There are currently eight teams fighting for six spots in the Western Conference playoff picture. Which team would provide the easiest matchup for the Warriors in the first round?
The Warriors and Rockets are essentially locked in to the top two seeds in the Western Conference playoffs, but they have no idea who they will play in the first round with the rest of the conference being packed so tightly together.
The Utah Jazz are currently on the outside looking in, but they have a solid chance to sneak into the playoffs with a fairly easy schedule over the final stretch of the regular season.
The Warriors have split their two matchups with the Jazz this season, with that loss being one of the worst performances of the year as Golden State looked like they checked out for the All-Star break a week early.
While Donovan Mitchell has been fantastic in his rookie season, the Jazz just don’t have enough shot creation to really scare a team like the Warriors.
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Joe Ingles is a solid playmaker but Golden State’s wing defenders should be able to contain him, Ricky Rubio isn’t a great shooter off the dribble, and the rest of Utah’s guards and wings aren’t great at getting their own shot.
However, the Warriors don’t match up well with Rudy Gobert and he could give Golden State trouble on both ends of the floor in a potential playoff series.
The Warriors didn’t have much trouble taking care of the Jazz in last year’s playoffs with a four-game sweep, and I wouldn’t expect Utah to give Golden State much trouble if they end up playing each other for the second year in a row.