The Star Power of the Warriors v.s. the World

The Eastern and Western Conference Finals is the second most-viewed event in basketball. For many, it is win or go home. But for the Warriors, they are looking for their first three-peat in over 20 years. Everyone else knows that the Warriors is the team to beat. As the two-time defending champions, it raises a lot of challenges for other teams when it comes to ending their streak. Since the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, no team has been able to stop the Warriors from becoming the World Champions twice in a row. The leader of the Cavaliers at the time, Lebron James, will not be playing in this year’s Finals; and all of the other teams are excited to get a chance to beat the infamous Golden State Warriors. Many of the players on the opposing teams are unexperienced when it comes to playing a caliber team like the Warriors, and for a lot of these players the question is whether or not they can compete at the championship level. Unlike the rest of the teams, one player in particular (Seth Curry), is not as intimidated to play these ‘infamous champions’. For the first time in NBA history, two brothers, Seth Curry and Steph Curry, are competing head to head in the Western Conference Finals. There has been a lot of criticism and comparisons coming from news outlets aimed towards the younger sibling (Seth), much because he has a huge role to fill with his brother being a 3-time NBA Champion, and a 2-time most-valuable player of the league. How would you feel if you were in Seth Curry’s position? How would you beat one of the greatest shooters ever when he’s your brother? Besides the Curry brothers being the talk of the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has been in everyone’s mouth since he has been basically unstoppable this playoff series. Averaging more than 25 points-per-game and 10 rebounds, Giannis has been the ‘one-man-show’ that everyone is afraid to go up against. How would you guard Antetokounmpo being that he is 6′ 11″ in height and with a 7′ 3″ wingspan? Overall, who do you think will take home the 2019 NBA World Championship trophy? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Who really is the best in the West?

The first two rounds in the East, for many, have been upsetting as the underdogs of the league are not going down without a fight. Who knew that an 8th seed team, [The Los Angeles Clippers], would come back from a 30-point deficit while playing against the defending 2-time champions? The Golden State Warriors. For the first time in history, the Warriors lost a 30-point lead in the playoffs to lose the game. Many say if it weren’t for Kevin Durant, the Warriors would have lost both the Clippers and Rockets series. Do you agree? Runner-up in the MVP race, James Harden only won 1 game in the series before being sent back home. Is he still the MVP? As for the Portland Trail Blazers, they have been playing the best basketball they have played in the past five years. In the first round, the Blazers went to a Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder where Damian Lillard, the star of Portland, hits a game winner to closeout the series. As for injuries, the Blazers’ star center, Jusuf Nurkic, has been out for all playoff games. Golden State’s star forward, Kevin Durant, has been out since Game 5 of the 2nd round. Now the question is, can the Warriors three-peat? Can the Blazers make it to the Finals for the first time since 1992? Will the Clippers beat the Warriors next time they face each another? Share your thoughts below.

First 2 rounds and no Lebron 

The first two rounds of the East in the NBA playoffs have been a show! Since the beginning of the playoffs, the current runner up in the MVP race, (Giannis Antetokounmpo), has been taking the playoffs by storm! The question is: can he be stopped? These playoffs are the first playoffs that LeBron James has not been a part of in the past eight years. James has been the power house of the East for the last decade, and in his regular season run he was nearly unstoppable. With James moving to the West, teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors have seen this opening and have taken advantage of the opportunity to move forward. Kwahi Leonard, of the Toronto Raptors, took the series to a 7th game where he hits the first Game 7 buzzer beater in history. The Boston Celtics and The Milwaukee Bucks were set to have one of the best battles of the 2nd Round. But instead, all of that people got was a one man show from Milwaukee’s own, “The Greek Freak”. How do you feel about the East? Do you miss Lebron in the playoffs? Do you like the new face of the East [Antetokounmpo]? Comment your thoughts in the section below.