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Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers: A beginning of a new era for the Dubs

The Portland Trail Blazers are hosting the Golden State Warriors today at Rose Garden in the home opener of the 2024-25 season.

Do the Warriors still have it?

The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs last season and decided to make huge roster changes. They will be without Klay Thompson on the roster for the first time since 2011 when they drafted him. Also, the Dubs decided not to resign veteran Chris Paul, who is out of the team after only one season. Steph Curry and the majority of the players from last year are still there, and it will be interesting to see what head coach Steve Kerr can do with this group.

How bad are the Blazers this year?

The Portland Trail Blazers finished the last season at the bottom of the Western Conference with only 21 wins. They drafted center Donovan Clingan out of UConn with the seventh pick, hoping to create a good tandem with Scoot Henderson, who was picked third in last year’s draft. In the offseason, the Blazers traded for Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards, who is another solid addition for the Chauncey Billups’ team.

Betting Trends

The Blazers are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games overall, 0-7 SU in their last 7 home games, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Warriors. They are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games played in October and 6-2 ATS in their last 6 games played on Wednesday. Portland has played under the total point line in 6 of their last 8 games overall, in 8 of the last 12 games against Golden State and 4 of the last 5 games against teams from the Western Conference. The Warriors are 10-3 SU in their last 13 games overall, 6-0 SU in their last 6 games against the Blazers and 7-2 SU in their last 9 games on the road. They are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against teams from the Western Conference and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games against teams from the Northwest Division. Golden State has played under the total point line in 4 of their laast 6 games in October.

Prediction and Conclusion

A beginning of the new era is on in the Bay Area as the Warriors parted ways with one of their main men in the past decade, Klay Thompson. Still, Steph Curry is here, and the Warriors will keep the same run-and-gun identity. Coach Steve Kerr has a couple of young players on the team, and guys like Jonathan Kumminga will get a bigger role. On the other side, the Blazers are still in rebuilding mode, and no one expects anything from them this season. The Warriors have been dominant over the Blazers in recent years, and that will continue tonight with a win covering the -5.5-point spread.