Trail Blazers head to the land of the Warriors for a mouthwatering contest
The Portland Trail Blazers scored under 80 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2006 as they got thumped 86-73 in their last match by the Memphis Grizzlies. On Christmas night they will be up against a buoyant Golden
State Warriors, who enter the match fresh from inflicting a fourth quarter meltdown on the Sacramento Kings to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in overtime.
Saturday night will mark the second time these teams will be at loggerheads this season. There was nothing that separated the two teams last time they met.
In a match where the both the teams were short handed due to injuries, the Warriors spearheaded by the phenomenal Monta Ellis made a ferocious run in the fourth quarter to chip away at a 15 point Blazers lead. The maverick guard,
who is definitely the most valuable player for the Warriors this season, however missed a last ditch long range effort as the Trail Blazers escaped with a 96-95 win at the Rose Garden.
This was perhaps the only thing that Ellis has done wrong in the recent games. Marshalling his teams in the absence of the inspirational Stephen Curry, who has missed six consecutive games due to the ankle strain, Ellis pounded
141 points, 25.2 assists and 11.2 steals in the last four games. The agile forward has not only shot his team to the top ten spot in both points per game (101.5) and assists per game (22.1) but he has excelled individually as well. As of now, the sixth year
guard ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (25.6 points), second in steals (2.43) and first in minutes (40.4) per game.
To make matters more intimidating for the Trail Blazers, not only did Ellis lead all players with 26 points in their last game, he also led Golden State with averages of 28.8 points and 2.50 steals in four contests against Portland
last season.
After the swashbuckling performance against the Sacramento Kings in the last match, that witnessed him scoring 36 points, Ellis will be rearing to avenge the earlier loss to Portland in the season.
But all is not so rosy for the Warriors. The team which has won only 3 of its last seventeen encounters, has a tendency to fall back early. The Warriors are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing a whooping 106.9
points per game.
The Trail Blazers on the other hand are 7th
in the league in terms of points allowed and even with Brandon Roy missing from their ranks due to an injury, they posses enough firepower to topple the Warriors. In three series contests last year, Brandon Roy led Portland with 31.7 points per game. In his
absence though, LaMarcus Aldridge is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season. The 6 ft 11” forward has been letting it rip at a team-high average of 19.1 and will come into the game leading the Trail Blazers from the front.
And Aldridge will not be alone.
With the likes of Wesley Mathews, Andre Miller, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez surrounding him, the Portland line-up could offer a tough proposition for the Warriors.
While the Warriors have certainly shown the whole of the NBA that they can come back from large deficits down the stretch, they’d be well suited not to leave it till late against the Trail Blazers. With a couple of nights to go
till the match, Keith Smart and his coaching team are sure to be preparing a game plan to do just that.
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