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With the Golden State Warriors (11-14) set to host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Oracle Arena, the Warriors World staff as well as Sean Highkin from Portland Roundball Society answered a few questions to preview the game.

The Golden State Warriors are coming off an exciting win over the Phoenix Suns last night that stretched their winning streak to three while the Portland Trail Blazers fell at the hands of the Washington Wizards last night as LaMarcus Aldridge sprained his ankle early in the contest.

Portland has lost back-to-back games and will be looking to rebound tonight against the Dubs.

With the Golden State Warriors (11-14) set to host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Oracle Arena, the Warriors World staff as well as Sean Highkin from Portland Roundball Society answered a few questions to preview the game.

The Golden State Warriors are coming off an exciting win over the Phoenix Suns last night that stretched their winning streak to three while the Portland Trail Blazers fell at the hands of the Washington Wizards last night as LaMarcus Aldridge sprained his ankle early in the contest.

Portland has lost back-to-back games and will be looking to rebound tonight against the Dubs.

1. In the previous matchup with the Warriors, the combination of Felton, Matthews and Crawford combined to shoot 12-of-33 from the field. Which backcourt will have the better night?

Sean Highkin, Portland Roundball Society: Have you watched the Blazers’ backcourt lately? I wouldn’t bet on them to have a better night than anyone at this point, especially not a group that includes Steph Curry and Monta Ellis. This would be a more interesting discussion if LaMarcus Aldridge hadn’t sprained his ankle last night, because Nate McMillan finally benched the struggling Matthews in favor of Nicolas Batum, who responded well to the role. But LMA’s absence means Batum will likely move back to the 3 and Matthews will move back into the starting lineup. This group just got annihilated by the Washington Wizards last night. I’m not prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt for anything.

Jordan Ramirez, Warriors World: The Warriors backcourt is coming into its own. Forgetting the fact that Curry and Ellis combined to shoot 26% (8-for-30) from the field in their previous game, the small duo has been playing very well as of late and has covered up many mistakes generated from the frontcourt. It’s almost impossible for either Curry or Ellis to have a worse shooting night, and I expect at least one to have a statement game. I love the Felton-Mathews-Crawford combo, but the extra rest (and lack thereof for POR) will prove to be the deciding factor.

J.M. Poulard, Warriors World: Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis rarely have good games together, hence it stands to reason that the odds of them both playing at a high level within the same game are fairly low. Indeed, Curry has been the lead guard as of late but it has not yet translated into a productive night for both.

The Blazers guard on the other hand have been somewhat erratic, especially Wes Matthews. Crawford is always one crossover away from being on Sportscenter but is hardly the case study for efficiency. Faced with the choice, I’ll pick the home backcourt, but if Jamal goes for 40 in the absence of his All-Star teammate, I wouldn’t be surprised either.

2. David Lee is coming off a fabulous 28-point, 12-rebound performance against the Phoenix Suns and also rang up 26 points the last time the Blazers and Warriors played. Will he have as much success tonight primarily matched up against Gerald Wallace?

Sean Highkin: Not having Aldridge to guard on the other end will help. But Wallace can give anyone problems on the defensive end, and with the advantage the Warriors will have in the backcourt, that’s who I’d expect to handle more of the scoring load than Lee.

Jordan Ramirez: He will have success, but that doesn’t mean he’ll light it up for another 26 points. Expect a point total in the low 20’s and 13-16 rebounds for Lee, who has been great off the boards as of late. Wallace is a notorious pesky defender, so expect plenty of frustration and maybe a technical foul from David Lee tonight as well. If Lee starts of slow, no worries, we’ve seen him shoot out of early slumps to have a productive game before.

J.M. Poulard: David Lee has been arguably the best Warriors player so far this season and has been literally unstoppable in the paint. Me thinks he has a 20-point and 10-rebound night against the Trail Blazers.

3. Who is your X-factor heading into this game tonight?

Sean Highkin: Wallace, who will be playing out of position at the power forward. If he can contain Lee and have a productive night on offense, the Blazers have a chance here. If not, things could get bad quickly.

Jordan Ramirez: Jamal Crawford. Playing their second leg of the back-to-back, expect Jamal Crawford to get plenty of minutes tonight for the Blazers. He’s been to known to be a streaky shooter, and Warriors fans know first-hand how quickly Crawford can light up the scoreboard. It will be crucial for the Warriors backcourt to contain Crawford and not get him going. Still, I expect at least one four-point play generated by the Jiu-Jitsu-like maneuvers of the skilled veteran. 

J.M. Poulard: The Nicolas Batum versus Dorell Wright matchup. Wright has been seemingly invisible of late, ceding minutes to Brandon Rush and Klay Thompson while Batum has been coming along nicely in the past few games. His shooting, finishing ability at the rim and defense will give Wright fits and may in fact render him completely useless tonight. Where things will get interesting is how Rush and Thompson perform against Batum.

If the second unit small forwards can play well against the Blazers forward, I would expect the Warriors to be victorious; but if Batum essentially outscores them and puts the defensive blanket on them, the Blazers will probably steal one on the road.