Golden State won twice at home, and its lone trip to Oklahoma City in the regular season delivered a spectacular finish. The Warriors didn’t scrimmage, so Bogut was listed as questionable for Monday’s series opener.
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Regardless, the two simultaneous events will likely draw large crowds to neighboring Oracle Arena and Oakland Coliseum, clogging traffic on Interstate Highway 880 and packing BART trains.
Westbrook’s strengths and weaknesses were on display against the Warriors this season. The A’s will wrap up the series with the Rangers that day, but their game will start at 12:35 p.m. and should be over well before the Warriors game.
Curry could be matched against James in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.
If there is one hole in Golden State’s game, however, it is on the defensive glass. But how much do we really know about how the Warriors are winning, and are they susceptible to an upset against the resurgent Oklahoma City Thunder?
“To that point: The Warriors’ speed-demon “Death Line-up”, which usually works better when the opponent is larger and slower”. Can we play through those emotional swings when they make threes, when they make spectacular plays or deep, deep shots?
However, after the Thunder dispatched the Spurs in six games, it’s clear that Oklahoma City presents the livelier physical and mental threat the Warriors.
Oklahoma City even the series in Game 2 at 98-97 but Spurs made the hustle play needed to beat the Thunder in Game 3 at 100-96. The Warriors won all three of those games. He has played against the Warriors star several times and after playing in the National Basketball Association for eight seasons, a smart player like Westbrook is well aware of what type of player Curry is. With the renewed energy and vision of coach Tyron Lue, a healthy roster, and a focused James, Cleveland certainly give themselves a chance to repeat as Eastern Conference champions, and a repeat trip to the NBA Finals. That included a 121-118 overtime win February 27 at Oklahoma City in which Curry hit a 3-pointer a few feet in from halfcourt to win it. Per ESPN’s Sharon Katz and Ben Alamar, 25 percent of Durant’s shots are pull-up jumpers, on which he produces a 52 effective field goal percentage. They’ve got guys that can guard Durant [Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala]. “They’re clicking right now and found a good recipe to beat a tough Spurs team”, the league’s back-to-back MVP Curry said. “Nobody can simulate Russell Westbrook, and I don’t think anybody can simulate Steph”.
Then again, the Warriors could turn to their small-ball lineup featuring Green at center or rely on more traditional backups Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights and Anderson Varejao. Now they face the defending champ Warriors, who proclaim appropriate respect. Ironically, the game he played the most (Game 3 when he was on the court for 41 minutes) was the game he factored in the least on offense, scoring only two points.
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McFadden says Adams match-up with Australian centre, Andrew Bogut, will be crucial, but he’s more excited by the battle between reigning MVP Stephen Curry, and Oklahoma point guard, Russell Westbrook. Although Golden State swept the season series with OKC, the contests were competitive, grueling and had an intense Playoff atmosphere in every game.
