Warriors’ Road to the Finals: Ideal Playoff Scenarios
By Ryan Hurlow
April 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard
Damian Lillard(0) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers, without home court, will face the Grizzlies in the first round. Though hobbled with key injuries to Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo, we can expect the offensive machine that is LaMarcus Aldridge to put the team on his back.
It’s unlikely that the Blazers can make it past the Grizzlies without home court advantage, but Portland is an ideal matchup for the Warriors in the second round. If the Blazers are able to top Memphis, the Warriors may have an easier second round to play through. The Warriors swept the regular season series against the Blazers with Stephen Curry topping off the final win with an MVP caliber performance.
Damian Lillard is a prominent offensive option; however, his defense is atrocious. The Warriors can expect to exploit Lillard’s weakness by going right at him. The loss of Afflalo and Matthews is a huge blow to the Blazers’ offense and defense. Nicolas Batum is also nursing a knee contusion that may hinder his performance. This leaves Aldridge, Lillard and C.J McCollum as the primary scorers. The Blazers simply don’t have the depth nor the overall talent to match the Warriors’ scoring output, or even contain the Warriors’ blistering offense.
The Warriors should hope that the Blazers are able to outlast the Grizzlies so that they are able to exploit the unfortunate holes in their game during the semifinals.
Next: Western Conference Finals