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While the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a big deficit to knock out the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, the final match of the Warriors' Western Conference is confirmed.
The match will pit the defending NBA champions Damian Lillard of Oakland, who will certainly be ready to face the Warriors in his hometown in their final year in Oakland.
Golden State will enter the series of overwhelming favorites, but, as has been the case all year, are not immune from complacency.
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Here are the biggest things to look ahead in the series.
Projected start composition
warriors
F Andre Iguodala
F Draymond Green
C Andrew Bogut
G Klay Thompson
G Stephen Curry
Blazers
F Al-Farouq Aminu
F Maurice Harkless
C Enes Kanter
G Damian Lillard
G CJ McCollum
Golden State will be without Kevin Durant for at least the first two games of the series with a calf injury. DeMarcus Cousins could also make his return from a ripped quad from this series as he continues to progress in his reeducation.
Still, the Warriors have the healthy duo Splash Brother, consisting of Curry and Thompson, who, with one hand, shot the Warriors in the second round on Friday night.
The Warriors will have their hands full of Portland's backyard, made up of Lillard and McCullum, who helped the Blazers overcome a 17-point deficit on Sunday afternoon to reach the final round of the conference. Lillard has been particularly good against the Warriors this season, averaging 28.3 points and 6.5 assists in the game.
Edge: warriors
Bench
Like the Warriors, the Blazers are struggling to get the contributions from their second unit this season, finishing 21st in the regular season by scoring on the bench.
However, the playoffs saw the resurgence of Rodney Hood, who averaged 10 points on 50% of the field.
Nevertheless, with the second nonexistent unit of the Warriors, they could have their hands full.
Edge: Trail Blazers.
framing
Terry Stots guided the Blazers to six consecutive playoff spots, including a third place finish at the Western Conference, which ended this year in the regular season. Under the tutelage of Stotts, Lillard and McCullum have evolved to become true stars.
However, Steve Kerr presided over the best six-year race in NBA history and is poised to win his fourth title in five years.
Edge:warriors
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