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The NBA has now shifted to round two and teams have tasted a small portion of victory. The Golden State Warriors will look to defend their title from last season. The New Orleans Pelicans come off a stunning series upset as the lower seeded team. Both teams are itching to get this series started, for a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Keys to the Game
The Warriors will need a strong effort from their backcourt of Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson offensively. By attacking the Pelicans’ guards to score, they can’t be passive when they get the ball in their hands. Coach Steve Kerr should try running bigger line-ups and keep Kevin Durant at small forward when possible. He will need to score close to 30 points-per-game in this series since most of the other position match-ups boat well for New Orleans.
The are playing a long team upfront so the Warriors will need to utilize the size of JaVale Mcgee and David West. They have to stop the penetration while not leaving players wide open for kick-out three pointers.
The Pelicans will need somebody to step up off their bench, they rely too much on their starters. Keeping the main guys fresh will help against the Warriors’ up-tempo pace. They should attack the Warriors in the paint and try to draw fouls against their bigs.
New Orleans should stay away from trying to go shot-for-shot from outside and stay within their own game plan. Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday will have to continue their heavy volume of scoring since they will get tougher match-ups in this series.
In order to have a chance, the Pelicans have to defend the perimeter as best as they can. At the very least, make sure the Warriors have a hand in their face every time they shoot. New Orleans will have to rebound well and keep the Warriors off the offensive glass.
Matchup To Watch
The Warriors’ backcourt of Iguodala and Thompson have a distinct size advantage versus Rajon Rondo and Holiday. The Pelicans duo went nuts in round one, putting the pressure on the defense and playing efficient basketball. The Warriors duo has loads of experience and have proven to play big when the spotlight is on.
Prediction
This will be a hard fought series till the end. Warriors win series in seven games.
