“Make him go score the ball instead of helping off and putting ourselves in positions that he wants us to be in so he can make plays”.
Advertisement
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts defended his player after shooting guard Gerald Henderson earned an ejection while squaring up with Golden State Warriors big man Anderson Varejao on Sunday in Game 1 of the teams’ Western Conference Semifinals series. Sunday, the Warriors relentlessly attacked Lillard, hoping to rob him of doing the spectacular. We got two days of work in and you could see that he was rusty, but he still makes an impact just being out on the floor. “But there’s no question that we have to play better and learn from Game One like we did with the Clippers”.
Seven teammates got into the scoring act as well, as Golden State outshot Portland 60% to 23.8% in the first quarter while building a 37-17 lead.
“They are an elite team either way, and they showed that tonight”, said Lillard, his voice hoarse because of a chest cold. “We’ll just monitor him and see how it goes and hopefully get him back at some point”.
After a recent practice Klay Thompson was spotted taking long-distance shots from near the logo a la Stephen Curry.
Luol Deng tallied 15 points, Dwyane Wade finished with 12 and Hassan Whiteside had 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Heat, who never trailed. But for his part, Curry says he hopes to be back sooner than later, targeting May 9th as his return date.
“We had a bad start because of the rebounding game”, Clifford said. “So once we fix that and continue to compete the way we did, we’ll have a chance”.
Kerr expects Portland to push all game, never surrendering on the offensive end even if the Blazers trail by double digits.
Such was his mood Monday when someone inquired about the Golden State center often appearing mean and nasty. What the Trail Blazers need to do is to shut down the shooters, especially Thompson, and play an excellent defense on the inside.
The Warriors still have Draymond Green, who is peaking at the right time for the Warriors. I don’t know how it’ll play out here. Thompson attempted 16 catch-and-shoot field goals Sunday, making nine (including 7-of-13 from 3-point range).
“It’s all speculation”, Kerr said.
“Everything has to be racheted up”, said Green, who posted his second career postseason triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the defending champions. Should a Blazers game be on at a bar, you’ll hear exhortations like “Do it for the Bay, Dame!” Shaun Livingston added 12 points and with both Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut finishing with 10 points.
More important, though, he and McCollum combined to miss 30 of their 43 shots. “We’re a great team”.
Stephen Curry’s chances of returning for game three of the Golden State Warriors’ Western Conference semi-final series are “pretty good”, according to the reigning NBA MVP.
Advertisement
The Warriors’ primary scorer with Curry injured, Thompson motioned for the crowd to get louder as his team dominated early. He is the first in National Basketball Association history to accomplish the feat….
