Cleveland Cavaliers
Post by Nino Brown on Jun 1, 2019 5:52:38 GMT -5
Lakers vs GSW Western Conference Finals Preview:
Ah, the old LA vs The Bay argument. The Legendary Purple and Gold Lakers vs The New Guard! Kawhi Leonard vs Stephen Curry! The roaring loud fans in the Bay vs The always loyal Lakers fans! There is much to be excited about in this All Californian WCF.
For starters let’s look at how both teams got here. The Warriors absolutely dominated regular season basketball, led to a 69-13 record by the sharp shooting Stephen Curry, and the All Star two-way guard, Paul George. They’re also unbeaten up to this point in the post season, we could be seeing one of the more impressive D720 championship runs.
The Warriors didn’t go without their fair share of controversy this season, trading away a player that’s widely considered a top 10 basketball asset, and franchise center in Karl Towns, benching Stephen Curry multiple times throughout the season, and into the playoffs to give their second unit a boost, the untimely firing of long tenured GM, Penny Hardaway.
One would have to think, this could potentially affect their FA aspirations in regards to resigning Paul George, or even worse the team might be so distracted that they blow their chance at their first finals appearance. This season has certainly been interesting for Warriors to say the least.
The Lakers have taken a bit of a different path, off to a struggling start at the beginning of the season, they hovered around .500, and eventually dropped as far as the 12th seed. Eventually through trades that saw great players like Rudy Gobert, and Caris Levert leave, the Lakers were one of the hottest teams in the league post all star break. The acquisition of Serge Ibaka saw the Lakers turn from pretender into a legit top 5 team. The Lakers put you in the mind of those gritty 90’s teams. Nasty defense from inside to the perimeter.
Seriously Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Clint Capela have to be in conversation for the best defensive front court in the league. I might even go as far as saying Kawhi Leonard would get my mvp vote. The rest of the team fills out nicely as well, they have veteran leadership in Rajon Rondo, and then an absolute Livewire off the bench in Tobias Harris. I think I speak for most journalist, and fans when I say, even with their second half of the season run, we didn’t expect the Lakers to beat the former champion Denver Nuggets, and the Trail Blazers who are an elite team in their own right.
Keys for Victory:
In order for the Warriors to win this series and advance to the NBA finals, they’ll need to shoot the 3 well, and remain competitive on the boards. The Warriors have the best offense in the league, and that will need to continue, but they’ll also be looking to use Paul George to limit Kawhi Leonard on offense. The Trail Blazers were able to decrease his efficiency, but in the end, the team effort of the Lakers seemed to overcome whatever was thrown at them. Quite simply put, the Warriors need to be the Warriors.
For the Lakers, I expect them to utilize their defensive versatility, and I fully expect Tobias Harris to be a more integral part of their rotation in order to keep up with Golden State’s fire power. Clint Capela should average 20-10 in this series, as the lack of a true interior presence is probably the Warriors one Achilles heel.
Prediction:
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect the Suns to give the Warriors a tougher go in that series in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. After all they did represent the Western Conference in the finals last year. I personally felt as though they were constructed to at least make life difficult for Warriors.
This year’s Suns team came equipped with elite defense, and a big interior presence in Andre Drummond, but where the Suns lacked a go to option on offense, the Lakers have a couple guys that can give you 25-30 seemingly at will. I also expect the duo of Ibaka and Capela to dominate the glass, but even with all of that, I think the Warriors find a way to get it done and advance to the finals after a hard fought SEVEN game series!
Ah, the old LA vs The Bay argument. The Legendary Purple and Gold Lakers vs The New Guard! Kawhi Leonard vs Stephen Curry! The roaring loud fans in the Bay vs The always loyal Lakers fans! There is much to be excited about in this All Californian WCF.
For starters let’s look at how both teams got here. The Warriors absolutely dominated regular season basketball, led to a 69-13 record by the sharp shooting Stephen Curry, and the All Star two-way guard, Paul George. They’re also unbeaten up to this point in the post season, we could be seeing one of the more impressive D720 championship runs.
The Warriors didn’t go without their fair share of controversy this season, trading away a player that’s widely considered a top 10 basketball asset, and franchise center in Karl Towns, benching Stephen Curry multiple times throughout the season, and into the playoffs to give their second unit a boost, the untimely firing of long tenured GM, Penny Hardaway.
One would have to think, this could potentially affect their FA aspirations in regards to resigning Paul George, or even worse the team might be so distracted that they blow their chance at their first finals appearance. This season has certainly been interesting for Warriors to say the least.
The Lakers have taken a bit of a different path, off to a struggling start at the beginning of the season, they hovered around .500, and eventually dropped as far as the 12th seed. Eventually through trades that saw great players like Rudy Gobert, and Caris Levert leave, the Lakers were one of the hottest teams in the league post all star break. The acquisition of Serge Ibaka saw the Lakers turn from pretender into a legit top 5 team. The Lakers put you in the mind of those gritty 90’s teams. Nasty defense from inside to the perimeter.
Seriously Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Clint Capela have to be in conversation for the best defensive front court in the league. I might even go as far as saying Kawhi Leonard would get my mvp vote. The rest of the team fills out nicely as well, they have veteran leadership in Rajon Rondo, and then an absolute Livewire off the bench in Tobias Harris. I think I speak for most journalist, and fans when I say, even with their second half of the season run, we didn’t expect the Lakers to beat the former champion Denver Nuggets, and the Trail Blazers who are an elite team in their own right.
Keys for Victory:
In order for the Warriors to win this series and advance to the NBA finals, they’ll need to shoot the 3 well, and remain competitive on the boards. The Warriors have the best offense in the league, and that will need to continue, but they’ll also be looking to use Paul George to limit Kawhi Leonard on offense. The Trail Blazers were able to decrease his efficiency, but in the end, the team effort of the Lakers seemed to overcome whatever was thrown at them. Quite simply put, the Warriors need to be the Warriors.
For the Lakers, I expect them to utilize their defensive versatility, and I fully expect Tobias Harris to be a more integral part of their rotation in order to keep up with Golden State’s fire power. Clint Capela should average 20-10 in this series, as the lack of a true interior presence is probably the Warriors one Achilles heel.
Prediction:
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect the Suns to give the Warriors a tougher go in that series in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. After all they did represent the Western Conference in the finals last year. I personally felt as though they were constructed to at least make life difficult for Warriors.
This year’s Suns team came equipped with elite defense, and a big interior presence in Andre Drummond, but where the Suns lacked a go to option on offense, the Lakers have a couple guys that can give you 25-30 seemingly at will. I also expect the duo of Ibaka and Capela to dominate the glass, but even with all of that, I think the Warriors find a way to get it done and advance to the finals after a hard fought SEVEN game series!