May 15, 20192 min read

NBA: Conference Finals Predictions

No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers (53-29, 8-4) @ No. 1 Golden State Warriors (57-25, 8-4): C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard probably want to destroy the Warriors more than the Warriors want to beat the Blazers and yet here we are. This far into the post season injures are common place, most notably Kevin Durant and Rodney Hood. Durant’s presence on both sides of the ball will be missed for at least two games but if the Splash Bros can channel their inner 2016 title run, the Warriors are in pretty good shape. As for Hood, he has been proven to be invaluable with his timely scoring but Portland will need him to be healthy. The Blazers backcourt has actually been outplaying the Warriors in terms of scoring but as we saw in Houston, ball movement, defense and attention to detail wins games.

Staff Picks:

Ariun Paige: Warriors (5)

Charles Post: Warriors (5)

Chase Zayac: Warriors (5)

Chinedum Wejinya: Warriors (5)

Jibreel O'Bannon: Warriors (6)

Raven Martin: Warriors (5)

Tyler Taylor: Warriors (4)

No. 2 Toronto Raptors (58-24, 8-4) @ No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks (60-22, 8-1): Giannis Antetokounmpo is more Juggernaut than he is Superman as a virtually unstoppable force whose momentum allows him to run through defenses and attack the rim in a way we haven’t quite seen since Shaquille O'Neal. Boston thought they had an answer after Game 1 by sending bigs on his drives and forcing him to shoot but Milwaukee still won the next four. Unfortunately for Boston they didn't have Kawhi Leonard, whose playing like the second best player in league but he may not be enough to take down Milwaukee. The Bucks have too many shooters in their five out offense and Toronto relies too heavily on Leonard. If Toronto can get more production from anybody other than Kawhi it should be a hard fought series.

Staff Picks:

Ariun Paige: Bucks (6)

Charles Post: Bucks (6)

Chase Zayac: Bucks (6)

Chinedum Wejinya: Raptors (7)

Jibreel O'Bannon: Bucks (6)

Raven Martin: Bucks (5)

Tyler Taylor: Raptors (6)

Second Round Records:

Ariun Paige: 10-2

Charles Post: 9-3

Chase Zayac: 9-3