Home I Latest News I Kevin Who? Warriors to Finals Again
The Golden State Warriors seem to have forgotten they are without their star player and bulldozed the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals Playoffs. By reaching the NBA Finals again this season, the fifth year in a row, the Warriors achieved something that hasn’t been done since the 60’s.
Even with Kevin Durant out with a calf injury, Golden State swept the Trail Blazers in 4 games, making them just the second team in NBA history to reach the Finals 5 years in a row. The last team to accomplish this was the Boston Celtics, who made it a record 10 years running from 1957-1966. So the Dubs still have a long way of breaking that record and they’ll be chasing the Bill Russel era Celtics on a bunch of others as well.
The Celtics have the most NBA Championships in the league with 17, followed by the Lakers with 16. Golden State is in a long off third with 6 so far. Boston also holds the record for most consecutive NBA Titles with 8. A victory in the Finals this year will put the Warriors up to 3 in a row, tying LA for second most.
The Portland Trail Blazers were the last obstacle standing between the Warriors and the NBA Finals. Before the Playoffs began, not many believed Portland would be in contention and the journey to the Western Conference Finals was certainly hard fought for the Blazers.
They dispatched the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, went to 7 games with 4 overtimes in the second round to knock off the Denver Nuggets, and stood up to the all-powerful Warriors in their last series of the year. It’s the first time they’ve reached the third round in almost 2 decades.
Even though it was a 4-game sweep, the Blazers had some great opportunities to win. They were up by 17 points or more in three different games. However, even without Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, and (for Game 4) Andre Iguodala, the Warriors found a way to come back.
They’ve got Steph Curry and Draymond Green to thank for that. Curry averaged 37 points over the four games on 47 percent shooting, with 43 percent from three-point land, where he went 26-of-61. Green had his second straight triple-double, racking up 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. It was the first time in history that two NBA teammates put up triple-doubles in the same postseason game.
The Warriors retired the Blazers for the third time in four Playoffs with a dramatic 2-point win in OT.
With the NBA Finals set for May 30th, Golden State will get a rare and much-needed rest before they face off against either the Milwaukee Bucks or the Toronto Raptors.
Can they go for their 4th NBA Title in 5 years without Durant? Or will KD be back in the lineup after his time off?
Milwaukee leads Toronto 2-1 with Game 4 starting tonight at 7:30 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The Bucks are slotted as the favorites in tonight’s matchup with the best price on the moneyline coming from Intertops (-150). New to NBA betting? We have you covered! Check out our daily NBA betting tips and start placing bets and in-game wagers today!
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