-14 ATS when playing on back-to-back days.
The winning team in this series has scored 100 or more points in each of the last 14 games in the series and both teams averaged at least 106 points per game in four meetings last year. Portland will need to limit Golden State’s fastbreak opportunities tonight due to being outscored in the category by a 82-37 margin last year. Each of the squad’s 12 wins this season have come win holding opponents under 100 points this season.
Bettors will be interested in the Warriors being 5-11-1 ATS over their last 17 games, while the Blazers are 2-6 ATS as a favorite.
The NBA handicappers at Maddux Sports are off to an incredible start and ready for more on Saturday night!
