Yes, the Golden State Warriors secured the Western Conference’s top seed. No, that doesn’t mean the Warriors have the West’s easiest route to the Finals.
The Golden State Warriors proved during the regular season that they’re the league’s best team. Although they had low points throughout the season, double-digit win streaks always helped them bounce back to the top.
The Dubs finished the season with a conference-high 57 wins. The Bucks (60) and Raptors (58) both topped Golden State. However, the West’s top seed may not have the easiest route possible to get to their fifth straight Finals.
The Warriors are locked into facing the Clippers in the first round. The Clippers and Spurs, who both won their season finale, were forced into a tiebreaker scenario which was won by San Antonio. The Clippers, the Warriors first-round opponent, isn’t the problem.
There’s no guarantee that the Warriors sweep any matchup, but it’s a strong likelihood they can get out of the first round by only playing four games. It’s their next two pre-Finals matchups that could slow them down.
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The Warriors will play the winner of the Rockets and Jazz in the second round. This is not ideal for the Warriors who struggled against the Rockets this season. While it’s not impossible for Utah to take down Houston, it’s certainly not probable.
That said, Houston in the second round and then potentially either Portland, Denver, San Antonio or Oklahoma City in the third round is a much more difficult path than the Warriors would’ve preferred.
For Golden State, the most ideal path would’ve included Los Angeles, Portland then Denver.
Now, they could be forced into playing LA, Houston, who they were 1-3 against this season, and another Western Conference powerhouse in OKC, who have MVP candidates on their team, or Denver, who have a plethora of elite role players around MVP candidate Nikola Jokic.
As we entered the last day of the regular season, the Rockets were in place to potentially secure the second seed in the West. However, after losing in a thriller to OKC due to a Rockets’ collapse, Houston played themselves right into a potential second-round matchup with Golden State.
Then, the Trail Blazers and Nuggets both won their season finale, securing the third and second seed respectively.
That said, all-around, this seeding was not ideal for the Warriors.