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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.


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