Who is the Worst Matchup for the Warriors in the Playoffs?
By Andrew Ites
With seeds three through eight up for grabs in the Western Conference playoff picture, we take a look at which team would present the most trouble for the Warriors in the first round.
The Warriors and Rockets have a comfortable cushion over the rest of the potential playoff teams in the Western Conference, but it’s anyone’s guess how the seeding will shake out heading into the home stretch of the regular season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently in seventh place in the West, and I believe they are the team that could cause some problems for the Warriors in a first round series.
Golden State stomped the Thunder in their most recent meeting by a score of 112-80 on February 24th, but Oklahoma City won the first two matchups by 20+ points this season.
Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony give the Thunder enough firepower on offense to get hot for a couple of games, and Steven Adams has always given the Warriors’ centers headaches with his ability to crash the offensive boards.
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Also, Oklahoma City has a strong home court and their crowd would go wild for an opportunity to face off against their biggest rival.
The Warriors would be much more afraid of the Thunder if they still had Andre Roberson, but he will be out for the remainder of the year with an injury. Without Roberson, Oklahoma City has to guard one of the Warriors’ All-Stars with Russell Westbrook, who has a tendency to fall asleep on the defensive end.
Ultimately, I don’t think the Thunder are good enough to win a series against the Warriors, but they would be the team that would scare me the most in the first round.
Next: Who Should Start for the Golden State Warriors in the Playoffs?