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Portland Trail Blazers: 5 keys to 2019 Western Conference Finals vs. Warriors

By Ty Delbridge

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 13, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on February 13, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Portland Trail Blazers will face off with the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Here are five keys to the series.

After a long, hard-fought battle with the second-seeded Denver Nuggets, the Portland Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. The Blazers got here by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the first round and then beating the Nuggets in an intense seven-game series.

Portland will face a team it’s gotten used to seeing in the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have sent the Blazers home from the playoffs in two of the last three years — once in a first round sweep, and then in a gentleman’s sweep in the semifinals.

The Warriors got to the conference finals again this season by beating the Los Angeles Clippers in six games and the Houston Rockets in six games. The defending champs are without DeMarcus Cousins, who suffered a quad injury in the first round, and now it looks like they could be without their star Kevin Durant for the first two games of this series after he a strained his left calf in Game 5 against Houston.

This should be a fun series between two high-powered offenses, and it also has plenty of different storylines that are involved, the biggest one probably being that the Curry brothers will be facing off. Portland will look to keep this fun, magical season alive and here are five keys for them in this series against the Warriors.