Tonight at 9:00 PM EST on TNT, the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder will square off in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Warriors come into this series having taken out the Trail Blazers in five games while the Thunder stunned the Spurs in six games.
Even though the Warriors have been the best team in the NBA all season, the Thunder should not be taken lightly. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are one of the most dangerous duos in basketball and they have some really nice pieces around them in Enes Kanter, Steven Adams, and Dion Waiters. The Thunder are playing like a team on the verge of a major breakthrough and it's entirely possible that we will look back on their series against the Spurs as that "major breakthrough."
As for the Warriors, they have been the best team in the NBA all season and done so with historic success. After going down with an MCL sprain, Stephen Curry appears to be "back" after watching what he did to the Trail Blazers in Game 4 and Game 5. He absolutely murdered the Trail Blazers with his three-point shooting and made them look utterly helpless as he chucked up ridiculous shots from beyond the arc. Assuming he is able to play like this against the Thunder, it's hard to see the Thunder finding a way to win this series considering the weapons that Stephen Curry has around him (Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, etc.)
One key to this series will be the health of Andrew Bogut, who has been dealing with an adductor strain. He is expected to play in Game 1 tonight, but his health will still be something to monitor. If he is unable to be effective in this series, Enes Kanter and Steven Adams will look to take advantage and pound the Warriors inside. While Andrew Bogut wasn't needed to beat the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals last season, his absence would be felt against a team like the Thunder who have two quality bigs.
Another key to this series will be Russell Westbrook and how the Warriors defend him. Will Draymond Green go on him? Will Harrison Barnes take him? Will Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, or Klay Thompson? The Warriors need to figure out a way to effectively guard Russell Westbrook and keep him out of the lane. Kevin Durant is hard to guard as well, but Durant isn't explosive like Westbrook is. The Warriors will really want to put the clamps down on Russell Westbrook and make life as difficult for him as possible.
What is so exciting about this series is that both teams have elite players that can takeover a game. Stephen Curry has the ability to single-handedly change the outcome of games with his ridiculous three-point shooting while Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are both able to impose their will on opponents and hit big shots. I expect a lot of games to be close in this series, which means that this series will come down to which players are able to be the most clutch.
In the end, I'm picking the Warriors to win this series in seven games. This will be a back and forth series with lots of changes and swings in momentum. The Thunder will give the Warriors all that they can handle, but I can't pick against the two-time MVP Stephen Curry and a Warriors team that won an NBA-record 73 games. The Thunder are certainly capable of winning this series, but to pick against the Warriors after what we've seen them do would just be disrespectful and foolish.
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