The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WESTERN CONFERENCE
WARRIORS vs. TRAIL BLAZERS
Season series: Warriors, 4-0.
Storyline: With Kevin Durant back and healthy, Golden State’s quest to get to a third straight NBA Finals begins against an opponent it dominated this season. Golden State averaged 125 points and had its biggest win ever over Portland with a 135-90 rout Dec. 17. But all the games were before the All-Star break, and the Trail Blazers played their best basketball after that.
Key matchup: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson vs. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Perhaps the best backcourts in the West go head-to-head. All four guards are capable of putting up huge numbers, but Portland’s can’t afford any bad nights. Game 1: Sunday at Golden State.
Prediction: Warriors in 5.
ROCKETS vs. THUNDER
Season series: Rockets, 3-1. Storyline: Only the most intriguing matchup of the first round. Houston’s James Harden and OKC’s Russell Westbrook, former teammates with the Thunder, are the two leading candidates in an airtight MVP race. Each has put together historic offensive seasons to carry their teams to unexpected finishes.
Key matchup: Harden vs. Westbrook. Westbrook owns a decided statistical advantage in the series this season, averaging 36.3 points, 9.3 assists and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. Harden averaged 20.5 points, 12.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 34.3 percent, but won three of the four games. Game 1: Sunday at Houston.
Prediction: Rockets in 7.
SPURS vs. GRIZZLIES
Season series: Split, 2-2. Storyline: This is the fifth time these teams have met in the playoffs in the past 13 years. The Spurs have kept rolling along after Tim Duncan’s retirement, getting an MVP-caliber season from Kawhi Leonard and another masterful coaching job from Gregg Popovich to win 61 games. But the Grizzlies are no easy out. They held the Spurs to 90.5 points and 43 percent shooting in their four meetings this season.
Key matchup: Tony Parker vs. Mike Conley. Even though he’s past his prime, Parker remains integral to the Spurs’ chances for a deep playoff run. If Conley can dominate the matchup, Spurs could have their hands full. Game 1: Today at San Antonio.
Prediction: Spurs in 5.
CLIPPERS vs. JAZZ
Season series: Clippers, 3-1. Storyline: Same as the past few years with the Clippers, only with a little more urgency now given that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can become free agents. Are they good enough to make a deep run in the West? Their three victories over rising Utah gave them the season series tiebreaker and home-court advantage in this series.
Key matchup: DeAndre Jordan vs. Rudy Gobert. Gobert is the dominant man in the middle and potential defensive player of the year for a Jazz team that allowed an NBA-low 96.8 points per game this season. But he can’t roam around the paint too much and ignore Jordan, who turned Paul’s passes into a 71.4 percent field goal shooting mark that led the league. Game 1: Today at Los Angeles.
Prediction: Clippers in 7.