1-8 Matchup: Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs
How could it happen?
Warriors already clinched number one seed. San Antonio Spurs lose to Dallas Mavericks. LA Clippers defeat Utah Jazz. Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Honestly, if I had it my way and there were no other consequences to consider, I’d want the Golden State Warriors to have to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. Hard as it is to believe, that’s still a very real possibility and in terms of wearing down the Warriors in the first round, few teams would do it better than OKC. If the Thunder lose their last two games, or end in a three-way tie with LA and San Antonio at all, that’s exactly where they’ll land.
However, since this is all about giving the Jazz the best playoff situation, as nice as it would be to wear down the Warriors, there’s actually a better option which I will get to briefly. As far as possible situations go, the best circumstances for the Jazz unfortunately can’t also include OKC in the eight-spot. Therefore, the next best option will be for the Spurs to find themselves in that position.
Such can happen if San Antonio loses while LA and OKC win out. It’s possible, but not likely considering that the Spurs face the lottery-bound Dallas Mavericks in their final contest. But for the sake of this exercise we’ll assume it happens.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have already nabbed the top spot, to the surprise of no one. Golden State has had long bouts of complacency this season, but there’s still no questioning that they’re the best team in the Western Conference, and in the NBA, despite what other records may say.
The Spurs wouldn’t present quite as tough of a matchup as OKC, but would definitely be harder for the Warriors than the LA Clippers due to the star power of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan and the crafty coaching of Gregg Popovich. Therefore, this matchup would present at least some semblance of a challenge for the Warriors.
Do I think the Spurs could surprise them and win a seven-game series? Not a chance. Although San Antonio took two out of three regular season bouts against Golden State, the playoffs are a different animal. The Warriors would likely get past the Spurs quite easily, but it would still be a grinding series.
And most importantly, this matchup is the first step in things working out quite nicely for the Jazz in subsequent rounds. More to come shortly.