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Trail Blazers head to the Bay Area to face new look Warriors

11/20/09

Written by: Max Mandel



After returning to the Rose Garden following a five game road trip, the Portland Trail Blazers (9-4) head back out on the road. This time, instead of traveling across the country, the Trail Blazers will make a trip down the coast to face the Golden State Warriors (3-8) at Oracle Arena. The Trail Blazers will be looking to exorcise some demons in the Bay Area, having lost the last eight games they have played in Oakland.

With the win over Detroit on Wednesday night, the Trail Blazers remained arguably the hottest team in the NBA. Having won seven of their past eight games, Portland is starting to display the chemistry and consistency that is the mark of a championship team. In the 87-81 win over the Pistons, Andre Miller played his finest game as a member of the Trail Blazers. Miller recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and handing out 11 assists.

After playing nearly perfect for three quarters, and building a twenty point lead, Portland again allowed the opposing team to rally and cut into a large deficit. The Pistons made a huge fourth quarter push, and eventually cut the lead down to one point in the final minutes. Thankfully, Steve Blake hit his third shot from behind the arc with less than a minute to go, which helped hold off the Detroit rally. According to Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan, this group is still learning how to win games on a consistent basis.

"The margin for error is where it's at because of the group," McMillan said after the win. "It's a young group that is still trying to learn how to win and win big. We had one year where we won some games, so we're not there yet. We have got to play the game right for 48 minutes."

In the win over Detroit, the Trail Blazers got great performances from both LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy. Aldridge routinely beat his man down the court in transition, and used these easy looks to score 20 points and grab 7 boards. Roy matched Aldridge with 20 points of his own, while dishing out five assists and bringing down four rebounds. Roy will be especially excited to face the Warriors, as he averaged 26.0 points and 5.3 assists in the three meetings last season.

The Warriors can certainly be considered a team in transition. They recently traded away Stephen Jackson, who despite some trouble off the court, remained a very productive player. The leading threat for Golden State is the extremely explosive Monta Ellis. Ellis averages 19.5 points and 5.2 assists per game, and he is the type of quick guard that the Trail Blazers have routinely struggled against.

Complimenting Ellis in the back court is Stephen Curry. The rookie from Davidson is still adjusting to the NBA game, but he has started to show signs of being a very solid point guard. Since the trade of Jackson, Curry has averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 assists.

Last season, the Warriors won two of the three meetings between the teams, but this season they will have to come to the Rose Garden twice.

Portland will again be without the services of Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, Jeff Pendergraph, and Patty Mills. This game will be shown on KGW-TV, where Mike Rice and Mike Barrett will provide the commentary. For those fans who won't be around a television, the game can be heard on 95.5 FM The Game. Antonio Harvey and Brian Wheeler will have the call for the radio broadcast.
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