No NBA team has regained respectability faster than the Portland Trail Blazers, who have spent the second half of the season cooling the seat of embattled head coach Chauncey Billups.
So, the Warriors will be seeing a very different Portland squad Monday night than the one they beat by 36 points in October. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6:00 p.m. with “Warriors Pregame Live,” with tipoff from Chase Center scheduled for shortly after 7.
After posting a 13-28 record in the first half, the Blazers since have gone 15-9. They have recovered by using youth and athleticism to apply the level of defense – No. 2 in the league over their last 24 games – Billups pleaded for upon taking the job in 2021.
While centers Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan are anchoring the defense, guards Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe are lighting up the scoreboard at a rate that could offset what the Warriors get from guards Stephen Curry and Moses Moody.
Though Curry and Moody combined for 44 points on 11-of-33 shooting from the field against Detroit on Saturday, Simons and Sharpe rang up 46 on 18-of-37 shooting against the Pistons on Sunday. Simons is averaging 20.6 points per game during Portland’s surge, while Sharpe is averaging 17.
If the Warriors (35-28) can generate enough offense from Curry and Moody, along with Buddy Hield – who scored 22 points in 15 minutes off the bench at Portland in October – that would create a path to success.
One reason that will be difficult is the athleticism of Simons and Sharpe, and third guard Scoot Henderson. Sharpe has launched his 45-inch vertical leap into numerous spectacular dunks this season.
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Another reason scoring is tough against Portland (28-37) is its superb interior defense. Power forward Toumani Camara, the Western Conference Player of the Month in February, has evolved into one of the league’s best all-around defenders. Ayton (left calf strain) and Robert Williams III (left knee sprain) are sidelined, but Clingan is flourishing as a starter. The 7-foot-2 rookie from UConn has had one game with 20 rebounds and another with eight blocks.
The Warriors undoubtedly will try to nullify Clingan’s rim presence with perimeter shooting from fellow 7-foot rookie Quinten Post.
This projects as another game in which Curry’s production will be crucial, but Moody also will need to make shots. The same applies to Hield, who might need to reach his magic number of 19 points, as the Warriors are undefeated when he hits that total.
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