J-Speaks: 2019 NBA Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals Previews

The Final Four that will enter the 2019 Conference Finals have a couple of things in common. They have played each other before in the postseason with the winning squad in the case of the guys from the “Bay Area” taking down the boys from “Rip City” in the Semifinals in 2016 and in the opening-round of 2017 on their way to their second of three titles in last four seasons. Two postseasons back the No. 2 Seed whose playoff mantra “We the North” took down the No. 1 Seed entering this postseason in the opening-round in six games. All four teams are set to meet in their respect Conference Finals for the right to compete for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Here the J-Speaks 2019 NBA Conference Finals preview.

Eastern Conference Finals

(1)   Milwaukee Bucks versus (2) Toronto Raptors

                 (60-22)                         (58-24)

Season Series: Bucks won 3-1 

Playoff History: Raptors defeated the Bucks 4-2 in First-Round of 2016.

It is very rare that two teams competing in a playoff series, especially with the chance to represent their conference in The Finals on the line are mirror images of each other. That is what will take place in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors, who are vying to be the first team to represent the East in The Finals not named the Cleveland Cavaliers led by four-time Kia MVP LeBron James, who is now out West with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The first similarity between these two teams is they have MVP-caliber two-way forwards in leading Kia MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Bucks and 2014 Finals MVP and two-time Kia Defensive Player of the Year in Kawhi Leonard of the Raptors. 

So far this postseason, “The Greek Freak” has averaged a team-leading 27.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, to go along with 4.4 assists on 52.6 percent shooting in leading the Bucks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2001 after beating the Boston Celtics winning the final four games of the series after dropping Game 1 at home 112-90. 

He is a big reason why the Bucks are averaging 116.9 points so far this postseason, registering 100-plus points in eight of their nine playoff games. 

Antetokounmpo has had eight 30-point games so far this postseason, which ties him with former Buck and color analyst for the team on FOX Sports Wisconsin Marques Johnson. Only Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has more with 30. 

“You know when you think about it and you know how the series started and the way we felt after Game 1 against Boston, you just try not to have that feeling again,” Antetokounmpo said of the team’s approach to this series, with them having home court advantage. 

“Try to avoid that almost, you know, embarrassment we had after Game 1, because we wasn’t ourselves. You know against Boston you can go down 1-0 and you still be fine. But against Toronto, you know, it’s hard to be in that spot.” 

Leonard, who dramatic fallaway, four-bounce-on-the-rim game-winner to close out the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Semifinals (92-90) on Sunday has averaged a team-leading 31.8 points and 8.5 rebounds on 53.9 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from three-point range so far in the postseason, which includes a 34.7 scoring average in the Semis against the 76ers. 

“I think you just have to go out just like, you know, it’s another road game. Either it’s Game 3 or 4, you know,” Leonard, who registered seven games of 30-plus points, including a 45-point game to open the Semis and 15 of his 41 points in the close out Game 7 victory against the 76ers said of the team’s approach to opening the Eastern Conference Finals on the road. “These the first two games on the road. So, we just have to go up there and play basketball. Treat it like a road game. That’s pretty much it.” 

“I don’t think nobody goes in feeling a certain way about it. They just want to go and win a game.” 

The other area that Leonard has helped the Raptors is at the defensive end, where they have allowed an average of just 96.0 points through the first two rounds of the 2019 Playoffs, where they have held their opponents in the Orlando Magic and the 76ers in the First-Round and Semis respectably under the century mark in nine times in 12 chances. 

The other similarity is that both have solid No. 2 in Khris Middleton and for the Bucks and leading candidate for Kia Most Improved Player in Pascal Siakam for the Raptors, who led them with an average of 24.3 points in the four-game season series against the Bucks. Both teams also have sturdy point guards (Eric Bledsoe for the Bucks and All-Star Kyle Lowry of Raptors), who when they are at the peak of their game put their respective team over the top. 

Another similarity between these two teams is that they have first-year head coaches in Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse respectively, whose teams were separated by just two games in the regular-season and both have won eight games through the first two rounds of this postseason. 

These two teams are also similar in that they made some in-season acquisitions in the hopes of getting to this point. 

The Bucks during the season acquired veterans George Hill and Nikola Mirotic and they have played very well alongside the likes of Pat Connaughton, Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, Sterling Brown and starting guard Malcolm Brogdon, who returned in the Game 5 clinching 116-91 victory versus the Celtics last Wednesday from a 21-game absence due to a plantar fascia in his right foot. 

At the February trade deadline, the Raptors acquired former Kia Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. While he has been up-and-down in terms of his production at times, especially in the postseason, his high-IQ and ability to make plays for others, score and rebound will be key in this series. 

He along with Serge Ibaka, Danny Green, Norman Powell, Fred VanVleet will have to be at their best if they want to punch their ticket to their first NBA Finals in franchise history. 

Also, they cannot play afraid like they did to close Game 7 where it seemed like Leonard was the only one who wanted to take shots in the final minutes. Leonard saved them in Game 7 but that gumption will not cut against the Bucks. 

On top of that, Lowry’s continued inability to string consistent strong scoring outputs in his playoff career with the Raptors will be their downfall against the Bucks if he cannot correct it. When he has scored at least 14 points this postseason, the Raptors are 4-2. When he has scored under 14 points this postseason, they record is just 2-4. 

The winner of this series as mentioned will be the first team to represent the East in The Finals since 2010. For the Bucks, they hope this series ends better then their last appearance in the Conference Finals, led by Sam Cassell, Hall of Famer Ray Allen, and Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson II lost to the 76ers and Kia MVP Allen Iverson in seven games. For the Raptors, they want to reach The Finals for the first time in franchise history and give Leonard, an unrestricted free agent on July 1 to re-sign and keep the Raptors as a serious title contender. 

This series might swing on the age-old question of rest versus rust. The Bucks swept the Detroit Pistons in the opening round 4-0 and took down the Bucks 4-1 in the Semis. After taking down the Orlando Magic 4-1 in the First-Round, the Raptors needed seven games and the aforementioned classic four-bounce-on-the-rim series-clinching buzzer beater by Leonard to close out the 76ers. That might give the Raptors entering this series against the Bucks the necessary momentum against a team that average 112.3 points on 47 percent from the field and 15.5 made threes in the four-game season series. 

Prediction: Bucks in seven games.

Western Conference Finals

(1)   Golden State Warriors versus (3) Portland Trail Blazers

               (57-25)                                        (53-29)

Season series: Tied 2-2 

Playoff History: Warriors lead all-time 2-0, with both meetings coming in the Semis in 2016 and in the First-Round in 2017.

The 2019 Western Conference Finals matches the back-to-back defending NBA champions against a familiar playoff foe they have defeated twice during their reign of supremacy in the West. Their opponent from “Rip City,” led by their dynamic floor general is looking to sink his hometown team and lead them to their first Finals appearance in 27 years. It also features brothers competing against each other for a trip to the championship round and the question of will the back-to-back Finals MVP and a perennial All-Star appear in this series for the two-time defending champions? 

Fresh off their improbable closeout win at the Houston Rockets (116-109) on Friday night in the Western Conference Semis, the Golden State Warriors enter their fifth consecutive Western Conference Final a little banged up. 

They will enter this series against the Portland Trail Blazers without 2014 Kia MVP and back-to-back Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who strained his right calf in the Warriors 104-99 win in Game 5 on Wednesday night on TNT to put them in position to closeout the Rockets in their gym two nights later. They are also without All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who injured his quad in Game 2 of the First-Round versus the No. 8 Seeded Los Angeles Clippers. 

Durant, who would have been a scratch for Game 7 versus the Rockets will be shelved for Games 1 and 2 of the Conference Finals with the possibility of returning for Game 3. 

“People have gotten the idea that he’s going to come back and be Willis Reed or something,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said to the media on Monday about Durant’s availability to start the Conference Finals. “He hasn’t even stepped on the floor yet. He still has pain. There’s some time ahead of him.”

Even without Durant and Cousins, who are expected to return at some point in this series, the Warriors are still the favorites because of their championship experience and that they have “The Splash Brothers” in two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry and fellow All-Star Klay Thompson, who after struggling at times this postseason showed their championship metal to close the Semis against the Rockets. 

Thompson, who averaged 15.3 in the first four games in the Semis against the Rockets going 8 for 26 from three-point range led the Warriors in the Game 5 win with 27 points on 11 for 20 shooting, including 5 for 10 from three-point range. He followed that with another 27-point effort on 10 for 20 shooting in the 118-113 victory in Game 6 on Friday night, going 7 for 13 from three-point range, with his seventh triple putting them up 110-104 that would be the game-clincher. 

Curry, who struggled for most of the Semis shooting the ball, especially from three-point range going 15 for 57 from three-point range in the first five games of the series recovered from the first scoreless first half of his postseason career had 33 points in Game 6 all in the second half going 9 for 20 from the floor, including 4 for 11 from three-point range and 11 for 11 from the free throw line. 

To put into context how great Curry was in the second half of Game 6 at the Rockets, he scored 23 of his team’s 36 points in the fourth quarter, which included 16 points in the final five minutes, equaling the Rockets total the rest of the fourth quarter. This is on the heels of him scoring 12 of his 25 points in Game 5 in the fourth quarter. 

“Just staying out of foul trouble-it’s always tough when I get in foul trouble and in-and-out of the game” Curry, who last scoreless first half came on Nov. 23, 2012 versus the Phoenix Suns said to Lisa Salters about being called for three fouls in the opening half. “But guys are talking to me in the locker room. Telling me to ‘Keep my head. Stay aggressive. Flood gates would open at some point.’” 

“Fourth quarter was amazing. We played amazing defense. Took shots we knew we could make and they went in. So, just a big time win for us.”

The 2016 Kia MVP, the first unanimous winner went 28 for 31 from the free throw line in the series and his 6 for 6 effort to close out the game gave him 74 consecutive free throws made in the fourth quarter and overtime in the playoffs. The last time Curry missed a foul shot in the postseason was in Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals. 

To put into perspective how the Warriors have faired with Curry in the lineup with Durant out, they are 27-1 their last 28 games when that scenario takes place.

“Our guys are [expletive] giants,” Coach Kerr said after the Warriors 104-99 win in Game 5 versus the Rockets to go up 3-2, “like that was an unbelievable victory.”  

As good as the “Splash Brothers” were in Game 6, it was the role players, especially those off the bench that rose to the moment. 

It is no surprise that Andre Iguodala has raised his level of play in the postseason, but the 2015 NBA Finals MVP has played unexpectedly at a very high level even by his standards at this stage of his career. The 35-year-old veteran swingman is not only making plays on both ends of the floor, he is averaging 11.8 points so far in the playoffs, connecting on 54.5 percent of his shots from the field, including 42.6 percent of his three-pointers. He finished the Semis against the Rockets in fine fashion scoring 17 points connecting on 5 for 8 from three-point range.    

The bench unit of the Warriors in the Semis against the Rockets had averaged just 10.6 points through the first five games. In Game 6 though, the bench scored 33 points in total with backup big man Kevon Looney and backup guard Shaun Livingston contributing 14 and 11 points respectably, while also providing energy and defensive tenacity that was set from the outset by All-Star Draymond Green, who finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. 

The Warriors opponent standing in their way of a fifth consecutive trip to The Finals are the Portland Trail Blazers, who too are led by a dynamic backcourt who is a major reason they are back in the Conference Finals for the first time in 19 years. 

The boys from “Rip City” are four wins away from their first Finals appearance since 1992 because of starting guards in All-Star, and Oakland, CA native Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who both closed the book on their opponents in the first two rounds of the Western Conference Playoffs. 

Lillard, whose squad entered the playoffs on a 10-game postseason losing streak took down the No. 6 Seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 with a 118-115 win going for a Trail Blazers playoff record of 50 points making also a postseason team record 10 for 18 from three-point range with the 10 coming at the buzz on Apr. 23. 

“You know there’s been a lot of back-and-fourth. A lot of talk and all this stuff, and that was the last word,” Lillard said during his postgame presser after ending the Thunder’s season with his series-clinching three-pointer that ended with him with waving goodbye to the Thunder bench. “That was having the last word.” 

In the Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets though, Lillard, whose 27 points per game against the Warriors is the most versus any team in his career did have his difficulties where he went from averaging 33.0 points on 45.3 percent from the field and 46.9 percent from three-point range against the Thunder in the opening-round to 25.1 points on 39.6 percent from the field and just 27.0 percent from three-point range. 

His backcourt mate in McCollum, whose averaged 25.6 points and 5.8 rebounds on 45.5 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range had his back in the Semis against the Nuggets. 

The 2016 KIa Most Improved Award winner from Lehigh University in the four games the Trail Blazers won in the series, McCollum averaged 32.0 points on 51.7 percent shooting in the wins, which included a Game 7 franchise-record 37 points on 17 for 29 shooting with nine rebounds on 17 for 29 shooting in the comeback from 17 points down in the second quarter to garner a 100-96 win in Game 7 of the Semis at the Nuggets on Sunday. 

As good as he was offensively, the one big play he made came on the defensive end where he had a chase down block shot with 4:44 left in the fourth period on Nuggets starting guard Jamal Murray with the Trail Blazers ahead 87-83 at that moment. 

“Seth [Curry] did a great job of cutting off his lane and making him have to go over his head,” McCollum said of chase-down block he made on Murray. “He put it right there for me and I went and got it. ‘[Le]Bron style. Shout out to my guy ‘Bron [LeBron James]. It was a mini-version of ‘Bron’s block on Iggy [Iguodala] some years ago. Definitely didn’t get up as high but it was a cool play. I might get a picture of that.” 

In the epic 140-137 quadruple overtime win versus the Nuggets in Game 3 that put the Trail Blazers up 2-1 on May 3, McCollum tied a playoff career-high of 41 points with eight boards and four steals on 16 for 39 shooting with four three pointers. He along with Lillard kept the Trail Blazers season alive combining for 62 points on 23 for 37 shooting, including 8 for 20 from three-point range in the Trail Blazers’ 119-108 victory versus the Nuggets last Thursday night to tie the series at 3-3.  

McCollum’s performance in the Semis, especially in Game 7 made up for the 3 for 17 effort shooting from the floor by Lillard, who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but he was not the only one who rose to the moment. 

Swingman Evan Turner, who scored just four points total in the first six games of the Semis and a total of seven points the first 11 games of the 2019 Playoffs scored 10 of his 14 points and seven rebounds on 8 for 9 from the charity stripe off the bench for head coach Terry Stotts squad, who won just their fourth playoff game on the road in their last 23 tries. 

While he made have had just seven points and five rebounds off the bench, second-year center Zach Collins had four block shots, which is on the heels of his five-block performance in Game 6. He along with now starting center Enes Kanter, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds in Game 7 have really risen their level of play in the postseason, especially in the absence of starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who was lost in late March due to a broken leg.   

“It’s unbelievable to see, you know how hard everybody worked,” McCollum said to ESPN/ABC’s Doris Burke after the Game 7 win about the play of Trail Blazers role players when called upon. 

“Nurk went down. Rodney Hood goes down tonight. Our organization does a good job of picking up key acquisitions. We get Rodney Hood, we get Enes. Meyers [Leonard] steps up big for us. Zach Collins, who a lot of people said, ‘Why are we drafting Zach Collins?’ That’s why we drafted him. Defensive intensity, his offensive versatility.” 

McCollum added about how Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless did not start in the second half, but when called upon Harkless stepped in and played really well. 

“That’s just a credit to our staff and our charisma,” McCollum said to Burke.   

Collins and Turner, along Kanter, Maurice Harkless, Curry, Meyers Leonard, Al-Farouq Aminu and Rodney Hood will need to be at their best if they plan on upsetting the Warriors. 

Hood, who really shined in the Semis averaging 14.7 points on 58.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter and is questionable for the start of Conference Finals is day-to-day. 

In the Game 3 victory in four overtimes, Hood scored seven of his 19 points off the bench in the fourth overtime that got the Trail Blazers to the finish line against the Nuggets. In Game 6, Hood had a playoff career-high of 25 points as well off the pine on 8 for 12 from the floor. 

The intriguing storyline of this series besides who is not playing for the Warriors is that the sons of former NBA sharp-shooter Dell Curry and his wife Sonya in the aforementioned Stephen and Seth will become the first siblings to face each other in an NBA conference final.    

To give equal love to their two sons during this Conference Final, Dell and Sonya have decided to flip a coin before each game of this best-of-seven series to determine which team they’ll represent. If Sonya flips heads, she’ll dawn Trail Blazers attire to support Seth, while Dell will dawn Stephen’s Warriors blue and gold colors. If the coin lands on tails, she’ll dress in Warriors clothing while Dell will sport Trail Blazers gear. 

This will continue until the series is decided. There will be a lot of coin flipping and a lot of traveling for the Curry family, who plan to attend every game with Mr. and Mrs. Curry sitting in the stands with Stephen’s wife Ayesha at Warriors home games at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA and with Seth’s fiancé Callie Rivers, the daughter of Los Angeles Clippers head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers when the series shifts to the Moda Center in Portland, OR. 

“I normally don’t get nervous for games when either one of them play,” the 54-year-old Dell Curry, the current color analyst for the Charlotte Hornets on FOX Sports Southeast said of his sons facing off against each other. “But I got a little nervous knowing how they’re going to play against each other. 

He added, “It’s going to be tough to put everything aside and battle each other because as siblings they want each other to do well. They watch each other’s games and cheer for each other.” 

For the Warriors, this is the next to last obstacle standing in their way of earning their ticket to their fifth straight appearance in the NBA Finals a chance at their third straight title and fourth in the last five seasons. For the Trail Blazers, they ended two seasons of playoff disappointment thanks to their dynamic backcourt of Lillard and McCollum, who closeout efforts at the end of the first two rounds respectably and are at the doorstep of earning their first trip to The Finals since 1992. Even without Durant to start this series, the Warriors as they showed in closing out the Rockets last week, they will be a major challenge for the Trail Blazers, who are not afraid of the challenge in front of them, having dropped eight of their nine postseason meetings in 2016 and 2017 respectably. 

To illustrate that last point even further, the Warriors under Coach Kerr are 17-1 in Game 1 of any series. 

Prediction: Warriors in six games. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 5/8/19 8 p.m. “Boston Celtics versus Milwaukee Bucks,” Game 5 of Eastern Conference Semifinals on TNT, presented by AT&T with Marv Albert, Chris Webber, and Kristen Ledlow; 5/9/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 5/10/19 9 p.m. “Golden State Warriors versus Houston Rockets,” Game 5 Western Conference Semifinals on ESPN, presented by Wells Fargo with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Lisa Salters; 5/11/19 11:30 p.m. edition of ESPN's "Sportscenter," with Scott Van Pelt; 5/12/19 3:30 p.m. “Portland Trail Blazers versus Denver Nuggets,” Game 7 Western Conference Semifinals on ABC, presented by Wells Fargo with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Doris Burke; 5/12/19 www.nba.com’s “Series Preview: Similarities Abound In Eastern Finals Matchup,” by Steve Aschburner and “Series Preview: Blazers Face Tall Task Against Defending-Champion Warriors,” by Shaun Powell; 5/13/19 www.nba.com story via Steve Reed of “The Associated Press,” “Coin Flip To Decide Who Mom, Dad Root For In Seth vs. Steph Matchup;” 5/13/19 11 p.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News,” with Bill Ritter, Sade Baderinwa, Lee Goldberg with Weather and Ryan Field with Sports; 5/14/19 7 p.m. “NBA Countdown,” on ESPN, presented by Mountain Dew with Michelle Beadle, Paul Pierce, Jalen Rose, and Chauncey Billups; 5/15/19 8 p.m. edition of TNT's "NBA Tip-Off," presented by Autotrader with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O'Neal; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/2490149/cj-mccollum; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3012/kyle-lowry; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6450/kawhi-leonard; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=401129635; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=401129366; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJ_McCollum https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Portland_Trail_Blazers_seasons; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Milwaukee_Bucks_seasons.