Road Warriors no more as Golden State readies for lengthy homestand
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Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket in the second half during a game against the Orlando Magic.
PHOTO: AFP
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SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors begin the schedule-equalising portion of their season on Nov 21 (Nov 22, Singapore time) when they get a revenge matchup at home against the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA Cup game.
The Warriors will play more than two straight home games for the first time this National Basketball Association (NBA) season after concluding a 10-day, six-game trip that vaulted them to the league lead in road games with 12. They have gone 4-8 in those games.
Golden State now embark on a five-game homestand that will equal the number of home dates the team have had this season.
Three of those five earlier games were standalones, while the only previous two-game homestand was scheduled as a back-to-back.
The Warriors visited Portland on the second night of a home/road back-to-back in the first week of the season and suffered a 139-119 defeat on a night when the Trail Blazers shot 53.8 per cent from the field and 47.1 per cent on three-pointers.
Golden State will also face the Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder at home before their next road outing on Dec 4 at the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I think we’ll be grateful at the end of the year that this isn’t the stretch that we have at the end of the season,” seldom-used backup Pat Spencer assured reporters after being pressed into a career-high 32 minutes in the 110-96 loss at the Miami Heat on Nov 19.
“We like where we’re at,” he continued. “(We’re grateful) to be where we’re at with the number of games that we played (and), knock on wood, have a really healthy team at this point in the season.”
Ironically, the Warriors (9-8) will attempt to improve on their 1-1 NBA Cup record with a generally rested roster. Veterans Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Al Horford were all given the night off in Miami, and Jonathan Kuminga may be ready to return from patellar tendonitis to open the homestand after he sat out the final four games of the trip.
The Trail Blazers (6-9) also split their first two games in West Group C of the Cup. All five teams have identical records with two contests remaining. Portland handed the Denver Nuggets a 109-107 defeat in their Cup opener on Halloween.
That improved the surprising Trail Blazers, whose coach Chauncey Billups was suspended on Oct 23 following his arrest as part of a federal gambling investigation, to 4-2 at the time. But they have since lost seven of nine, including four in a row as they embark on a three-game trip.
Meanwhile, in NBA action on Nov 20, Tyrese Maxey scored 54 points to spark the 76ers in a 123-114 overtime victory at the Milwaukee Bucks while San Antonio surged late to beat Atlanta.
In San Antonio, De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points and Keldon Johnson added 25 off the bench to spark the Spurs over the visiting Hawks 135-126.
In other news, the Los Angeles Lakers’ reorganisation of their front office includes the firings of executives Joey and Jesse Buss, younger brothers of team governor Jeanie Buss and sons of the former owner, the late Jerry Buss, multiple outlets reported on Nov 20.
Several members of the scouting department also were let go, according to the reports.
The Buss family controlled the Lakers franchise for 46 years until the sale to new majority owner Mark Walter for a US$10 billion (S$13.08 billion) valuation that was finalised in October with the NBA Board of Governors’ approval.
Jeanie Buss, 64, remains the Lakers’ operating governor for at least five years as part of the negotiation, according to the reports. REUTERS, AFP
