Warriors beat: Hometown pride has fueled big games for Lillard against Warriors.
Nine years removed from living in Oakland year-round,
Damian Lillard views his hometown as an integral part of his identity.
The Trail Blazers point guard wears No. 0, a.k.a the letter “O,” for Oakland. His debut rap album, released in October under his stage name, Dame D.O.L.L.A., was called “The Letter O.” In interviews, Lillard often credits his childhood neighborhood of Brookfield Village in East Oakland for helping him develop toughness.
His hometown pride has helped fuel numerous big games against the Warriors, who play a short drive from where Lillard grew up. Now, as it prepares to host Portland in Game 1 of the first round Sunday, Golden State is again crafting its game plan around limiting Lillard.
“The guy’s a tremendous scorer,” Warriors head coach
Steve Kerr said after practice Friday. “He shoots it from anywhere. He’s got the mid-range game, he can get to the rim. He’s very difficult to guard.”
Lillard has tended to dominate Golden State. He poured in a career-high 51 points on 18-for-28 shooting, including 9-for-12 from beyond the arc, in the Blazers’ Feb. 19, 2016, home rout of the Warriors. Lillard’s 31.8 points per game in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals, when Portland lost to the Warriors in five games, is the highest scoring average by a Blazers player in a playoff series.
This season, Golden State had more success containing him while going unbeaten against Portland. Lillard averaged 23.3 points in three games against the Warriors, nearly four points below his season average.
“We have a formula to defend them, and hopefully we execute,” Warriors guard Klay
Thompson said of Lillard and backcourt mate C.J. McCollum. “But it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We have the same mind-set.”
Nurkic’s status: Complicating the Warriors’ preparations for Portland is the fact that they aren’t sure who will start at center for the Blazers. Jusuf
Nurkic, who missed the last seven regular-season games with a slight fracture in his right leg, will be a game-time decision Sunday.
“We’re preparing for him to be there,” Kerr said, “and also preparing for their lineups without him.”
After Portland acquired him in a Feb. 12 trade with Denver, Nurkic averaged 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds in 20 games. The Blazers are 14-5 when the Bosnian big man starts.
Barnes update: Warriors forward Matt Barnes remains doubtful for Game 1 with a sprained right ankle.
“Matt got on the floor today and shot, moved around a little bit,” Kerr said. “But he didn’t participate in practice, so I can’t imagine he’ll play Sunday.”