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The Golden State Warriors continue their road trip against the Toronto Raptors in this 2019 NBA Finals rematch. The two sides have already met once this season with the Warriors escaping with a narrow win in that contest.
Match Details
Fixture: Golden State Warriors vs Toronto Raptors | NBA Season 2020-21
Date & Time: Friday, April 2nd, 7 PM ET (Saturday, 4:30 AM IST)
Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
Golden State Warriors Preview
The Golden State Warriors continued their rough patch with a tough loss against the Miami Heat last night. Costly turnovers in the second half took the momentum away from the visitors. Steve Kerr's men have only won one of their last six matchups and are now two games below a .500 record.
Draymond Green hit double digits in scoring only for the 10th time this season. He had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists against Miami. This was only the second loss of the season for the Golden State Warriors' where Draymond scored 10 or more points. This should give the three-time All-Star some encouragement to express himself more freely on the offensive end.
Damion Lee was the hero for the Golden State Warriors in their previous matchup against the Toronto Raptors, but he has been struggling of late. The entire bench has been underperforming lately, managing a paltry 34.7 points per game since the All-Star break.
Key Player - Stephen Curry
Despite the loss on Thursday, Stephen Curry scored 36 points on 19 attempts against the Miami Heat. Even with the opposition defense's entire attention on him, Curry is managing to weasel into empty spaces for high percentage shots. He's averaging 29.2 points, 6.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game this season. Curry shot a mediocre 2-of-16 from the field in the last matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors, though.
Golden State Warriors Predicted Lineup
G Stephen Curry, G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Andrew Wiggins, F Draymond Green, C James Wiseman
Toronto Raptors Preview
The Toronto Raptors have won just one of their last 14 games this season. COVID seems to have taken a toll on the players since the team has been operating in small bursts of good basketball while struggling the rest of the way. This trend was visible in their last game against the OKC Thunder, where the Raptors took a 14-point lead in the first quarter but ended up losing by 10.
The Toronto Raptors have already started building towards the future and Gary Trent Jr. was one of their most interesting acquisitions before the NBA trade deadline. Trent Jr. had managed just 29 points in his first three outings for Toronto but stepped up against the Thunder, dropping 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting.
The Toronto Raptors will have several absentees against the Golden State Warriors, the most prominent of which are Kyle Lowry and Rodney Hood. Lowry will miss a second-straight game with a right foot infection while Hood has a sore hip.
Key Player - Fred VanVleet
Fred VanVleet leads the Toronto Raptors in scoring this season with 20.1 points per game but has struggled for consistency. The two-way guard has also managed 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game this season. VanVleet had 21 points on 45% shooting in the previous matchup against the Golden State Warriors. He'll have increased touches of the ball in Lowry's absence.
Toronto Raptors Predicted Lineup
G Fred VanVleet, G Gary Trent Jr., F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Aron Baynes
Warriors vs Raptors Match Prediction
The Golden State Warriors may not be winning a lot of games lately, but they're at least putting in a good fight. Stephen Curry has been in form since returning and Draymond Green has also been decent. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors are completely out of rhythm and will also be missing key players on Friday. Expect Curry and co. to dominate this tie.
Where to watch Warriors vs Raptors?
Local coverage of this matchup will be available on NBC Sports Bay Area. Telecast of the same will be carried by SN in Canada. You can also live stream this game via the NBA League Pass.
Also read: Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz Prediction & Match Preview - April 2nd, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21
