On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors played the Sacramento Kings and led by as many as 17 points—but it wasn’t enough. Much like we saw multiple times last season, the Warriors blew the lead and ended up losing the game, 91-90. It was a harsh lesson the Warriors still haven’t seemed to learn—don’t let the other team get back into the game.
The Warriors return to Oracle Arena for their final preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The last time the Warriors played the Blazers, Stephen Curry broke Ray Allen’s record for most three-pointers in a single season, with 272.
Since the Warriors are on the second night of a back-to-back, the starters will probably be resting. We’ll probably be seeing more of the bench, and this should be a good opportunity to observe how they mesh together.
It’s possible that David Lee may not even play—he missed Wednesday’s shootaround due to an illness, and ended up running off to the locker room when he was elbowed in the mouth. Lee ended up losing a tooth, and giving him the night off to get himself together before the Warriors’ opener next Wednesday wouldn’t hurt.
Another player that won’t be on the court is Harrison Barnes, who’ll be out for his fifth straight game due to a “foot inflammation”. Coach Mark Jackson believes Barnes will be ready for the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
This game will be about figuring out how the bench players and the starters play together—it’s important to know which lineups work and which don’t. As for the Blazers, Coach Terry Stotts will be using this game to determine his starting lineup and figure out who’ll do best coming off the bench.
Although this game will mainly be about finalizing lineups for both teams, watching two potential Western Conference playoff teams duke it out will make for an interesting game tonight.
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