Skip to main content

Re-Ranking the Warriors Toughest Competition

The Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to win the NBA Finals, with home-court advantage and a more talented roster on their side. Before the season began, I ranked the Warriors biggest competitors that stood between them and back-to-back championships.

You can read the full list here. In ascending order, I ranked the Celtics, Thunder, Rockets, Spurs and Cavaliers are the teams with the best chances to dethrone Golden State in the playoffs. There's been some major shakeups to each of these teams, which certainly affects how I view them today.
Courtesy of ABC Sports


5. New Orleans Pelicans (formerly: Boston Celtics)

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (formerly: Oklahoma City Thunder)

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly: Houston Rockets)

2. Boston Celtics (formerly: San Antonio Spurs)

1. Houston Rockets (formerly: Cleveland Cavaliers)


The Celtics and Rockets were the biggest upward movers since October: even though Boston lost Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward for the season. It should come as no surprise that Houston ranks first, as the Rockets nearly beat the Warriors in a playoff series. If Chris Paul played in Games 6 and 7, I think Houston would be in the NBA Finals right now. Or if the referees called three fouls on Harden shooting three-pointers that left 10 points on the board. Point is, Rockets can beat the Warriors in a seven game series and maybe even should have. 

The Spurs fall off this list with the absence of Kawhi Leonard and a feeling of uncertainty in San Antonio.

This Thunder team may never return, but when they played Curry, Durant, and the rest of the Warriors, they played hard. The Thunder took the first two matchups between the teams this season, by an average margin of 13.5 points per game. The Warriors responded by taking the next two games by 13.0 points per game.

Without Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Derrick Rose, the Cavaliers slide down to the 4th slot. As long as LeBron James is on the roster, Cleveland will at least have a chance against the Warriors. But in their current iteration, with Kevin Durant, it's hard to see THIS roster pulling off an improbable Finals win.

Finally, the New Orleans Pelicans gave Golden State just enough trouble in the playoffs to make the series interesting. Though the Warriors won the series in five games, it would have been cool to see what havoc Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins could have wrecked alongside each other.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Patriots Quickly Lose Underdog Status in Fluctuating Vegas Line

Championship Sunday gave us two wild overtime games with the winners set to meet in two weeks at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams opened as slight one point favorites, which would have had Tom Brady and the New England Patriots play the underdog role once again. The line quickly shifted to a pick 'em game. This feels like the most accurate reflection of the game's odds. While the Rams finished with a better regular season schedule, Brady and the Patriots are playing in their third straight Super Bowl and it would be tough to call them true underdogs. As Monday progressed, bettors started shifting the line in favor of the Patriots, likely to reflect early bets. Many bettors probably saw taking an underdog Patriots team as an easy bet. The line could go even deeper in New England's favor, or perhaps balance out closer to a pick 'em. Realistically, the line won't favor either team by more than 1 or 2 points, making it essentia...
2 comments
Read more

Lakers, 76ers, Pelicans Among 5 Teams Interested In Carmelo Anthony

The Carmelo Anthony experiment in Houston is already coming to an end, and despite his teams have a worse record with him on the court as opposed to off it over the past two seasons, there are still playoff contenders interested in the veteran's services. As of right now, Anthony is still a Houston Rocket. Barring a trade, it's highly anticipated he will be waived and get to choose his next team. His representatives have already been probing front offices to gauge interest.  Five suitors have emerged, per information from NBA Insiders Kevin O'Conner  and Marc J. Spears . The reports conflict slightly, but the combined list includes the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Miami Heat. O'Conner listed the three Western Conference teams, including the Lakers, as the likeliest landing spots, while Spears' intel tells him the Lakers are done making short-term free agent moves.  The Lakers  are e...
Post a Comment
Read more

NFL Divisional Round Reactions

The second round of the NFL playoffs told a different tale than Wildcard Weekend. After home teams went 1-3 in the playoffs opening weekend, they won, often in impressive fashion, going 4-0 in the Divisional Round. Four home teams, four favorites, four high-scoring offenses. The Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints all held 6-2, 7-1, or 8-0 home records in the regular season, and they carried the home-field advantage into the playoffs. In my personal picks, I went 3-1, incorrectly predicting the LA Rams would slip up and allow the Dallas Cowboys to advance. The most exciting and close game was between the Eagles and Saints, with New Orleans winning by a score and Nick Foles nearly pulling off a game-winning drive. My Playoff Week 2 Picks #Chiefs over #Colts ✅ #Cowboys over #Rams ❌ #Patriots over #Chargers ✅ #Saints over #Eagles ✅ Last week’s record: 3-1 Playoff record: 6-2 — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) January 14, ...
Post a Comment
Read more