(1) Warriors vs. (5) Grizzlies - Western Conference Semifinals Preview

After closing out the New Orleans Pelicans in a first-round sweep, the Golden State Warriors received a week to rest and prepare for their second-round match-up.
Now that their "week off" is coming to a close, however, they are back to business and ready to take on their next challenge - the Memphis Grizzlies.
While this series will not likely be more mentally taxing than their series against New Orleans, it will certainly not bring an easy victory to Golden State.
Led by the All-Star caliber scoring tandem of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the paint, the Grizzlies will definitely give Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut a huge challenge on the inside.
Andrew Bogut recognized the difficulties that the Grizzlies' low-post players are going to create, stating, "You know that whoever comes out of this series is probably going to be battered and bruised for the next one". 
In the end, however, the "center" position will likely be the only advantage that the Grizzlies have over the Warriors.
Golden State's backcourt speaks for itself, as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are two of the greatest shooters in the NBA.
Nevertheless, the "small forward" duo of Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala could prove as the X-factor in this series, as they won't get nearly as much attention as the Warriors' All-Stars.
Regardless of how many games are played in this series, the Golden State Warriors clearly have the advantage in nearly every category (including coaching and bench play).
The Warriors expect to win this series, and it would be quite shocking if they didn't.
Prediction: Golden State in 5 (again).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A's Win First Postseason Series Since 2006, Will Face Astros in ALDS

Image
Despite falling to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, the Oakland Athletics rebounded with consecutive wins in Games 2 and 3 to snag their first postseason series victory in 14 years, advancing to the ALDS for the first time since 2013. After digging a 3-0 hole in Thursday's decisive Game 3, Oakland rallied with four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. However, their biggest hit of the afternoon came in the bottom of the fifth, with the score tied 4-4. In perhaps the most crucial plate appearance of his life, Chad Pinder stepped to the plate with an opportunity to defy history. Prior to this at-bat, Pinder had posted a 2-for-35 career mark with the bases loaded. However, on Thursday, he came up with a massive two-run single to propel the A's to a 6-4 advantage. And they didn't look back. Oakland now looks forward to a best-of-5 series with the Houston Astros to be played on neutral ground at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Needless to say, th...
Read more

Ranking Every Song From Paramore's "After Laughter"

Following the relative success of my rankings of Taylor Swift's " folklore " and Maroon 5's " Red Pill Blues ", I've decided to make these posts a semi-regular occurrence.  As I've followed Paramore religiously for over a decade, this one seemed like the next logical choice. Without further adieu, let's dive into Paramore's 2017 release entitled "After Laughter", an album that saw the band adopt an entirely new sound. 12. No Friend Three years have passed and I still don't fully understand what "No Friend" is, but I'm not convinced it's a rankable song. It sounds more like a dramatic reading of a poem drowned out by one of Paramore's jam sessions. Congrats, Aaron Weiss? In any case, please let me know if there's more I can give you. 11. Idle Worship Perhaps suffering from being linked to "No Friend" in such an inseparable way, something about this track is just a tad unsettling. From its ...
Read more

Why Quidditch Is Totally Ridiculous (Yet We Still Love It)

Image
On June 26, 1997,  Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling introduced the world to a remarkable new sport called Quidditch. In theory, Rowling's invention is fairly simple. For those who are unfamiliar with the game, I will provide a brief description of its rules.  Quidditch is played in a 7-on-7 format on flying broomsticks. Each team features three "Chasers" who attempt to throw a large ball (called the Quaffle) past the opposing team's "Keeper" into one of three circular hoops.  Every time the Chasers succeed in beating the Keeper, their team is awarded 10 points. Meanwhile, there are a pair of bat-wielding "Beaters" on each team who add to the chaos by clubbing two smaller balls (called Bludgers) at their opposition. However, the most important position on the field is that of the "Seeker", which is Harry Potter's position on Gryffindor's Quidditch team during his time at Hogwarts.  Each team has one Seeker who scours t...
Read more