Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors
They meet again. For the third time in four years, the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors will collide in the NBA Western Conference playoffs. But unlike their first two meetings, a trip to the NBA Finals is now at stake.
The Warriors were able to weather Kevin Durant‘s calf injury as they once again dashed the Houston Rockets’ championship hopes in the previous round. Meanwhile, the Blazers improbably won Game 7 on the road against the Denver Nuggets to reach their first conference finals since 2000.
Golden State have gotten past the Blazers with relative ease in their last two series, and the NBA 2019 betting odds have them favoured to do so once again. But the Blazers have been beating the odds all offseason and have their sights set on pulling off their biggest upset yet.
Talking Points
Warriors don’t need Durant to win
There were some who were quick to count the Warriors out when Durant went down with his calf injury in Game 5 of the Rockets series. Houston were already giving the Warriors another tough series through four games with Durant, what more without him?
But not only did the defending champions go on to win Game 5, they also closed out the Rockets in Game 6 on the road without the two-time Finals MVP.
In case anyone forgot, the Warriors were already pretty good even before Durant came over. And the Dubs were able to rediscover the swagger that helped them win a championship pre-KD at a crucial time in the series.
The Splash Brothers, in particular, both came through with vintage performances to overcome the Rockets’ resistance.
With Stephen Curry struggling early, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala kept the Warriors in the game in the first half with some excellent 3-point shooting. And eventually, the Chef finally got cooking as he sliced the Rockets defence apart for 33 second-half points.
The big NBA 2019 news is that Durant will miss at least Game 1 of the conference finals as he continues to recover. But the Warriors have shown that they remain as formidable as ever even without their other superstar.
With Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Iguodala still leading the way, the Warriors are more than capable of protecting their home court as they wait for Durant’s return.
Banged up Blazers
It seemed hard to see how the Blazers could possibly win a Game 7 on the road against the Nuggets if All-Star Damian Lillard came up with his worst shooting performance of this postseason. But somehow, the Blazers were able to do just that, thanks in large part to CJ McCollum.
The less-heralded half of the Blazers’ backcourt stepped up amid Lillard’s horrific 3-of-17 shooting night as he had 37 points and nine rebounds. With Dame Time unable to repeat his OKC heroics, it was McCollum who crucially came through in the clutch as he hit several key jumpers down the stretch to help seal the win.
The Blazers also got an unexpected 14 points off the bench from Evan Turner, who had scored just four points in the first six games of the series.
However, Portland can’t expect that type of production from Turner moving forward, and that also applies to several of their other role players.
Starting forwards Al-Farouq Aminu and Mo Harkless have both disappeared offensively in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Enes Kanter — already starting for the injured Jusuf Nurkic — has not quite been the same since further separating his shoulder early in the Nuggets series.
And even Rodney Hood, who has provided some much-needed offence off the bench, picked up a knee injury in Game 7 against the Nuggets and is now questionable to play in Game 1.
With so many question marks now on the Blazers’ roster, there will be even more pressure placed on Lillard and McCollum to perform. And while they did well to deliver against Denver, the Warriors will be a much, much taller mountain to climb.
History
As mentioned earlier, the Blazers and Warriors have met in two playoff series in recent years. Their first meeting was in the conference semi-finals in 2016. Despite Stephen Curry missing the first three games of that series with a knee injury, the Warriors still won the series, 4-1.
Their second meeting, which was during the first round in 2018, was even more one-sided. The Warriors easily swept the Blazers in four games en route to another NBA championship.
What are the odds?
Despite Durant’s absence for Game 1, SBOBET odds still have the Warriors priced at 1.28 to win Game 1 on the 1X2 market.
However, the Blazers still have a legitimate shot to cover the spread on the Asian Handicap market. They are currently priced at 2.04 on the +7.00 handicap.
Lillard is almost surely set to bounce back from his horrendous shooting performance in Game 7, while McCollum has been consistently strong in this postseason.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have had the habit this season of playing down to their opponents. And after their gruelling series against the Rockets, they may just put their foot off the gas a little bit for Game 1 against Portland.
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