Golden State Warriors Shouldn’t Mind First Round Opponent
By Dale Johnson
The Golden State Warriors have long since locked up the No. 1 seed in the West, but a battle still rages for the No. 8 seed – the team that will be lucky enough to be the Warriors’ opening round opponent.
With the Phoenix Suns seemingly trading away their playoff capable roster, it is now a battle between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Warriors’ opponent on Tuesday, the New Orleans Pelicans, for the No. 8 spot.
Neither squad is doing much to solidify their playoff future. They are both 5-5 in their last 10 games, but now that it has been announced that Kevin Durant is out for the year, and Serge Ibaka remains sidelined with knee problems, the Thunder are all sorts of undermanned and Russell Westbrook can only play so much hero ball. The OKC defense is leaking like a sieve, most recently giving up 115, 100 and 135 in their last three games. All losses.
More from Blue Man Hoop
- 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
- Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
- 7 players Golden State Warriors might replace Klay Thompson with by the trade deadline
- Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court
The Pelicans are also .500 in their last 10, but have won four of their last five. Big man Anthony Davis is playing at an MVP level, but overall the Pelicans are a middle of the road team in most offensive and defensive categories. The Pelicans currently trail the Thunder by half a game, and have a tough road coming up vs. the Warriors on Tuesday plus games at Memphis and Houston and at home vs. the Spurs. So it’ll be a tougher hill to climb if New Orleans wants to sneak in as the eight seed.
If the Warriors had a choice, I think they would prefer to face the Thunder at this point. The Thunder are just so severely hampered by injuries to key players and they have yet to adjust to the personnel that they have available. They are clearly out of sorts, and though Westbrook can do miraculous things on the court, the Warriors are a lockdown defensive team that can scheme up a plan to render Westbrook less effective. His supporting cast consists of Kyle Singler, Dion Waiters and Anthony Morrow, and those are the guys logging heavy minutes.
A Westbrook triple-double and an off-night shooting by the Warriors could spell a win for OKC, but over a seven game series there’s no way Golden State would trip up against the Thunder.
The Warriors are 3-0 against New Orleans this year, though Davis only played in their first meeting on Dec. 4. In that game, Davis had 30 points and 15 boards but still finished -8 for the game as the Warriors cruised to a 112 – 85 win.
Scoring points off turnovers has been a key for the Warriors in their wins over the Pelicans this season, outscoring them 70-31 in that category. Creating off mistakes is a huge part of the Warriors’ league-leading offense, and would be paramount vs. the Pelicans in the playoffs. Forcing a young New Orleans team into mistakes, especially at a hostile Oracle Arean where the Warriors have gone 38-2, would spell disaster for the potential No. 8 seed who is 16-22 on the road.
The Pelicans haven’t beaten a Western Conference playoff team in exactly a month, and the Thunder are without last year’s MVP. Though there are no easy outs come playoff time, especially in the Western Conference, the Warriors should feel pretty secure with either of their potential first round opponents.
Even with MVP candidates Davis and Westbrook opposing them, the Warriors are too strong on defense, explosive on offense and have too much depth to lose to either of these flawed teams.
And also, Oracle Arena. It’s where opposing team’s dreams go to die. And will most likely be the grave site for one eight-seed’s season.