The Golden State Warriors are hovering right in the middle of the pack in the West at 13-13, and games like this are exactly how you avoid getting swallowed by the Play-In chaos.
The Portland Trail Blazers are 9-16 and taking hits from every angle, but they’ve still got factors that can keep them dangerous: size, offensive rebounding, and a wing who’s playing the best basketball of his career.
This matchup also comes with a little extra juice because Stephen Curry just came back and immediately dropped 39. The Warriors didn’t win that night, but it was a loud reminder that their ceiling still exists.
Injury Report
Warriors
- Al Horford: Out (right sciatic nerve irritation)
Al Horford’s absence matters more than people think. It trims the big-man rotation, it takes away a steady passer, and it forces the Warriors to get their size in other ways against a team that lives for second-chance points.
Trail Blazers
- Donovan Clingan: Questionable (left lower leg contusion)
- Scoot Henderson: Out (left hamstring tear)
- Jrue Holiday: Out (right calf strain)
- Damian Lillard: Out (left Achilles tendon, injury management)
- Matisse Thybulle: Out (left thumb ligament tear)
- Blake Wesley: Out (right foot fracture)
- Robert Williams III: Questionable (illness)
- Hansen Yang: Questionable (face contusion)
This is a lot. Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, and Damian Lillard being out guts the backcourt creation, and if Clingan or Robert Williams III can’t go, the Trail Blazers lose the one advantage they can lean on every possession: controlling the glass.
Why The Warriors Have The Advantage
It starts with Curry. He’s at 28.5 points per game on 47.3% from the field, and he looked fully online in his return with 39 points and five assists.
The supporting pieces are real, too. Jimmy Butler III is giving them 19.3 points per game while shooting 52.0% from the field, which is exactly the kind of “easy offense” you need when the threes aren’t falling.
The other edge is defense. This team has been hanging its hat on getting stops, and recent coverage has them sitting near the top tier of the league by efficiency on that end.
And honestly, the Trail Blazers’ injury list makes the math pretty simple. If they’re missing multiple ballhandlers, they’re going to have stretches where scoring feels like pulling teeth, and that’s where the Warriors can string together a run and never look back.
Why The Trail Blazers Have The Advantage
Deni Avdija is the reason this game isn’t a formality. He’s putting up 25.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, and he’s doing it on 47.3% from the field. That’s not just “nice season,” that’s “everything runs through him” production.
If Clingan plays, the Trail Blazers can attack the Warriors’ soft spot. Clingan is at 10.2 rebounds per game, and he’s been one of the league’s most impactful offensive rebounders this season. That’s how you survive poor shooting nights and keep the scoreboard close with extra possessions.
The basic formula is clear: slow it down, win the battle on the glass, and force the Warriors to defend multiple efforts in the same possession. If this turns into a track meet, it’s over. If it turns into a rebounding war, the Trail Blazers can make it uncomfortable.
Trail Blazers vs. Warriors Prediction
This feels like a game the Warriors “should” win, mainly because the Trail Blazers are missing too much creation and could also be down key bigs depending on how questionable tags break.
Curry being back is the separator for me. The Warriors can generate clean offense even when the game gets sloppy, and their defense has been good enough to punish teams that can’t consistently organize in the halfcourt.
I think Avdija keeps it competitive for a while, and the Trail Blazers steal extra possessions if Clingan plays. But over 48 minutes, the Warriors’ shot-making wins out.
Prediction: Warriors 116, Trail Blazers 107
