2019 Western Conference Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers preview

Key Question No. 2: Who steps up for Portland outside of Dame and CJ?

The issue of Portland’s supporting cast has been a long-standing issue in the Dame and CJ era. The front office has done its best to surround them with complementary pieces, but none have truly stood out so far aside from the sidelined Jusuf Nurkic.

It’s a problem that’s reared its ugly head once again during these playoffs. The only other player scoring in double figures has been Enes Kanter at 12.9 points per game. The Blazers have managed to get by, but Golden State’s championship-level defense is unlike any they’ve faced so far during this postseason.

The trio of Seth Curry, Evan Turner and Zach Collins have all had notable performance sprinkled across these playoffs. None, however, have managed to string together more than two consecutive positive outings scoring-wise.

The only sliver of hope to aid the Blazers’ woes is Rodney Hood. He broke out for 26 points against the Nuggets in Game 6 and has a propensity to explode at times to put up points in bunches. Unfortunately, he is day-to-day after suffering a hyperextended left knee in Game 7.

The Warriors can and likely will funnel the ball to anybody outside of McCollum and Lillard, daring their teammates to beat them with their shot-making. They can throw a number of different defenders at the two and overwhelm them with size on the perimeter with guys like Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala.

That’s going to force guys like Turner and Collins to keep defenses honest and produce points in whatever way they know how. If they can, Portland can keep things close and rely on its closers to bring it home. If not, the burden placed on its two leading scorers may be too much to overcome.