Golden State Warriors: The Road to Another NBA Championship
By Ryan Viera
Round 2: Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers
The second round of the NBA playoffs will start on May 2nd, and depending on how things go in round one, a rivalry may be renewed. The Clippers head into the playoffs with a 53-29 record, good enough for the 4th seed in the Western Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers, against all odds, were able to grab the 5th seed in the west, despite losing all but one starter last off-season.
The match-up is interesting, but the Clippers likely have the advantage. The Clippers won the season series against the Blazers 3-1, but with Damian Lillard leading the way for Portland, getting to the second round isn’t impossible.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
The Blazers are one of only nine teams to beat the Warriors this season, and they did so with Golden State at near full strength. The Warriors got blown out in Portland the first game after All-Star weekend by a score of 137-105, in one of the very few games that the Warriors actually did not beat themselves. In the four games these teams have played this season, three of which were Warrior wins, the Dubs averaged 124 points per game compared to 117 from the Blazers.
As for the more likely series against the Clippers, the Warriors won all four games against them this season, by an average margin of seven and a half points. The Warriors also never scored under 112 points in those four games, while the Clippers scored under or at that in three of the four meetings.
The x-factors in this series will the health of both teams, particularly Blake Griffin, who missed 44 games this year with a leg and hand injury. Also, a deciding factor will be how the Clippers decide to play Stephen Curry, as they have had success against him when they throw two guys at him on the pick and roll. However, Curry has done a much better job taking care of the ball when put in those situations this season, so we will have to wait and see what adjustments are made.
Predictions: Golden State wins series over Los Angeles 4-1 OR Golden State wins series over Portland 4-0
Next: Western Conference Finas