Last Wednesday, in their last game before the All-Star Break, the Portland Trail Blazers hosted the Golden State Warriors in a game that was not only a barn-burner but also illustrated the current state of both teams, who would meet in the first round of the playoffs if their current #7 and #2 seedings were to hold to the end of the season.
The Blazers started fast against the Warriors, with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum hitting from three and Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both having off nights, and led by as much as 20 points in the first half. As they have done a few times in recent weeks, this might have been an excuse for the Warriors to mail in the rest of the game. Kevin Durant thought otherwise, scoring 50 points and leading the Warriors in a comeback that tied the score at 99 with seven minutes left, but ultimately the Blazers managed to hold off the Warriors, with Durant’s last-gasp three-point basket waved off when his heel hit the out-of-bounds line.
Much of the NBA universe is wondering what’s wrong with the Warriors. Their failure to show up in the first quarter against the Blazers was typical of their performances of late, and the most common theory is that the Warriors are having a tough time keeping themselves motivated enough to play through the regular season, while their opponents always seem to bring their best games against the NBA’s current version of the Evil Empire, and that we should see the Warriors as we’ve known them when the playoffs begin. Mid-season slumps are common enough even for dominant teams, but the Warriors have shown a lot of inconsistency this year, at least by their standards, and it may be time to re-think the conventional wisdom. If there are cracks to be found in their armor, the likeliest places might be their relatively thin bench, especially with the recent injury to their recent UO draft pick Jordan Bell, and the possibility that Draymond Green, the emotional engine behind the Warriors’ championships, has dialed down his intensity to a more human level. Perhaps more to the point, it may just be that they are finally up against a rival in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets, that is talented and hungry enough to be a match for them not only in the regular season, where they have beaten the Warriors two of three games, but possibly in the playoffs as well. Judging from his recent comments, Warriors coach Steve Kerr seems far from comfortable with the current state of affairs, and his concern is more than justified.
The Blazers, for their part, have had their own issues with consistency this season, due to an injury to Lillard and some early-season inconsistency from their center, the Bosnian Beast Jusuf Nurkic. Their main problem, despite one of the highest payrolls in the NBA, may also be a lack of depth on their bench, but they have also shown that when they are healthy and right, they have enough talent to compete with any NBA team on a given night. No one is predicting for the Blazers a trip to the NBA Finals this year, but their game against the Warriors showed that they could give a lot of trouble to whomever they meet in the playoffs, and that a first-round upset is well within a reasonable possibility. If their opponent turns out to be the Warriors, the Evil Empire had better bring their A game if they don’t want to crash like a Death Star.
