Golden State at Washington
Time: 7 PM ET
TV: CSN Bay Area, CSNB, League Pass
Spread: GSW -6.5
Total: 206
Betting odds c/o Bovada
The Golden State Warriors may be without star guard Stephen Curry as he nurses a right ankle injury. It also likely won’t matter. The Warriors are 24-2 at home this season and will host the Washington Wizards who boast a 13-14 road record. Accordingly, NBA oddsmakers have set the live NBA line at 6.5 points in favor of the Warriors. The total for the game is 206, and for an explanation of this see our NBA odds explained.
While the Warriors may be without Curry, Washington is likely going to be without Bradley Beal, despite being listed as questionable. Beal has been dealing with a stress fracture in his tibia and will need time to heal. With Washington in the midst of a thick playoff chase in the East, it really could not come at a worse time (save the playoffs themselves). Accordingly, without its shooting guard, the Wiz have dropped four straight contests and have lost eight of its past 10 games. Getting back on track against the best team in the West will not prove to be easy.
Make no mistake, though, this is a Wizards team boasting the depth that should theoretically be enough to counter Beal’s injury. Paul Pierce’s importance to the team should now be seen, as Pierce is still capable of shouldering a large offensive load. The veteran has averaged 12.4 points per game this season, but he has done anything but step it up with Beal out. Over his past 10 games, Pierce has averaged just 10.4 points on 40 percent shooting. For Washington to have any chance at pulling this upset, he’s going to have to play far better. In February, he is under 10 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor.
The real slack may be picked up by All-Star John Wall. Wall has arrived as an elite point guard at long last, and is averaging 10.1 assists per game to go with his 17 points. Wall is also a game changer on the defensive end, playing passing lanes to come up with 1.82 steals per game. His PER of 20.2 is the highest on Washington’s roster. Wall will do well to get center Marcin Gortat involved. He’s also been negatively impacted by losing Beal’s spacing on the perimeter.
Gortat’s 12 points per game have dipped to just 10.8 over the last 10 Wizards games, while even his rebounding has been slightly impacted (under eight per game over this stretch). Gortat and Wall function so well in pick and rolls that it has to be utilized to open up the offense in the half court. Losing a shooter as good as Beal affects everyone on the court more than the casual fan might expect.
The main reason Golden State should have no problem winning this game is that even if Curry is out, Klay Thompson is capable of carrying an offense. He set a record for points in a quarter with 37; many players go their entire careers without eclipsing that for a full game. The Warriors have absolutely no trouble putting the ball in the hoop, averaging a league best 110.3 points per game while not even allowing 100. As one may expect, GS averages 27.1 assists per game which leads all teams.
The depth the Warriors have to draw on for its scoring is nearly unfathomable, especially considering that the team has reeled off a 43-10 record without All-Star power forward David Lee. The emergence of Draymond Green (who some say may get a max-contract this summer) has made Lee seem expendable. As to whether the Warriors can retain Green’s services beyond this season is tough to guess; he may seek a larger role on another team. Can Green be a No. 2 or No. 3 option on a lesser team? That’s even tougher to speculate.
Be all that as it may, right now the Warriors are the team to beat in the West, and this is a tough game for the Wizards to make a statement in, playing at Oracle, by all accounts the toughest and most raucous atmosphere on the road.
