With the Golden State Warriors Game 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers set to tip off on Monday night, we’re heading into a pivotal part of the series, and Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and co have a lot of work to do if they’re to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
After bouncing back from their tight Game 1 defeat with a dominant Game 2 victory, the Warriors were routed by the Lakers on Saturday, going down 127-97 and subsequently 2-1 in the series. With another game in Los Angeles to come, they’ll have to beat LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a raucous opposition crowd to level the series; no mean feat, but something this dynastic team is more than capable of doing. Here are three bold Golden State Warriors Game 4 predictions.
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1. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will score 35+ points
Stephen Curry looks just about set to explode. After ending the Sacramento Kings’ season with one of the performances of his career, Curry has been comparatively subdued against the Lakers so far. Through three games he’s averaging just 23.3 points, and while in Game 2 he took a backseat to Klay Thompson and played a key role as a facilitator, in the Warriors’ two losses he’s been notably down on his best.
Don’t get me wrong; Curry hasn’t been bad. He’s hit ten threes at over 43% in those losses, but he also had just 23 and 27 points in them, as well as three assists in both games. He’s capable of a whole lot more, and the Warriors will likely need it from him if they’re to wrestle their way back into this series.
In Game 7 against the Kings, Curry took a huge 38 shots, including 18 from long range. Obviously he was hitting a lot of them so the volume was justified, and while he might not reach those numbers in Game 3, he should have no qualms taking close to 30 in Game 4. Curry has no shortage of big game pedigree, and he can muster that up to put in a 35+ point showing on Monday night.
2. Golden State Warriors will limit turnovers to 12 or less
Throughout this era of dominance, one of the few areas in which the Warriors have caused problems for themselves is through turnovers. That’s obviously largely a product of the at-times hectic ball movement which has helped to make them so great, but nonetheless it’s something that can hurt them, and which did in Game 3.
It was far from their only issue, but the Warriors gave the ball up on 19 occasions in that game, leading to 27 points for the Lakers. That can’t happen again in Game 4. When they’re at their best, the Warriors are able to nullify this issue without sacrificing their high octane offensive game style. Don’t expect them to be cautious with the ball, but the Warriors will be well aware of the problems that turnovers caused them in their 30-point Game 3 defeat, and will no doubt make a concerted effort to limit the damage in this space on Monday night.
3. Golden State Warriors will outlast the Los Angeles Lakers and level the series
So far in this highly anticipated series, we’ve had one thriller, and a blowout to each side. That makes it a little hard to predict, but it feels a lot more difficult to imagine the Lakers taking a 3-1 lead than the Warriors levelling this thing up. The core of this team has been in big game situations so, so, so many times, and this is yet another one. If they lose this game, they’re certainly not out of the series with two games still to be played on their home floor, but history shows it’s mighty difficult to come back from a 3-1 deficit – a rare feat which the Warriors, of course, have famously been on the wrong side of against a LeBron James-led team.
They will be desperate to avoid that happening, and while desperation alone won’t be enough to beat this Lakers side, the sheer weight of the talent on their side certainly will be. With a big game from Stephen Curry and a little more care with ball in hand, they can level this enthralling series up at two games apiece.
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