This is the other semifinal match-up in the Western Conference as the defending champs, Golden State take on the Portland Trailblazers. Coming into this game, the talk in this series or in the NBA is the injury status of Stephen Curry, who’s likely to win his 2nd consecutive MVP award. The original diagnosis got him possibly returning on May 9th, which would be game 4 of this series, which takes place in Portland, but he’s targeting a much earlier date. The Warriors reached this point by beating the Houston Rockets in the first round 4-1, despite not having Curry for most part of the series. On the other hand, Portland finished off the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round 4-2 because Chris Paul fractured his right hand in Game 3. The Trailblazers were down in the series 0-2, but went on to win four games in a row to reach this point. Let’s see how things will play out in this series and who will reach the Western Conference finals.
I think everyone expected the Golden State Warriors to reach this point of the playoffs, especially after their record-breaking season eclipsing the 95-96 Bulls record of 72 wins in a season by finishing with a 73-9 record. With the injury and uncertainty of Stephen Curry, he could possibly miss this series because he will be re-evaluated to see where he stands after the injury. Golden State is still a really good team without Curry so they still have a championship team and could hold their own. The Warriors are still the favorite to advance to the Western Conference finals over the Trailblazers. Can the Warriors biggest issue in this series be they may look over Portland, because they were thinking the Clippers would be their 2nd round opponent? Does the Portland Trailblazers have a shot in this series? Do you remember the 51 pt. game Damian Lillard put up against Curry and the Warriors earlier in the season? Damien Lillard and the Trailblazers are a very underrated team that no one saw making the playoffs after LaMarcus Aldridge left for San Antonio after becoming a free agent. They overachieved this year and have one of the best backcourts in the league with Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The Trailblazers beat the Warriors once this year with Curry, how will they fare against the defending champs? With or without Curry, I’m picking the Warriors to win this series and advance to the Western Conference finals again.
Golden State Win Series 4-1
Do you think the injury to Stephen Curry will be a huge factor in this series? What do you think will transpire in this series? Do you think Portland have a shot to pull off the upset in this series? Head to the comments section and let me know your thoughts about this playoff series.
