The top-seeded Golden State Warriors and third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers disposed of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets in six and seven games, respectively. The two teams will meet for a third time in four years. Golden State beat Portland in a 2017 first-round sweep and a 2016 second-round, five-game set. How they got here Golden State: In their quest for a third straight title and fourth in five years, the Warriors lost DeMarcus Cousins to a torn left quad in Game 2 of the first round and Kevin Durant to a right calf strain in Game 5 of the second round. Yet, here we are, with Golden State installed as heavy favorites to beat Portland and become the first team since the Boston Celtics of the 1950s and ‘60s to reach five straight Finals. Cousins, somehow, is “on course” to return during the Western Conference finals, and Durant is scheduled to be re-evaluated this week, when we should know if and when he can play in this series. So, after all the hullabaloo over Durant’s impending free agency and Cousins’ decision to join a team already stacked with four All-Star starters, we are likely left with the Warriors of old for at least the start of this series. Are they still good enough with merely three All-NBA talents? They looked the part on Friday, when Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 60 points in a close-out win in Houston. The “Strength in Numbers” Warriors were back, with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and a cast of late draft picks filling roles around Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green. Andrew Bogut was there, too. There is still some suspense, and that is a good thing. Curry and Thompson both battled cold streaks through two rounds, and Golden State’s depth remains a question, even as 35-year-old Iguodala turns back the clock and backup center Kevon Looney emerges as a real threat. There are concerns about Bogut, Quinn Cook, Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell, all of whom were called upon in Houston, and Livingston had been largely ineffective until Game 6. If you’re calling for more frontcourt minutes from Jonas Jerebko, you know you’re not completely at ease. Story continues If Durant returns by the time this series moves to Portland and is any semblance of himself, that’s a different story. Even as the Warriors went longer than expected in their first-round series with the Los Angeles Clippers and were deadlocked entering Game 5 against the Rockets, the outcomes never really felt in doubt, because Durant was the best player in all the playoffs and nobody had an answer for him. Stephen Curry has historically been a step ahead of Damian Lillard in the NBA's point guard hierarchy. (Getty Images) Portland: How the Blazers got here is a hero’s journey. They were swept from the first round by the New Orleans Pelicans in last year’s playoffs, and the NBA intelligentsia largely left them for dead. But Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum apparently do not die. They somehow never stop coming back stronger and better. Lillard took out the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 1 with one of the greatest close-out game performances in NBA history, and McCollum ousted the Denver Nuggets in Round 2 with an almost equally dramatic Game 7 performance. Both were marked by signature moments — Dame’s 37-foot game-winner and CJ’s late chase-down block — that finally pounded into our brains: Yes, you can win with two 6-foot-3 playmaking guards leading the way, or at least with these two. The Blazers were written off once center Jusuf Nurkic snapped his leg in two at the end of March, but the resilience of Enes Kanter and emergence of Zach Collins helped Portland answer some questions about whether they can win without him. That they have done so despite more inconsistent play from stalwart swingmen Al-Farouq Aminu and Mo Harkless is further testament to Lillard and McCollum. Portland’s backcourt is averaging 54 points on 44/39/80 shooting splits, along with 10.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game in the playoffs. You don’t need much help when they’re giving you that kind of production, and they’ve gotten more than they bargained for from midseason additions Kanter and Rodney Hood (who enter this series battling shoulder and knee injuries suffered against Denver, respectively). Mostly, though, Portland has gotten through by playing smart and hard and together. They rarely give away extra possessions and work to get more, playing with the import of a team marked by stability and a sense that everyone knows his place in the hierarchy. Whether that matters against a team that has proven time and again to be more talented, with or without Durant, we are about to find out. Head to head Since we aren’t clear whether Durant will be available and for how long, since Nurkic was really good against the Warriors, and since neither Curry nor Green played in a game Golden State won by 28, it’s hard to draw many conclusions about the first season series split of the Steve Kerr era between the two teams. Yet, it does feel like there is something to the Blazers winning in Oracle Arena for the first time since November 2013 — on another Lillard game-winner with 6.3 seconds left, no less — and then blowing the Warriors out at home in their most recent meeting. Both of those games featured the full Cousins-less contingent of Golden State stars, with Looney playing center, and that has to give Portland even more confidence than they already exude, especially if Durant remains sidelined. Durant was remarkable — and remarkably consistent — against the Blazers, averaging 28.8 points (on 57.5/41.2/76.2 shooting splits), 6.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and three combined blocks and steals over the four meetings. Likewise, Nurkic was really impressive against the Warriors this year, averaging 20.3 points, 10 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the four games. Both of their absences impact the apexes of the two teams in different ways, but neither is unaccustomed to playing without them. McCollum was fairly inefficient in all four games against Golden State during the regular season, averaging 18 points on 18 shots and shooting a combined 11 of 40 (3 for 18 from 3-point range) when guarded by Curry, Thompson or Iguodala. Lillard wasn’t so efficient, either — until he hit the game-winner in their second meeting, and then he finished with 69 points on 23-of-38 shooting (12 of 21 from 3-point range) and 13 assists over the final two meetings. They both need to be great to win this series. Curry and Thompson were themselves against the Blazers, save for a 2-for-16 stinker from Klay in the blowout loss on Feb. 13. Green is a wildcard, as always. He was mostly ordinary against the Blazers during the regular season, as he was against everyone, but he has been great in the playoffs. His ability to make shots and then hold up against Kanter’s relentless offensive rebounding will go a long way in determining how often Golden State can play its vaunted small-ball lineups. Likely starting lineups With Durant out for Game 1 and unlikely for Game 2, the Warriors will likely stick with the same starting lineup that finished the Houston series: Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Green and Bogut. Durant and Cousins will probably supplant Iguodala and Bogut if they return, although Kerr may also consider starting Looney at center. Golden State’s best non-Durant lineups in the playoffs have both featured Looney. And while even the lineup of Curry, Thompson, Durant and Green with Looney finished a net negative against Portland during the regular season, that was before Nurkic went down. It will be interesting to see if Kanter can make Looney pay in the same way, or if Looney’s athleticism can help the Warriors run Kanter off the floor. Otherwise, how much Bogut do we see in this series? Can he match Kanter’s effort at age 34? Or is Green their best option against stronger centers? Will the Blazers counter with Collins and open themselves up to Golden State’s more versatile lineups? The return of Cousins could throw another wrench into this mix.<doc-sep>After Trail Blazers starting center Jusuf Nurkic went down with a broken leg just a few weeks before the end of the 2018-19 regular season, most assumed their chances of securing home court in the first round of the 2019 Playoffs were sunk. That didn’t end up being the case, as Portland won seven of their final nine games to secure the three-seed and home court in the first round, where they’d meet the Oklahoma City Thunder. But without Nurkic, the safe assumption was that Portland didn’t have enough talent to take down the likes of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. The Blazers, behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, might put up a fight, but the overwhelming majority of NBA observers picked the Thunder to win the series and send Portland on yet another vacation. But that didn’t happen either. The Blazers would eventually defeat the Thunder in five games, with the final blow coming on a 37-foot series-ending, buzzer-beater from Damian Lillard in Game 5 at the Moda Center, to advance to the second round. There, they would meet the two-seed Nuggets, a team that advanced by virtue of defeating the seven-seed Spurs in seven games. While a slim majority picked Portland to win the conference semis, after Denver took two-in-a-row, capped by a blowout win in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, the prevailing theory was that it would be Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap and the up-and-coming Nuggets would be the team to advance to the conference finals. The Blazers won Game 6 in Portland by their most comfortable margin in the series, but when they went down by 17 on the second quarter in just their fourth Game 7 in franchise history, that theory seemed astute. But behind the play of McCollum and Evan Turner, the Blazers rallied to defeat the Nuggets 100-96 in Game 7, and thus, secured a trip to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nearly 20 years. There, they’ll meet the one-seed Golden State Warriors, a team that has won the NBA Championship in three of the last four seasons and eliminated the Blazers in two of their last three postseason appearances. As one would expect, the Warriors, despite both Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins likely sitting out the series due to injury, are the prohibitive favorite, with few, if any outside of Rip City, giving the Blazers much chance of advancing. There might be plenty of storylines in the series, from Damian Lillard returning to his hometown one last time before the Warriors move from Oakland to San Francisco to Seth and Stephen Curry being the first brothers to face each other in a conference final, but none of those seem to involve Portland coming out of the fray victorious. Considering what they've done to get to the conference finals, it's only fitting for the Trail Blazers to enter the series as the underdog. Between injuries and recent past playoff failures, almost nobody (at least outside of the "Inside The NBA" studio) thought they'd make it this far anyway, so they might as well lean into what got them here for the first time since 2000. So before the Trail Blazers begin another daunting playoff task, let's take a look at some of the specifics of the matchup versus the Golden State Warriors prior to Game 1, which tips off Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland. SERIES HISTORY REGULAR SEASON, ALL-TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 125-104 IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 84-31 AT THE WARRIORS: Warriors lead, 72-41 PLAYOFFS, ALL-TIME: Warriors lead, 8-1 IN PORTLAND: Warriors lead, 3-1 AT THE WARRIORS: Warriors lead, 5-0 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE PORTLAND - GOLDEN STATE CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE GAME DATE LOCATION TIME (PDT) Television Game 1 Tuesday, May 14 Golden State 6 PM ESPN Game 2 Thursday, May 16 Golden State 6 PM ESPN Game 3 Saturday, May 18 Portland 6 PM ESPN Game 4 Monday, May 20 Portland 6 PM ESPN Game 5* Wednesday, May 22 Golden State 6 PM ESPN Game 6* Friday, May 24 Portland 6 PM ESPN Game 7* Sunday, May 26 Golden State 6 PM ESPN *if necessary SEASON SERIES NOTES • The Trail Blazers and Warriors split the regular season series in 2018-19, 2-2. Portland won the season series against Golden State in 2017-18, 2-1. • In four games against the Warriors this season, Damian Lillard averaged 28.3 points (47.6% FG, 50.0% 3-PT, 85.0% FT), 2.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.00 steal. Lillard scored 40 points against Golden State on Dec. 29 and scored 21 points at Golden State on Dec. 27, including a game-winning three-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining in overtime. • CJ McCollum averaged 18.0 points (36.6% FG, 30.0% 3-PT, 84.6% FT), 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four games against the Warriors this season. McCollum has made at least three three-pointers in seven of his last nine games against Golden State. • In four games against the Warriors this season, Al-Farouq Aminu averaged 10.0 points (37.1% FG, 35.3% 3-PT, 100% FT), 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. • Stephen Curry averaged 28.7 points (41.5% FG, 35.1% 3-PT, 79.2% FT), 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.33 steals in three games against Portland this season. Curry has made at least five three-pointers in eight of his last 10 games against Portland. • In four games against Portland this season, Klay Thompson averaged 21.8 points (41.6% FG, 40.0% 3-PT, 78.6% FT), 5.8 re-bounds, 3.0 assists and 1.50 steals. Thompson scored 30-plus points in both of Golden State’s victories over Portland this season. • In four games against the Trail Blazers this season, Kevin Durant averaged 28.8 points (57.5% FG, 41.2% 3-PT, 76.2% FT), 6.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.00 blocks and 1.00 steal. Durant has scored at least 30 points in seven of his last 10 games against Portland. PLAYOFF SERIES NOTES • Portland and Golden State have faced each other twice previously in the postseason, with the Warriors winning both series. • Entering the series, Golden State leads Portland, 8-1, all-time in the playoffs. • Both series between the Trail Blazers and the Warriors have occurred in the last three postseasons. Golden State beat Portland in the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals, 4-1, and in the 2017 First Round, 4-0. • In nine career playoff games against the Warriors, Damian Lillard has averaged 30.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. • CJ McCollum has scored at least 20 points in six of his nine playoff games against the Warriors. He scored a playoff career-high 41 points at Golden State in Game 1 of the First Round in 2017. SEASON STATISTICS Points per game: Trail Blazers 114.7 (6th), Warriors 117.7 (2nd) Points against per game: Trail Blazers 110.5 (14th), Warriors 111.2 (16th) Point differential: Trail Blazers +4.2 (7th) , Warriors +6.5 (2nd) Field goal percentage: Trail Blazers 46.7 percent (12th), Warriors 49.1 percent (1st) Opponent field goal percentage: Trail Blazers 45.7 percent (13th), Warriors 44.4 percent (3rd) Three-point field goal percentage: Trail Blazers 35.9 percent (8th), Warriors 38.5 percent (3rd) Opponent three-point field goal percentage: Trail Blazers 35.9 percent (18th), Warriors 34.7 percent (11th) Effective field goal percentage: Trail Blazers 52.8 percent (13th), Warriors 56.5 (1st) True Shooting Percentage: Trail Blazers 56.8 percent (9th), Warriors 59.6 (1st) Rebounds per game: Trail Blazers 48.0 (3rd), Warriors 46.2 (11th) Offensive rebounds per game: Trail Blazers 11.8 (3rd), Warriors 9.7 (21st) Rebound differential: Trail Blazers +5.6 (1st), Warriors +1.9 (8th) Assists per game: Portland 23.0 (25th), Warriors 29.4 (1st) Turnovers per game: Trail Blazers 13.3 (12th), Warriors 13.8 (21st) Pace: Trail Blazers 99.9 (18th), Warriors 103.6 (6th) Offensive rating: Trail Blazers 113.6 (3rd), Warriors 114.9 (1st) Defensive rating: Trail Blazers 109.5 (16th), Warriors 108.5 (11th) Net rating: Trail Blazers +4.1 (7th), Warriors +6.4 (2nd) 2018-19 REGULAR SEASON SERIES MEETINGS • November 23: Golden State Warriors 125, Portland Trail Blazers 97 The Warriors (13-7), playing without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, looked determined to snap their four-game losing streak – the team’s longest since 2013.<doc-sep>The Portland Trail Blazers visit the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The winner of the best-of-seven series advances to the NBA Finals. Here are the details: What: Blazers vs. Warriors, 6 p.m. TV channel: ESPN Listen: Radio on KPOJ 620 AM in the Portland area Watch live stream online: Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN app, or try a free trial of fuboTV. Also, you might try Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, Sling THE SKINNY The Blazers are playing in the Western Conference finals for the seventh time in franchise history and first since 2000. ... The Blazers advanced by defeating the Denver Nuggets 100-96 in Game 7 of the conference semifinals on Sunday, becoming just the 29th team in NBA history to win a Game 7 on the road. Portland trailed the best-of-seven series 3-2, before winning the last two games. ... Damian Lillard is averaging 28.4 points and 6.0 assists per game in the playoffs, fifth-most and 10th most, respectively, in the NBA. ... CJ McCollum, who carried the Blazers in Game 7 by scoring 37 points, averaged 26.4 points and shot 45 percent from the field, against the Nuggets. ... The Blazers and Warriors split four games during the regular season. Lillard averaged 28.3 points and 6.5 assists during the series, scoring 40 points on Dec. 29 and 21 points — while hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime — on Dec. 27. ... This is Golden State’s eighth appearance in the conference finals and fifth in a row. The Warriors join the Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams to play in five Western Conference finals in a row. ... This is the third time in the last four years the Blazers and Warriors will play in the postseason. The Warriors won both meetings, defeating the Blazers in five games in the 2016 conference semifinals and sweeping them in the first round in 2017. ... Blazers backup guard Seth Curry will face Warriors All-Star guard Steph Curry — his brother — in the series. It’s the first time brothers will meet in an NBA conference finals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Warriors All-Star forward Kevin Durant is expected to miss at least one game in the series, and perhaps more, with a strained right calf. Durant has missed three games in the playoffs due to injury since he joined the organization and the Warriors have won all three, including a 118-113 Game 6 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday that propelled Golden State to the conference finals. Durant leads the NBA playoffs in scoring, averaging 34.2 points per game. ... Stephen Curry has made at least one three-pointer in 102 consecutive playoff games, an NBA record. INJURIES For the Blazers, Nurkic (left leg) is out and Rodney Hood (left knee) is questionable. For the Warriors, DeMarcus Cousins (left quadriceps tear), Damian Jones (left pectoral surgery) and Durant (right calf) are out. — Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox<doc-sep>
Portland and Golden State meet in the postseason for the third time in four years. Can the Trail Blazers push for a different outcome against a potentially shorthanded Warriors team? Both the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors enter the Western Conference Finals after incredibly taxing series-clinching wins on the road. Portland endured a seven-game slugfest with the Denver Nuggets that included a four-overtime game while the Warriors, already without DeMarcus Cousins who has not played since tearing his quad in the 1st Round, outlasted the Rockets despite losing Kevin Durant in Game 5 with a strained calf. These teams know each other well as they met in the playoffs in 2016 and 2017. The Warriors swept the Blazers in the 1st Round in 2017 and beat them in five games in the Conference Semifinals in 2016. Series Schedule Game 1 - Tuesday, May 14 at Golden State, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 2 - Thursday, May 16 at Golden State, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 3 - Saturday, May 18 at Portland, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 4 - Monday, May 20 at Portland, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 5 (if necessary) - Wednesday, May 22, at Golden State, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 6 (if necessary) - Friday, May 24, at Portland, Time: 9:00 p.m. Game 7 (if necessary) - Sunday, May 26, at Golden State, Time: 9:00 p.m. Recapping the Season Series Result: Series split 2-2 Best game: Dec. 27, 2018 - Trail Blazers 110, Warriors 109 (OT) Best performance: Damian Lillard - 40 points, 14-23 FG, 6-13 3-pt FG on December 29 Although the teams split the season series, only one of the four games - the overtime thriller on December 27 - was particularly close. Each team had a blowout win (Portland won by 22 in February and Golden State won by 28 in November) while the Warriors led by double digits throughout almost the entire fourth quarter of their other win. In the overtime game on December 27, Portland blew a 10-point lead with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter before ultimately pulling out the win in overtime thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer by Damian Lillard with 6.0 seconds left. Both Lillard and CJ McCollum played in all four games as did Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green each played in three of the four meetings while DeMarcus Cousins did not play in any of the four matchups. Key Storyline: Which backcourt decides the series? https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/d4/86/damian-lillard-and-cj-mccollum_u53us424v7ak1xd5m4xqpsdhh.jpg?t=-1316423294&w=500 The easy answer is the injury to Kevin Durant which looms large over the series. How many games will he miss? Nobody know for certain and it's a question that tugs at the strings of this series. MORE: Medical expert weighs in on Durant injury What we do know is that if Durant is out, the series will fall into the hands of the dynamic backcourts of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for Golden State and Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum for Portland. These are the two best backcourts in the NBA and both are cooking. Lillard was perhaps the biggest star of the opening round when he torched Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, slamming the door hut with an emphatic 50-point game and game-winning buzzer-beater to clinch the series. Last round against Denver, it was McCollum's turn to take over as he scored 41 points in Game 3 before dropping 30 and 37 in Game 6 and Game 7, respectively. For the Warriors, both of the Splash Brothers are coming off signature performances in Golden State's epic road win in Houston without Kevin Durant in Game 6. Thompson erupted for 21 points for the Warriors in the first half to keep them in it with Curry going scoreless before Curry atoned for his poor showing with 33 points of his own in the second half including 23 in the fourth quarter. Each of these guards has shown an incredible knack for timely shot making at various points in this postseason and especially given the uncertainty regarding Durant's strained calf, whichever backcourt steps up will give their team the upper hand. Three Players to Watch Kevin Durant vs. Portland in 2018-19 (four games): 29.8 points (57.5 FG%), 6.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 blocks The longer Durant misses, the greater opportunity that Portland has of making this a competitive series. Prior to limping off during the third quarter of Game 5 against Houston, Durant was playing the best basketball of his career.