Which Western Conference favorite is most likely to get upset?
Osborne: The Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers not only have to deal with the loss of Jusuf Nurkic but they also get a Thunder team that has a dominant 1-2 punch in Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Ultimately this series may come down to the battle between Damian Lillard and Westbrook.
Knitzer: It would be easy to say wounded Blazers, but they still have (arguably) the best player in the series, and tons of shooting. The Thunder will only win that series if Steven Adams can get back to that offensive zone he was in to open the season. I think the most likely upset is the Nuggets, because the Spurs are simply so good at making opponents change game plans, and have enough playmakers to torch Jokic any time he’s on the court.
Salveson: Portland Trail Blazers. The Oklahoma City Thunder have the pure talent to beat a wounded Trail Blazers team without Nurkic. The defense Nurkic provides should be an obvious missing hole for Portland and even if they do win the series, it won’t be easy for them. Steven Adams should take Meyers Leonard, Enes Kanter and Zach Collins off of their offensive games too.
Griffin: The Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers playing OKC in the first round is a tough draw. Russell Westbrook and Paul George will be ready to redeem the Thunder from last year’s first round loss to the Jazz.
Kirshblum: One would think that having the 2nd best record in the loaded Western Conference, remaining at the top of the standings for the entire season, and possessing one of the league’s best defenses, the Nuggets would seem like a shoe in for the next round. However, there is one element that the Nuggets are lacking in … experience. If the Nuggets had lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, even that experience would’ve been valuable, but let’s not forget that their three leading scorers (Jokic, Murray, and Harris) have never played a single minute of playoff basketball.
The Spurs however are led by one of the all-time winningest coaches, Gregg Popovich, and are loaded with talented players with playoff experience (Aldridge, DeRozan, Gay, Mills, and Belinelli). If the Nuggets can remain calm and continue their success from the regular season, they should be able to get the job done. But would anyone be surprised to see the Spurs move on?
Freedman: Give me the Thunder over the Blazers. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams are a triple threat that no team wants to face. As much as I love Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, I don’t think they can compete with this gritty Thunder team for 7 games.
I say seven games because that’s how long I hope this series goes, considering how many mind-boggling plays we will see. Scoring is one thing, but playing defense is another, and unless the dynamic duo plays exceptional on both sides of the ball, I don’t see them moving on.
Balaraman: Every year, I am shocked by how high up the Portland Trai Blazers are in the Western Conference standings come the end of the year. Kudos to Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and co. for a yet another terrific regular season. But losing Jusuf Nurkic means that the Thunder can key in and gameplan for Lillard and McCollum without worrying as much about the Bosnian inside. The Thunder are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and their length and physicality might just be too much for Portland to handle.
McNeil: The Denver Nuggets have exceeded expectations this season, and this young team finds itself as the 2nd seed in the West. Asides from Paul Millsap, this team doesn’t have that much playoff experience. However, the San Antonio Spurs definitely do have experience. Coach Pop And Demar will definitely give the Nuggets a run for their money in this first round matchup.