Western Conference Semifinals: Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans, Preview, SWOT Analysis & Prediction

Opportunities and Threats

Steph Curry is set to return

Warriors

With Stephen Curry back, the Warriors will have the opportunity to switch their best 3 of KD, Steph and Klay onto a defender other than Jrue Holiday or Nikola Mirotic on various possessions. They can also get the 3-point shooting going early on with Steph involved in shooting the ball and creating looks for others with his gravity.

They will be wary of the damage that Rajon Rondo can do in the half-court set, however. Rondo has had a great first-round series, and the connection between him and Anthony Davis is probably the best pick-and-roll still in the playoff (even considering the Steph-KD pick-and-roll - a testament to how good Rondo has been this playoff season).

Pelicans

The Pelicans will have to maximize the superiority of their frontcourt. Nikola Mirotic has been good from 3-point range in these playoffs and he would look to continue in the same vein. Jrue Holiday can exploit switches onto Curry to get buckets of his own. Anthony Davis will dominate the boards and protect their rim with a vengeance.

The Pelicans have, however, gotten by the first round mainly due to the trapping scheme they laid out on Lillard. They won't be able to do that on the likes of Curry and Durant, who're elite passers in their own right, unlike Lillard. Draymond is a great playmaker from the post and could reduce Davis' impact inside the paint by finding cutters into the lane with assists.