Wag is back with his free picks for Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers, where the Warriors are going for the Series sweep.
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The Golden State Warriors are taking care of business during the Western Conference Finals after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 110-99 with the opportunity to sweep Portland Monday night. Steph Curry has been as unstoppable as a runaway train. He had yet another 30 point night scoring 36 points and making 6 three-pointers as well as having a plus/minus of +19. Steph Curry is playing at an MVP level and is the hottest player on the court right now. The Trail Blazers can’t seem to keep their halftime lead as they have done that both games two and three. It’s also not fair because Portland seems to be focusing on the Warriors three-point game and do well in defending those shots, however, they seem to forget to defend the rest of inside the arc.
The Trail Blazers have been limiting the Warriors three-point shot significantly as Golden State was only able to shoot 26 threes making 30.8% of them. Klay Thompson and Alfonzo McKinnie tallying just 1 made three-point shot each as Curry put the team on his back. Meaning the defensive tasks are being executed but it doesn’t prove to be effective as Portland are still seeking their first win in this series. The Trail Blazers seem tired as they get caught on their heels allowing the Warriors to score 21 fast break points. It’s so difficult to see through the Warriors flaws as they seem to fix it within 3 possessions mid-game. Following that first flaw comes to another flaw and then after the next 3 possessions, they are completely dominating that flaw. It’s like they are playing “Wheel of Fortune” but instead of landing on ‘Bankrupt’ the Warriors get an extra bit of juice if you know what I mean. Their IQ is a beauty to witness and we are lucky as fans to be able to witness the greatness of the Warriors style.
It is astonishing how good the Warriors have played in the third quarter in both games two and three. Golden State has scored a combined 68 points in the third quarter almost doubling Portland’s 37 points. This shows the trend of the Trail Blazers collapse after half time even though that is a harsh label to tag their performance. It’s not like the Trail Blazers are bad, the Warriors are just unbelievable when they want to turn it on. It is the God Damn Warriors as I keep reminding you. Portland has been shooting a whopping 35% from the floor in the third quarter games two and three as the Warriors struggle to miss their shots shooting 55%. Oh and like I said, you know it’s the ‘God Damn Warriors’ when they shoot 50% from beyond the three-point arc to add to the sum of their points in the third quarter. They are literally unstoppable.
The sweep is imminent, however, the status of Andre Iguodala is one to look out for as that could be damaging to the Warriors defense. After a negative MRI scan on Iggy’s leg Sunday it is going to depend on how the sun rises come Monday night. As it is the playoffs, I do see Warriors coach Steve Kerr playing Iguodala on limited minutes. Preferably during tight scoring situations where he can be a defensive presence. But I also see the mind of Steve Kerr leading towards resting the veteran as the Warriors are one game away from sweeping the Trail Blazers. It’s a tough decision to make a winning pick with Iggy’s potential absence, but there is no challenge big enough for me.
The oddsmakers are unfortunately not being too kind to the Portland Trail Blazers as they see the Warriors sweeping them by winning by at least 4 points. Like I said before the game status of Iguodala makes this pick challenging and going with the points spread is a risky pick because it’s been so inconsistent. But after all, I have to win all of us some money so I will be riding with the Warriors -4 (-106). Steph Curry will make sure the Warriors get extra rest until they face the winner from the Eastern Conference Finals. I am deathly afraid of breaking the spread streak but I’m confident that the Trail Blazers are physically and mentally exhausted as the Warriors thrive on such situations.
Wag Out!
