Warriors drop first of two to Trail Blazers, look for redemption on Sunday

The Golden State Warriors are now 2-3 with a recent loss to the Portland Trailblazers, making all three losses to potential playoff opponents.

After a two-game winning streak to opponents with the likes of Zach Lavine and Jerami Grant leading the way, the Warriors hit the floor at Chase Center to take on former Western Conference Finals opponent in the Portland Trailblazers.

In 2019, the Warriors swept Portland in the West finals. However, this game was slightly different, as the Blazers were up by 20 for most of the game.

“Clank..clank..clank” over and over again, as the Warriors are continuing to struggle from deep. This can be attributed to Kelly Oubre Jr., who is now shooting 4 percent from three on the season, with his first falling against Detroit.

This team has a lot to fix, and it is apparent that the absence of Draymond Green was not a big issue. With him in this game, Golden State still found a way to lose 123-98. However, there are positives to look at in even a loss this big.

Here are a few of them.

Warriors Winners

Steph Curry

The splash man himself has been struggling a bit lately and even did in this game. However, he looked better in a way and made some highlight plays that rattled Twitter. His 26 points led the team, along with his eight rebounds.

Curry has always been a good, not great rebounder as a guard, and in this one, it was nothing different.

It is evident that Curry is carrying this team, and he is doing everything he possibly can. It is only a matter of time before Curry gets back to his old self, and this game was a step in the right direction.

Eric Paschall

Eric Paschall displayed some flashes of what we saw last season. When he was put as the starter in the previous few games as Draymond Green was out, he did not look all that great. His defense was shaky, and his offense made him out to be scared at times.

When coach Kerr put him back with the second unit, Paschall looked comfortable and at home.

When he was with the second unit, Kerr often had him playing a small-ball five, and surprisingly it worked. He was able to manipulate the lousy defense of Enes Kanter and even play some good defense on the other end. With Draymond back, we can expect to see even more of this.

What to Watch for in the Second Game

The Warriors are playing the Trail Blazers in back to back games, and Sunday night marks the second game of the two. The Warriors did not show up in the first, and the backcourt combo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum did.

The two combined for 62 points in the first game, as they were both shooting the ball into the ocean, making it hard to miss. In this one, you can expect the same result for the Blazers duo. The Warriors are still having defensive problems along with their shooting woes, meaning the two can go off again.

However, we may see a better version of Curry and Wiseman. The pick and roll needs to be set up more often; as we saw, it can be useful when used. The Warriors need to figure out the problem, as they now have anchor and leader Draymond Green back.

This is what the roster will look like come playoff time, minus the potential trades.