The Golden State Warriors (23-12 SU, 14-21 ATS) came out of the holidays as the top team in the Pacific Division, but they’re not playing like the juggernauts of recent memory – and they won’t have their big offseason acquisition ready for Saturday’s road game against the Portland Trail Blazers (19-15 SU, 16-18 ATS). Tip-off is at 10 PM ET on NBA-TV.
The Warriors had hoped that DeMarcus Cousins might be ready to make his 2018-19 season debut on or shortly after Christmas Day. However, his recovery from last year’s torn Achilles is taking some time. Cousins’ rehab might even extend into February, leaving Golden State’s frontcourt in some disarray – center Damian Jones is also out indefinitely with a torn pec.
Portland have a healthy lineup going into Saturday’s matchup, but they’re an average team at best, outscoring teams by an average of 0.1 points per game; the Warriors have a point differential of plus-4.0. While PG Damian Lillard is scoring 27.5 points per 36 minutes for the Blazers, like most of his backcourt teammates, his defense leaves something to be desired. Big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins supply most of Portland’s stopping power.
