At 3:30 PM EST on ABC, the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers will begin the other second round series in the Western Conference. The Warriors come into this series having disposed of the Houston Rockets in five games while the Trail Blazers took care of the Los Angeles Clippers in six. It was expected that the Warriors make quick work of the Rockets, but it was not expected that the Trail Blazers would get past the Clippers. The Trail Blazers heavily benefited from Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both going down for the series and to their credit, they capitalized.
In this series, the Trail Blazers may have caught another break in not having to deal with Stephen Curry right away. Curry went down in the Warriors' series against the Rockets with a sprained right knee and it is unclear when he'll be able to return. If the Portland Trail Blazers want any chance at upsetting the defending champions, they have to take advantage of Stephen Curry's absence early on in this series. The best way for them to do that will be through their potent back court composed of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. If both of those guys can go off for 25+ points each in this series, the Trail Blazers will have a chance to pull off the upset.
However, even without Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors are still the better team. With Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and Andrew Bogut healthy, the Warriors have enough weapons to put away the Trail Blazers in five games. Stephen Curry really should not be needed until the Western Conference Finals. Make no mistake, the absence of Stephen Curry gives the Trail Blazers some daylight, but not enough daylight to make them the favorites in this series.
If there is anything that the Portland Trail Blazers should do to give themselves a chance at winning this series, it is to get big production from C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard while also getting some help from their role players. If guys like Allen Crabbe can score in double figures and get going a bit, that will really help improve the Trail Blazers' chances of winning this series.
As far as the Warriors are concerned, they need to overwhelm the Trail Blazers with all of their weapons and continue to play defense at a high level. The Warriors should still be able to play elite defense without Stephen Curry on the floor, which should in turn force a lot of turnovers and help them get out in transition, which is where they thrive. If the Warriors are able to use their defense as a catalyst to getting multiple guys going like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, this series will be over quick.
Ultimately, I have the Warriors winning this series in five games even with Stephen Curry out for an indefinite period of time. I respect the Portland Trail Blazers a lot for coming as far as they have on the heels of losing LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs. Terry Stotts deserved serious consideration for winning Coach of the Year for the way he has gotten his team to play in the face of everyone thinking they'd miss the playoffs. But, at the end of the day, I cannot pick against the defending champs in this series. They have too many weapons even without Stephen Curry and should this series get tight, odds are good Stephen Curry will find a way to play.
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