NBA Click & Roll: The Warriors aren't invincible. Who should they be most afraid of?
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WORRIED WARRIORS?
In our weekly NBA roundtable, which will be published Thursday morning, Paste BN Sports' Jeff Zillgitt, Martin Rogers, AJ Neuharth-Keusch and Matt Eppers debate a burning question. This week: Which NBA team should the Golden State Warriors be most afraid of?
Zillgitt: Oklahoma City is fading. Denver doesn’t have the experience despite such an outstanding season. The Los Angeles Clippers could present problems, and Jusuf Nurkic’s season-ending injury hurts Portland. The Milwaukee Bucks have to prove they can win a series, let alone get to the NBA Finals (plus, they're entering the postseason banged up). I’m not sure the Warriors are afraid of any team, but the team they should be most worried about is Houston.
While this isn’t the same Rockets team that took the Warriors to seven games in last season’s conference finals, this isn’t the same Warriors team, either. Yes, the Warriors are more vulnerable this season, especially defensively, and they would have to contend with James Harden, who is putting up historic offensive numbers. But it’s also not a one-man show for the Rockets, who not only have Chris Paul, Eric Gordon and Clint Capela, they have depth, too. Not that regular-season meetings are always meaningful, but the Rockets are 3-1 against Golden State this season, with two victories in Oakland. The Rockets are confident they can beat Golden State in a playoff series.
Rogers: The Clippers. This is a matchup that could easily happen, too, either as a 1 vs. 8 or a 2 vs. 7. The reason isn’t so much that I think the Clippers could beat Golden State in a seven-game series, but that I think they could take a lot out of them. The Clippers have been hot, playing as well as anyone in the league over the past three weeks. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are monsters of differing sizes coming off the bench, Danilo Gallinari has a hot hand and the team as a whole is menacing defensively. They are tough and rugged and exhausting to play against. And while the Warriors are a modern phenomenon and bring their best at playoff time, I can see the Clippers extending this series to six games, or even seven. That, combined with the effort needed to get past them, could potentially put Steve Kerr’s team in a compromised spot, especially if they then head straight into a second-round clash with Houston.
Neuharth-Keusch: In the West, it has to be the Rockets. Houston had the Warriors on the ropes in last year's conference finals, and if Paul didn't miss the final two games of the series with a hamstring injury, and if the Rockets didn't have a historically bad shooting night in Game 7, we probably would have seen a Houston-Cleveland NBA Finals. The Rockets are peaking at the right time, and the trio of Paul, Harden and Capela is as dangerous as any.
As for the East? Toronto. This isn't the same Raptors team that couldn't get over the postseason hump year after year. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green are NBA champions. Serge Ibaka has played in the Finals. Marc Gasol is a seasoned veteran with loads of playoff experience. They also have length, a few elite and versatile defenders, a handful of players who can hit shots from the perimeter, and, though it doesn't mean much, they swept the Warriors in the regular season. The Warriors are by far the better team, but should these two squads meet in the Finals, Toronto has enough to make it a series.
Eppers: Golden State doesn’t fear anyone, but if there’s one team that should cause some worry, it’s Houston. That’s not a particularly groundbreaking or out-of-the-box pick, but the Rockets have the pedigree and still have enough talent to challenge the Warriors. They also still have Harden, arguably the league’s best all-around scorer and someone who can take over a series. Health is always a concern – as it is with Golden State, too – but Capela hasn’t missed a beat since returning from injury and Paul appears ready for the playoffs after a manageable workload down the stretch (knock on every piece of wood within reach, Rockets fans).
No other team in the West inspires as much confidence. Denver’s young core is certainly talented but lacks big-game experience. Portland didn’t have enough even before Nurkic’s leg injury. Oklahoma City’s defense could pose a problem, but the Thunder are reeling. In the East, Milwaukee has a superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but can he continue to dominate when teams can scheme to slow him over a seven-game series? For all the additions, Toronto remains a believe-it-when-I-see-it team, and Philadelphia and Boston have been too inconsistent to know which version will show up in the playoffs.
CATCH UP AROUND THE LEAGUE
— The Big Baller Brand experiment appears to be over, with majority owner Lonzo Ball going as far as to cover up his BBB tattoo after it was reported that the company’s co-founder, Alan Foster, is alleged to have siphoned $1.5 million from the Ball family brand. LeBron James cheered on his Lakers teammate for taking control of the situation, and Lonzo's manager even released a video of himself throwing a pair of Big Baller Brand shoes down a trash chute.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks got the best of James Harden's Rockets in Tuesday's MVP matchup, but the race for the league's most coveted individual award is still far from over.
— This Chris Paul crossover is the best thing you'll see today.
— Scratch that ... this Jeremy Lamb game-winner is.
— Up by 33, the Jazz intentionally fouled to prevent Devin Booker from getting 60 points. He finished with 59. The NBA is nothing if not petty.
— Mike Breen re-told the wild story of Lou Williams talking a gunman out of robbing him, and it's still wild.
— The Cavaliers need Zion Williamson more than any other NBA team. No, the Hawks do. Just kidding ... it's the Knicks. We make a case for all three teams.
— We take a look at the top NBA prospects left in the Sweet 16.
— Well wishes to Jusuf Nurkic, whose career season came to a brutal end after he suffered a gruesome leg injury Monday night.
— America has an appetite for brackets and a thirst for single-elimination drama. The NBA needs a March Madness tournament of its own, and it needs it now, writes Rogers.
Check back next week for everything that went down in the Association.