The Western Conference Finals is going to be an epic series…..mark my words! I think all of the big stars are going to have good series for both teams. I think the series will be decided by the other players on the teams. Here is a look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: 27-year old Russell Westbrook is the most exciting player in the NBA and he will be matched up with the 28-year old point guard Stephen Curry, the MVP of the NBA. Westbrook will need to work hard offensively to tire to help wear out Curry in this series. Westbrook has played in 11 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, an NBA playoff leading 10.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game!
Westbrook will have to play Curry really tight on the defensive end of the court. Curry is quite simply the best shooter in the NBA. He has played in 4 games (3 starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 32.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He is shooting 48.6% from the floor, 39% from three point range and 100% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs.
EDGE: VERY SLIGHT FOR WARRIORS
SHOOTING GUARD: 24-year old Andre Roberson is going to have to bring his A-Game in this series. He has played in 11 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs for the Thunder and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 3.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Roberson has to shoot better than the 38.9% from the floor, 21.1% from three point range and 50% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs.
26-year old Klay Thompson could be a pain in the side for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has taken his game to a new level in the playoffs. He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 36.1 minutes, 27.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 47.4% from the floor, 47.5% from three point range and 89.1% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs. The Thunder can’t afford to let Thompson have open shots in this series.
EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE WARRIORS
SMALL FORWARD: 27-year old Kevin Durant needs to play like he did the last couple of games against the Spurs…..against the Warriors! He is just as unstoppable as Stephen Curry is for the Warriors….when he’s on his game. Durant has played in 11 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 39.7 minutes, 27.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Durant has only shot 43.5% from the floor and 27.9% from three point range so far in the playoffs, and he is going to have to improve on those numbers if the Thunder are going to beat the Warriors in this series.
23-year old Harrison Barnes is a bit player in the big picture for the Golden State Warriors. He is at best, their #4 option offensively and he is an average defender at best. Barnes has played in 10 games (all starts) in the playoffs for the Warriors and he is averaging 31.6 minutes, 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He has only shot 35.9% from the floor and 25% from the three point line so far in the playoffs.
EDGE: HUGE FOR THE THUNDER
POWER FORWARD: 26-year old Serge Ibaka has been playing further from the basket this year….and that’s good and bad. He has turned into a darn good long range shooter, but his defense and rebounding have not been as good. They need Ibaka to hit the boards and play D in this series! Ibaka has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Ibaka has hit 56% from the floor and 54.1% from three point range so far in the playoffs.
26-year old Draymond Green is the glue of the Golden State Warriors. He does it all on the basketball court and that is why the Thunder are going to need Ibaka to play closer to the basket in this series. Green has playe din 10 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 37.6 minutes, 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Green is shooting 44.9% from the floor, 41.7% from the three point line and 71.7% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs.
EDGE: WARRIORS
CENTER: This is one position that the Thunder have a huge edge at. 22-year old Steven Adams has been taking his game to a new level in the playoffs. He has played in 11 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 32.1 minutes, 10.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.8 blocked shots per game. Adams is shooting a blazing 67.6% from the floor, but only 50.8% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs. The Thunder can’t let the Warriors dictate how this series is played, so they need to have either Adams or Kanter on the court at all times.
31-year old Andrew Bogut just stays out of the way offensively. He is paid to play defense and rebound. Bogut has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 17.7 minutes, 5.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. He is shooting 64.9% from the floor, but only 37.5% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs.
EDGE: THUNDER
BENCH: The Thunder have not been using their bench a lot in the playoffs, but that might have to change a little bit in this series, as the Warriors go 10 deep to keep everyone fresh. That being said, 23-year old center Enes Kanter is the best bench player in this series. He would be the starting center for about 20-25 teams in the NBA right now….including the Warriors. Kanter has played in 11 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 21.6 minutes, 11.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Kanter is shooting 58% from the floor and 84.2% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs. 24-year old shooting guard Dion Waiters is the other guy that plays a lot off the bench and he brings instant offense just like Kanter does. Waiters has played in 11 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 24.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Randy Foye, Anthony Morrow, Cameron Payne, Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed and Kyle Singler better be ready if they are called upon in this series. None of them have played in more than 9 games in the playoffs so far or has averaged more than 11.7 minutes per game in them.
The Warriors have a rock solid bench. 30-year old point guard Shaun Livingston is pretty big for the position and he likes to back down opposing point guards offensively to get baskets close to the rim. He has played in 10 games (7 starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 25.2 minutes, 11.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Livingston is shooting a red hot 52.9% from the floor so far in the playoffs. 32-year old SG/SF Andre Iguodala was the MVP of the NBA Finals last year. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. 26-year old center Festus Ezeli is your basic player at the position and he rebounds and plays D. He has played in 9 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 9.2 minutes, 4.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. 33-year old SG/SF Leandro Barbosa is another weapon off the bench offensively for the Warriors. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. 28-year old PF/C Marreese Speights brings instant offense off the bench for the Warriors. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 10.8 minutes, 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Ian Clark, Anderson Varejao and Brandon Rush will be doing more watching than playing in this series for the Warriors.
EDGE: WARRIORS
COACHING: 50-year old Billy Donovan is doing a solid job with the Thunder in his first trek in the playoffs in the NBA. He has the Thunder with an 8-3 (72.7%) record in the playoffs so far this year. 50-year old Steve Kerr has the Warriors rolling, as they are 8-2 (80%) in the playoffs so far this year. The Warriors are 24-7 (77.4%) in the playoffs under Kerr so far in his career.
PREDICTION: THUNDER IN SEVEN GAMES