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Series Tied 2-2
TV: TNT + CSN Bay Area | Radio: KNBR 1050*
Tip-Off: 7:30pm
Arena: Staples (hopefully a ghost town)
Blog Buddy Frenemy: Clips Nation
* You've got to be kidding me. 1050 treatment? Come on KNBR! When the Warriors are in the NBA Finals will they get bumped to the weaker signal too? Haters.
As many predicted before this series began, this first round matchup is Must See TV. However, I don't think anyone predicted how unpredictable it would be. Let's recap the first 4 games:
- Game 1: Warriors down early, but steal one. Warriors 1-0 and on their merry way to their third first round upset since WE BELIEVE.
- Game 2: Clippers dominate and embarrass the Warriors by 40. Series tied 1-1
- Game 3: The splash is gone and the Warriors can't shoot. Stephen Curry doesn't get the foul call against Chris Paul and the Clippers are up 2-1. The Warriors season is over.
- Game 4: Donald Sterling is a fool. Warriors catch fire and destroy an understandably distracted Clippers team. Series tied 2-2.
Now instead of being on the ropes ready to be knocked out the Warriors are right back in it. Arguably they are now the favorite to win the series. I will thank Donald Sterling for that one.
Whew. TNT says they know drama, but were they ready for this?!
Keys to the W
- Splash: Without the services of Andrew Bogut and against the Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan, the Warriors will not win without a big night behind the 3pt line. More Game 4 style shooting, and no Game 3 shooting please.
- Be ready for the counter: Doc Rivers, Alvin Gentry, and the rest of the Clippers coaching staff are not fools. They'll have a counter for the Warriors small ball lineup orchestrated by Coach Jermaine O'Neal. The Warriors need to be ready for the counter whether that be endless Stephen Curry traps or pressuring weaker ball handlers in the small ball lineup.
- Focus: That huge mental lapse in Game 2 the last time the Warriors were in LA can not happen tonight if the Warriors want to set themselves up to close out this series back in Oakland on Thursday night.
Start 4 for Game 5
Make sure to get your picks in the Golden State of Mind Group on Start Four. Remember no Clippers! Here's my 4:
- Stephen Curry: He will be unstoppable from downtown.
- Andre Iguodala: He will be an unstoppable scoring and dime-dropping machine.
- Harrison Barnes: He will be Mr. April.
- Hilton Armstrong: He will surprise everyone.
In Case You Forgot…
Donald Sterling is a fool.
- 2014 NBA Playoffs: Golden State Warriors players respond harshly to controversy surrounding L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling on eve of Game 4
- Golden State Warriors vs LA Clippers Playoff Game 4 Preview: Must win against a team owned by racist Donald Sterling
Mark Jackson does have an obvious conflict of interest here, but I do agree with his suggestion that fans boycott Staples for this game in protest of Sterling.
NBA owner money does largely come from TV deals, but don't doubt for a second that a boycott would hurt Sterling in his pocket book. If I lived in LA there's no way in hell I would cough up those big bucks to see this game at Staples. I hope our friends down in SoCal save their hard earned money and sit this one out.
Predictions
- The Clippers do not sell out this game.
- The Clipper players use their national TV time to make a powerful statement.
- Whatever else happens in Game 5 can not be predicted.
- Still I predict… Warriors by 3.