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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 Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2. Slowing down the Warriors big 3

The Warriors are the defending champions for a reason and the biggest reason why is because of their star power. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are some of the most lethal offensive players in NBA history. If Rip City wants any chance to win this matchup, it has to find a way to slow those guys down, at least one of them every game. Durant is going to miss Game 1 and is unlikely to play Game 2. The Blazers’ biggest opportunity to steal a game and gain momentum is going to be right away with him out.

Durant has been on one fantastic playoff run this year. Through 11 games, he is averaging 34.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from the 3-point line and 90.1 percent from the free throw line. The Blazers have to be somewhat relieved to know he is going to miss at least one game.

Curry and Thompson have taken a backseat to Durant, but they still are talented enough to get the job down and win games without him. The Blazers are going to need their backcourt to play smart defense and try and make the shot attempts hard for those guys. But even good defense is sometimes not good enough when talking about Curry or Thompson.

For the playoffs, Curry has averaged 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Thompson is averaging 18.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Harkless, Aminu, Hood and Evan Turner will all draw the challenge of guarding the Warriors’ Big 3. There is a good mixture of length, size and strength between those guys for the Blazers to be able to throw different looks at Golden State all series.

Just like Russell Westbrook, Paul Geroge and Nikola Jokic, Golden State’s stars are going to put up numbers in these games; it just comes down to how hard they have to work for their points throughout the game. Portland can’t stop them but it has to slow them down.