Golden State Warriors
At this point, you have to give the defending champs a bit of the benefit of the doubt. On paper, the Golden State Warriors are not a team that is supposed to make noise in the Western Conference playoffs. But there is still an outside chance that they could emerge as a dark horse threat. And that’s because they’re still the defending champs and they still have all of the core championship pieces.
Even more so if Andrew Wiggins returns for the postseason but that’s not the expectation at least for the moment. If there’s one team that could perhaps flip the switch this late in the season, it’s the Warriors. Their roster is littered with big names and talent. If Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green can play at a high level in the playoffs, are you really going to count this team out?
On one hand, the Warriors have been one of the most inconsistent projected playoff teams this season in the Western Conference. On the other hand, this is a Warriors team that has overcome nearly all hurdles while winning four championships over the last eight seasons. Can they do it one more time?