Who wants to play the underdog Golden State Warriors in the NBA playoffs?
Heading into the NBA’s inaugural Play-In Tournament, with all due respect to the Los Angeles Lakers, there might not be a team in the Western Conference that the top two seeds possibly fear most than the Golden State Warriors.
They’ll never admit it, but the Warriors present a threat to each of the top two seeds in the West.
The Warriors may not be full strength and are nowhere near championship contention, but this is not a team that any contender wants to see in the first round of the playoffs. Especially not when Stephen Curry is playing at the level that he’s been playing at over the last few weeks of the season.
Stephen Curry has been absolutely outstanding this season
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On the season, Curry is averaging 32 points, six assists, and six rebounds per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range. Since the start of April, however, it seems like Curry has taken his game to the next level.
Since the start of April, Curry is averaging 37 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent shooting from 3-point range. In an attempt to carry the Warriors into the playoffs, Curry has turned on his game – as all great players do.
And while the Warriors have been pretty inconsistent as a team all season long, the Warriors are a team that can get hot at the right time and perhaps create some chaos amongst the top of the West.
Curry is the type of superstar that can take over a series and win a game or two almost single-handedly. That’s often the recipe for disaster in the playoffs. Considering that the Warriors will likely be paired with the Phoenix Suns or (most likely) Utah Jazz in a potential opening-round series, and it gets that much more interesting.
The Suns and Jazz may be absolutely confident in their ability as a team, but I would still have my reservations about having to pick a winner in that series.
And these are how upsets arise in the playoffs.
Because of their inconsistency this season, the Warriors are going to enter the playoffs as the 7th or 8th seed (assuming they make the postseason), but, on paper, this is not a team that generally would enter the playoffs as a bottom two seed.
On the flip side, I’m not sure anyone expected the Suns or Jazz to sit atop the West standings. Heading into the West playoffs, I’m not sure there is any team (not named the Lakers) that the top contenders don’t want to face more than the Warriors.
The underdog Warriors are back and that has to be considered one of the scariest sights in a playoff setting. A first-round upset could be in the stars this postseason.