Like the East, ESPN also made predictions for the Western Conference's first-round matchups.
Lakers vs. Trail Blazers.
The suspense of this matchup was second only to the Bucks-Bulls series in the East.
The Trail Blazers' backcourt duo was not in as good form as last year, and their wings had no way to stop James and Durant.
If their two guards caught fire like they had last year, they might steal one win from the Lakers. Otherwise, a sweep was their most likely outcome.
Spurs vs. Rockets.
Harden would get to experience Leonard and George's deadly wing defense in the Playoffs.
Having always performed worse in the Playoffs than in the Regular Season, he would face enormous difficulty if he wanted to lead the Rockets into the second round.
They could perhaps only hope that Paul's Playoff experience would make a difference.
Even though the opponent waiting for them was Popovich.
Pelicans vs. Warriors.
Enemies always meet.
No sentence described this matchup better.
This was the fifth time the Pelicans and Warriors had met in the Playoffs since Tang Tian joined the Pelicans.
To put it more plainly, aside from Tang Tian's first season with the Pelicans, when the Pelicans were eliminated by the Grizzlies—
They had met in every one of the other five seasons.
And in their previous four encounters, the Pelicans lost the first but won the following three.
The Warriors had also become the biggest stepping stone of the Pelicans dynasty.
Now, the Pelicans were aiming for four consecutive championships, yet they had run into the Warriors again in the first round.
Whether judging by their roster on paper or their Regular Season head-to-head record—three wins and no losses for the Pelicans—the Pelicans held the advantage.
The Pelicans were expected to win this series in the