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After an entertaining start to the series, the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers meet for Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know to watch:
Warriors vs. Blazers Game 2
Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Start Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
TV Channel: TNT
Spread: Warriors (-15), per OddsShark.com
Moneyline: Warriors (-2300), Blazers (+1100)
Over/Under: 221
Preview
Injuries loom large in this one. While the Nuggets big man Jusuf Nurkic has already been ruled out, Kevin Durant is being listed as questionable after suffering a left calf strain in Game 1:
For Game 2: Durant (L calf strain), Livingston (R index finger sprain & hand contusion), Barnes (R ankle/foot sprain) are all Questionable.
Though this doesn’t appear serious, the Warriors have proven capable of winning without their star–they went 16-3 with him sidelined during the regular season–and don’t want to risk KD further aggravating the injury and missing more important games down the line.
“You have to be careful with this stuff,” said Dubs head coach Steve Kerr.
If Durant is out, Steph Curry is obviously capable of carrying the load, but more of the offensive burden will fall on Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala. Thompson, who saw his usage percentage shoot up to 28.1, averaged 24.3 points on 47.7 percent shooting in the 19 games Durant missed earlier this year, while Iggy put up 11.8 points–up from 7.6 on the year–during that stretch.
As for the Blazers without Nurkic, pulling the big upset–they are 15-point underdogs–will come down to the play of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The latter went super nova on his way to 41 points in Game 1, while the duo combined for 75 to keep Portland close. In the Blazers’ two wins against Golden State last year (they are winless against the Dubs so far this season), Lillard combined for a ludicrous 91 points.
Even if that duo can’t ultimately will the Blazers to a victory to even up the series, it will certainly be fun watching them try.
