Warriors Closing In on 5th Straight NBA Finals Berth

Warriors Closing In on 5th Straight NBA Finals Berth

Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers

The Golden State Warriors are one win away from a fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. Thanks to back-to-back amazing second-half comebacks — including in Game 3 in Portland — the Warriors can also sweep the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in their last three playoff series.

Despite what the NBA 2019 betting odds say, the Blazers will be keen to prevent their season from ending just yet, especially in front of their own fans.

But they haven’t found any answers for the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, who have both been brilliant in lifting the team while Kevin Durant has been out with his calf injury.

Talking Points

Warriors’ role players

Despite missing arguably the best player in the league in Durant all series, the Warriors have seemingly not missed a beat. A lot of the credit for their success has been the phenomenal play of their other three All-Stars — Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson.

Curry has been lights out since the tail-end of the Rockets series. The two-time MVP has torched the Blazers for 36 points, six rebounds, six assists and six 3-pointers per game through the first three games of the series.

His Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, hasn’t been shooting particularly well in the series, but his 23 points per game have been very valuable.

And Green has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s been filling up the stat sheet to the tune of 16 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals, which goes to show the incredible impact he’s having on both ends of the court.

However, the Warriors’ chances in Game 4 could go down to their role players. With the latest NBA 2019 updates labelling Andre Iguodala as questionable to play due to his leg injury, the team’s other role players will need to step up.

They did just that in the second half of Game 3, as the likes of Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Quinn Cook, and Alfonzo McKinnie all made some important plays in Iguodala’s absence.

While the Warriors’ star trio of Curry, Green, and Thompson can carry the team far, getting those contributions from their supporting cast should help them seal the sweep in Portland.

Lillard’s effectiveness

In each of the last two games, the Blazers have been in a good position to steal a win from the Warriors. But on both occasions, they’ve failed to close them out. Damian Lillard’s struggles have been a big reason why.

Frankly, Lillard has had a disappointing series. He’s averaging just 20 points on 33 per cent shooting, which is just not going to cut it against Golden State.

Granted, his separated rib injury — which he suffered in Game 2 — likely played a role in his awful 5-of-18 shooting night in Game 3. But even in Game 7 against the Nuggets and Game 1 against the Warriors, he was already putting up some subpar performances.

As if Lillard’s struggles weren’t bad enough, the Blazers have also had to deal with CJ McCollum‘s cold shooting. McCollum has yet to shoot above 40 per cent in a game during this series, which has been disastrous for Portland.

With their two stars misfiring, the Blazers have few other reliable options to turn to. Meyers Leonard, who surprisingly started Game 4 and scored 16 points, is unlikely to play as well. It’s equally tough to see Evan Turner‘s 12-point outburst happening again.

But with the Blazers possibly playing their last home game of the season — coupled with Iguodala’s injury — perhaps it can all come together for them in Game 4 and avoid getting swept once again.

History

The Warriors have continued to just own the Blazers in the playoffs. Golden State are 11-1 in their last 12 postseason games against Portland and swept them in the first round back in 2017.

If the Warriors do pull it off, it would be their sixth series sweep in their magical five-year run, with the Blazers the lone team to get swept twice.

Obviously, completing the sweep will be much tougher without Iguodala. It seems unlikely that the Warriors will risk playing the veteran so soon following his injury scare. Even if Iguodala were capable of playing, the wise move would be to let rest until the Finals or if the Blazers somehow win two games in a row.

But recent history dictates that the Warriors can take care of business even without another member of the fabled Hamptons Five.

What Are The Odds?

SBOBET odds still favour Golden State to complete the sweep. The Warriors are priced at 1.62 to win Game 4 on the money line market.

They very well could close out the series on the road. They’ve proven in this series that they have more than enough to deal with the Blazers even without Durant.

But it’s hard to see the Blazers going out on this sour note, especially at home. After they worked so hard to erase the memory of last year’s sweep against the Pelicans, it’s hard to believe they will allow this to happen on their home floor.

Despite their struggles, Lillard and McCollum are fully capable of digging deep and keeping the Blazers alive for at least another game. Blazers +3.00 is priced at 2.04 on the Asian Handicap market, while their money line odds are 2.38.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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