WILD WILD WEST.

Western Conference Finals.

Warriors vs. Trailblazers

10 months ago the Portland Trailblazers were a laughing-stock to 2X NBA Champ/Finals MVP Kevin Durant. Literally. Shortly, after the Warriors notched their second straight NBA championship, they inked big-man DeMarcus Cousins to a veterans’ minimum contract and the Blazers’ McCollum was not a fan of it.

Kevin Durant guest starred on McCollum’s “Pull Up” podcast. Words were minced and McCollum nabbed at the idea that Cousins should’ve signed with his Blazers over Durant’s Warriors. KD had heard enough…

“You know you guys aren’t going to win a championship,” Durant said.

“Bro, we have the team,” McCollum replied. “We have the capabilities. Anything is possible. We can win a championship.”

“Let’s be honest,” Durant said, laughing. “I like y’all two [McCollum and Damian Lillard]. You’re hard to stop, but come on."

Fast forward 10 months and here we are with Durant’s Warriors making their 5th straight Western Conference Finals appearance against none other than McCollum’s Blazers who make their first Western Conference Finals appearance in nearly two decades (2000). Unfortunately, we will not be seeing a Durant-McCollum matchup for one of two reasons. Durant has been ruled out for tonight’s game 1 and he will not be reevaluated until Thursday. (Most signs point to him being out for game 2 as well). Regardless of Durant’s injury, there is no way that the Blazers would have a defensive game plan to put 6 foot 3 McCollum on nearly 7 foot tall Durant.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Predicting the Series…

No Durant? No Problem. The Warriors are still adjusting to life without KD so I expect the Blazers to come in hot tonight and steal a big W in ROARacle. By Game 4 I expect the Warriors and Blazers to be tied up at 2-2. If Durant makes a miraculous return to the starting lineup in this series, I expect the Warriors to wrap things up in no more than 6 games. However, if Durant does not make a return to this series, I still expect Golden State to take care of business. Except for the fact that Warrior fans might need to sit tight for a wild/risky series as I see this one going to 7 games in favor of the Warriors. The key matchup to watch here is the Splash Brothers against their counterparts… Lillard and McCollum have been phenomenal in the playoffs. In fact, McCollum is coming off a playoff series in which he scored 185 PTS…. the most for any Trail Blazer in a playoff series. Here’s how the Blazers duo matches up against the Warriors Splash Brothers.

Lilard/McCollum are averaging 54 PPG, 9.4 APG, while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. 

Curry/Thompson are averaging 42.6 PPG, 6.8 APG, while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. 

Shooters gonna shoot! So get ready for a shootout in the West Coast. It’s going to be fun series, however, it’s tough to bet against the Warriors who have been in this situation for 5 consecutive seasons.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)