The Golden State Warriors, with a win over the Cavs and a Denver loss to Portland, can lock in first place in the Western Conference today.
After many ups and downs, the Golden State Warriors can lock in first place in the Western Conference today. They will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle, which, with a fully healthy squad, should be an automatic victory.
However, it’s a two-part plan. They’re currently two games up on the Denver Nuggets in the West with four games remaining for both teams. That said, while the Dubs have an easy matchup, the Nuggets don’t.
The Nuggets have taken down Portland in both games this season. But, they’ve won those two games by a combined four points. Although with the injury to Jusuf Nurkic, it’ll be interesting to see how Portland defends Denver’s superstar big Nikola Jokic.
Overall, it won’t really matter if the Dubs clinch the spot today or in the week to come. With Los Angeles and New Orleans still on their schedule, there seems to be almost no chance that they lose the remainder of their games.
For the Dubs, first place is important.
Last season, they were forced into an uncomfortable Game 7 on the road against a tough Houston Rockets opponent. While they did figure it out due to an extremely cold shooting Rockets, having that game at home would’ve been far more ideal for the back-to-back champs.
Now, they’ll get the chance to secure that right.
It’s been a rough season, including a few team-breaking altercations and injuries. That said, if we’ve figured anything out about this team over the last few months, it’s that they are a resilient group.
Losing five of six games earlier this season, the future seemed bleak for Golden State as many fans thought Draymond Green’s fanatics would drive Kevin Durant elsewhere. With all that cooled down, this team will be entering the postseason as strong as ever.
With Cousins playing some of his best ball of the season, the Golden State Warriors have finally started to click, and we can’t be happier.