What Warriors must do to beat the Lakers in West semifinals

The Golden State Warriors continue their run for a second consecutive championship fresh off a series win over No. 3 seed Sacramento. 

Ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals vs. the Lakers, Golden State is a five-point favorite, per OddsChecker, and has the home court for the series.

Here's what the Warriors must do to advance to the Western Conference Finals:

1. Rebound! Rebound! Rebound!

The Lakers, who feature a front-court rotation of Anthony Davis (6-foot-10), LeBron James (6-9), Rui Hachimura (6-8) and Jarred Vanderbilt (6-8), have a significant size advantage. Los Angeles will dominate the glass if the Warriors don't box out and emphasize gang rebounding. 

Kevon Looney -- Golden State's tallest player (6-9) and the only actual center on the roster -- must hold his own against Davis on the glass. He dominated Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis, the NBA's regular-season rebounding leader, and the rest of the Kings in the first round. In three games against Sacramento, Looney had 20 or more rebounds. 

"I think Loon is one of the best centers in the league," head coach Steve Kerr told the media after the Warriors closed out the Kings, adding, "This guy is a flat-out winner and he's a machine. We wouldn't be here without him."

2. Get better play from Jordan Poole 

Poole had a terrible first round against the Kings and was virtually unplayable at times. When he's not scoring efficiently, he makes it tough for Kerr because he's a negative factor in almost every other aspect of the game. Poole sometimes gets frustrated with himself, further hindering his performance.

"Jordan Poole is who's alarming me," ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said on Bay Area's 95.7 The Game.

Poole averaged 16.5 points and 5.3 assists in four regular-season games against Los Angeles. However, his shooting was abysmal from the field (32.8%) and from three (27.8%). 

If Austin Reaves significantly outplays Poole on both ends of the floor, that could spell trouble for Golden State.

The Warriors don't need 25 points a game from Poole, but they'll need him engaged, putting in effort on defense and decently efficient on offense. 

"He's gotta keep his confidence up," teammate Klay Thompson said during the Sacramento series.