Damian Lillard was wrong about the Blazers beating the Warriors in six. The Blazers are going to sweep the Warriors. Or maybe the Warriors are going to sleep the Blazers. And if neither of those things happen, then there will be a conflict at Oracle Arena.
Game 5 of the series, if necessary, is scheduled for April 26 with Golden State hosting in 2-2-1-1-1 format. Chance the Rapper has a concert scheduled that night at Oracle.
Clearly, the NBA doesn’t think the Blazers have a … Chance.
Maybe none of this will matter. Somehow, the Warriors’ 67-win season felt underwhelming coming off last year’s NBA record 73 wins. But the Warriors were still by far the best team in the NBA, and now Kevin Durant is healthy again. Meanwhile, the Blazers snuck into the playoffs at 41-41.
The Warriors and the Blazers met in last year’s NBA playoffs too, and Golden State smacked them in five games. That Portland team was significantly better (the No. 5 seed instead of the No. 8).
If the Blazers can extend the series to five games again, we may see Chance scampering to find a new venue. A Warriors-Chance doubleheader would be a pretty sick alternative, though.