Following the conclusion of Monday’s game versus the Lakers, the Golden State Warriors are now down 3 games to 1 (3-1) in the Western Conference Semifinals. With game 5 set to occur on Wednesday, May 10th, all eyes are on the Warriors to flip the momentum of the series at their home court. To say the odds are stacked against them would be an understatement, no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit against a LeBron-led team so if the Warriors could somehow pull off this shocker of a comeback there would definitely be tremors all around the league. 

The Warriors had quite the shaky season this year and while they may have slipped themselves into the sixth seed in the last month or so, their flaws may finally catch up to them. They particularly struggled when playing on the road (playing on another team’s court) only winning 11 of their 41 total road games. This is half of what they produced last season when they won 22 of their road games. Their struggles on the road have also crossed over into the current playoff season, with them winning only 2 games so far while away from the home court. Monday’s game was clear that some things needed to change in either player rotation or matchups, maybe even both. Stephen Curry was arguably the only player on the Warriors who was locked in and even he had a poor shooting performance, only knocking down 3 threes out of 14 attempts, but still achieving a 31-point triple double. Jordan Poole has been putting up noticeably poor numbers with 6, 5, and 0 points in games 2, 3, and 4, respectively. These aren’t good, especially considering a 4yr/$128 million contract extension is about to go into effect next season.

A shot at another championship isn’t the only thing at stake for this superstar-filled rivalry. The legacy of both LeBron James and Stephen Curry is hanging in the balance. For Curry, a series win over LBJ without the help of Kevin Durant could prove all the haters wrong who believed he only won against LeBron in the previous series with the help of the 6 foot 10 inch star. A 3-1 deficit comeback could also bring a feeling of slight redemption after the Warriors blew their infamous 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals to LeBron and Kyrie Irving which still haunts Curry’s career to this day. LeBron, although he doesn’t have as much on the line, just cannot afford to let up in however many games there are to be played in this series. If “The King”, ironically, blew this series lead to a Warriors team without KD, then this would definitely leave a stain on his ridiculously impressive resume. Not to mention that NBA Twitter fans would definitely make sure that this gets included in every Jordan vs LeBron debate till the end of time. At the end of the day, both teams just need to take each game as they come and make the most of every play, shot attempt, rebound, quarter, and whatever else is needed to keep their respective playoff runs alive.