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The Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers will face off in two consecutive games at San Francisco. Both teams have a 2-2 record in the 2020-21 NBA season. The sides started the campaign with their superstars struggling for rhythm. However, the teams have begun to find form and Portland even defeated the LA Lakers at the Staples Center. In this piece, we will make a starting five with players of the two teams.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors: Combined starting five
These two teams are led by their guards. Golden State's success in recent years came with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson shooting teams out of the building. The Portland Trail Blazers, on their hand, have been driven by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The pair even led the franchise to an appearance in the 2019 Western Conference Finals.
The Golden State Warriors started the 2020-21 NBA season playing four games on the road. The team suffered huge losses at the Brooklyn Nets and against the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day. However, they beat the Chicago Bulls and then registered a win over the Detroit Pistons.
The Portland Trail Blazers lost their season-opening game at home against the Utah Jazz. They then won two games in a row, at home against the Houston Rockets in a thrilling encounter, and in Los Angeles over the reigning champions LA Lakers. Portland followed it up with another game at the Staples Center, this time against the LA Clippers, but suffered a blowout loss against Kawhi Leonard and co.
These teams will start 2021 with two consecutive matches at the Chase Center in San Francisco. With both sides boasting superstars in their backcourt, choosing between them is a tough task. On that note, here is our starting five from the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors.
Point Guard - Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry is a Top-2 point guard in NBA history, so his spot in any combined starting five is a guarantee. However, Damian Lillard's case as one of the three best point guards in today's league is solid.
Nonetheless, despite his own struggles, Curry has been better than Lillard to start the 2020-21 NBA season. Steph Curry began the campaign with two tough games. However, he bounced back by scoring 36 points at Chicago and followed it up with 31 in Detroit to guide his Golden State Warriors to two consecutive victories.
Curry has made 41% of his field goals so far and 32% of his threes and is averaging 26.5 points per game. While it is not his usual high level, it has been better than Lillard's 23 points per game on 40/29/93 shooting splits.
Shooting Guard - C.J. McCollum
C.J. McCollum has been the main offensive weapon of the Portland Trail Blazers in their first four games. Even though Lillard has had a couple of 30-point games to start the season, McCollum has been the most consistent scorer for Portland.
McCollum has scored at least 20 points in each of Portland's four games. He also had a tremendous 44-point night against the Houston Rockets to give the Trail Blazers their first win of the 2020-21 NBA season.
He is averaging 28 points per game and has made 44% of his field goals and 48% of his threes.
Small Forward - Carmelo Anthony (Portland Trail Blazers)
Carmelo Anthony is not the superstar he once was in the NBA, but between him and the other options at this position, 'Melo' was the best choice.
Anthony started 58 regular-season games for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019-20 NBA season and averaged 15 points per game. In the current season, Anthony has played three games coming off the bench and is averaging 12 points per game. He has struggled with his shooting form, but he should improve in the upcoming games.
Even though he has not started a game, Anthony has played over 20 minutes every night so far.
Power Forward - Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Draymond Green has not played a single game of the 2020-21 NBA season for the Golden State Warriors. However, he will be a key piece for the team and their aspirations of making the postseason.
A foot injury has kept the vocal leader of the Golden State Warriors on the sidelines to start the 2020-21 NBA season. Still, Green will be huge for the Warriors when he does return to basketball shape.
Draymond Green's could return very soon and he is listed as probable to play against the Portland Trail Blazers. He is a three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year winner.
Green averages nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists per game in his NBA career.
Center - James Wiseman (Golden State Warriors)
We all know that Jusuf Nurkic is an established center in today's NBA and that he is currently a better player than rookie James Wiseman. However, Wiseman is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game in just 23 minutes per night.
Wiseman is not an experienced player. In fact, he did not even play a full year of college basketball. He played just three games for Memphis in college due to legal issues.
Still, his skill set is off the charts for a player of his size (7'1'') and he can only get better with time.
Wiseman has made 18 of his 41 field goal attempts, and five of his eight attempts from the three-point line. He is also a good rim protector for the Golden State Warriors thanks to his height and frame.
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