Even without Kevin Durant, the Golden State Warriors have been extremely dominant, taking a 3-0 series lead on Saturday in Portland. The Warriors had to play from behind, trailing most of the game but instantly flipping the script midway through the third quarter.
Klay Thompson caught fire in the third, scoring 14 points in period to bring his team back into game after they were down by as many as 16. JaVale McGee has been a major boost off the bench as well.
Injury report for both teams
This series continues to be the most injury-ridden of the playoffs so far.
Both teams have a handful of key injured players. After Jusuf Nurkic returned in Game 3 to play limited minutes, the big man will once again sit out in Game 4 for precautionary reasons. The Blazers also have two big men already out for the season, Ed Davis and Festus Ezeli.
The Warriors have Kevin Durant, Matt Barnes, and Shaun Livingston listed as questionable once again. All three of them have been able to participate in practice but haven’t been able to play. However, since the Warriors have a 3-0 lead and have been able to dominate without these three, it would be ideal if they were to sit out again.
Aside from these three players, Golden State will be without head coach Steve Kerr, as Mike Brown will continue to be the acting coach in his absence.
Kerr’s situation is getting worse, as he continues to battle chronic back pain. At least if the Warriors are able to close the series tonight, the team would get plenty of time to rest and heal.
Golden State’s ball movement versus Portland’s backcourt
This series has essentially come down to Golden State’s ball movement versus Portland’s backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J.
McCollum. While the Warriors are moving the ball around flawlessly to get quality offense, the Blazers are heavily relying on their backcourt scoring duo to carry most of the workload, which is not working. The two combined for 63 points in Game 3, but it wasn’t enough. They simply don’t have enough firepower and defense to contain the Warriors.
Portland needs to limit turnovers
In the last two games, the Blazers have committed 34 turnovers combined. Playing against a superior offensive team, the Blazers must limit their turnovers. Golden State’s defense could be overwhelming, but the Blazers need to nonetheless be crisper with their passes and cannot rush on the offensive end. The Blazers are basically folding when the pressure rises, which cannot happen if they want to extend the series.
Ultimately, the series is all but over. No team has come back from a 0-3 deficit, so it looks like the Warriors are on the verge of closing the series. The best things the Blazers can do in Game 4 is play hard and not allow the Warriors to completely embarrass them at home.
Game 4 tips off at 10:30 pm Eastern Time on TNT at the Moda Center in Portland.
