The Western Conference first-round matchups are set now that the Portland Trailblazers have defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122 for the 8th seed. The first-round matchups in the Western Conference are much more competitive compared to the Eastern Conference First-Round matchups.
(#4) Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (#5)
This series has “seven-game series,” written all over it. Of course, it will depend on how long Rockets’ PG Russell Westbrook is out. Westbrook is dealing with a quad injury, without a timetable for recovery. Rockets Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said he believes that “Westbrook won’t be ready by game two.”
Westbrook is not known for easing up his play, but this injury will limit his game’s full effectiveness. I say all this, but the Rockets still have one of the top five players in the league, James Harden. He will make this a very tough series, even without Westbrook.
The Thunders’ head coach, Billy Donovan, should get the Coach of the Year for the fantastic job he has done with this team. The Thunder have been one of the biggest surprises of the year after they dealt away their only superstars. They traded Russel Westbrook to the Rockets and sent superstar F Paul George to the Clippers. In return, the Thunder received G Shai Gilgeous Alexander, F Danilo Gallinari, and a wealth of future draft picks. With their sights set on the future, the Thunder seemed to have zero chance of being competitive, but that is why the games are played.
The Thunder took the season series against Houston, 2-1, but this series falls on how much Westbrook can play and be himself. I take the Thunder winning seven games with the uncertainty of Westbrook. If Westbrook can get past his injury, this series will be close enough that it may swing the win to the Rockets.
(#3) Denver Nuggets V Utah Jazz (#6)
On paper, this looks like it should be a massacre; however, the Nuggets are not playing up to snuff quite yet. The Denver Nuggets might be the most talented team in the whole Western Conference, but since the bubble started, they have lost some momentum.
The Nuggets were taking it somewhat easy with Michael Porter, Jr. and Nikola Jokic, to prevent any unnecessary injuries before the playoffs. In addition, the Nuggets got rising star PG Jamall Murray late into the bubble, so the Nuggets still need time to acclimate him back into the offense.
Utah still has two great superstars, G Donavan Mitchell and defensive superstar C Rudy Gobert. The Jazz have been in the playoffs the past three years and have experienced players ready to play their hearts out against the Nuggets.
The real X- factor is this series is the Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. he has shown in the bubble (23.8PPG 9.2REB 1.5AST) that he was well worth the wait. I like the Nuggets to win this series, but it may be a hard-played seven-game series; Nuggets take out the Jazz 4-3.
(#2) Los Angeles Clippers V Dallas Mavericks (#7)
I expect this series to be very competitive. At full strength, the Clippers will win this series in five games. They just got two key players back, Lou Wiliams and Montrezl Harrel; although, they need time to play and build up some chemistry.
Another factor that should make this series fun to watch is the Mavericks’ PG Luka Doncic. This will be Doncic’s first appearance in the playoffs, and he is a must-watch guy. Luka is in his second season and has led the league in triple-doubles (17) and has led the Mavericks back to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Luka will have a tough test against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and two of the very best perimeter defenders, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard.
The regular-season series was a big throttling by the Clippers, winning all three games, one of which was in the bubble. The Clippers need to use this series to rebuild their team’s chemistry, so they are ready for the second round when they need to unleash. The Clippers will win the series 4-2.
(#1) Los Angeles Lakers V Portland Trailblazers (#8)
I saved the best series for last.
No other series can say they have three of the top-ten players in all of the NBA. In this series, Anthony Davis, Damian Lilliard, and LeBron James will be on the court. That is a lot of firepower. The Blazers come in as the hottest team. Every game in the bubble was an elimination game, which could be a gift or a curse as they head into the series against the Lakers.
Since the Blazers have already been in elimination mode, their mindsets are playoff ready. They have proven that they can win the game when they have to. Although this also means that the team has been playing at a high energy level since the restart of the season. The Blazers may begin the effects of having to go all-in every day.
On the other hand, the Lakers clinched their seed early on and had the room to coast last week. After a team has not had to play a game that made a difference, it can take a while to build up the right intensity. But it also means that we should be seeing a pretty well-rested Lakers team heading into the first round.
If Portland can take that first game away from the mighty Lakers, this will move the Blazers’ pressure onto the Lakers. The Blazers have a great team that can take out the Lakers. Damian Lilliard is a matchup nightmare for any organization. Still, the Lakers are missing their playoff lockdown PG Rajon Rondo and do not have any perimeter defenders to guard Lilliard, McCollum, or Trent.
Forward Carmelo Anthony should help keep LeBron away from the post; LeBron has to respect Anthony’s shooting ability and will not be able to assist on weakside defense plays. Anthony Davis will have his hands full on both sides of the ball, dealing with the one of biggest frontcourt’s in the NBA, Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins, and Hassan Whiteside.
The biggest achilles heel for Portland is their lack of defense. They have given up at least 120 points in their last five games, and the teams they played were not as good as the Lakers. The Lakers are not as deep as the Blazers, but they still have Kyle Kuzma, Dion Waiters, and JR Smith, who are more than capable of scoring big if the defense will allow it.
Lilliard is not going to make it into the playoffs just to get wiped out by the Lakers. I think this may be one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. The Blazers’ depth and offense will be too much for the Lakers; the Trailblazers win the series 4-3.