Portland & Memphis Having The Best Series Of The Playoffs
Both the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies have every element into winning a championship this season. However, this 2nd-round match-up on paper sees an early first-round meeting, that unfortunately results in the two interior-based teams going on an early summer vacation. In his second year as head coach of Portland, Terry Stotts has had back-to-back 50 win seasons and is looking to finally advance past the second round.
The team is currently enduring multiple injuries from Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo, but will look to their captains Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge to lead the way. Luckily for them, Lillard is still disgruntled at not making USA Basketball or the All-Star Game initially and will be taking his aggression out in the post-season.
The Memphis Grizzlies have major injury problems of their own, with Tony Allen dealing with a hamstring and Mike Conley needing foot surgery as soon as possible. This would hinder their chances of advancing to the 2nd round if they didn’t have the best front-court in all of basketball and veteran role players that have seen the beast of playoff basketball. Throughout the season, Memphis has held a chip on their shoulder as the most-overlooked and maybe underrated team of the league this year and have let their record speak for themselves.
Memphis maintained the 2nd seed through most of the season until injury problems hit them two weeks ago, dropping them down to 5. Fortunately for the Tennessee team, they have home court due to the league’s playoff rules. Just like their opponents, Memphis also has consecutive 50-win years, as head coach Dave Joerger could give the west a legit threat this spring. Only one team can survive and this is our pick for the best battle in the first round, with one elite franchise going fishing before May.