Which team do the Warriors want to face least in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs?
Well, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, the answer is the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
“It would be devastating for the Warriors, after spending much of the past two months chasing down and then holding on to the sixth spot, to fall into the play-in tourney in the final week of the regular season,” Youngmisuk wrote. “If the Warriors drop below sixth, they would lose a valuable week off before the first round and have to battle in the play-in. Stephen Curry (age 37), Draymond Green (35) and Jimmy Butler (35) could then potentially face a young and athletic Thunder squad.
The Warriors believe they can go up against any opponent given the championship pedigree of Curry, Green and Steve Kerr not to mention the addition of ‘Playoff Jimmy.’ But despite being 2-1 against the Thunder before the Butler trade, facing Oklahoma would be a difficult matchup.”
Youngmisuk suggested multiple other reasons that the Warriors wouldn’t want to face OKC in Round One.
“On top of finding a way to contain MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Warriors would have to deal with emerging stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams,” he wrote. “With one of the top defenses in the league, the Thunder can send multiple defenders at Curry, starting with the physical Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. And inside, Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein can give the smaller Warriors trouble.
Curry told ESPN in January that he and the Warriors feel they can beat anyone in a seven-game series. Butler’s arrival only enhances that confidence. But the Warriors would rather avoid the league’s best team in the first round and use their time off to prepare their star players.”
The Timberwolves have been picking up steam with the postseason closing in, as relayed by ESPN’s Zach Cram. The reasons are many.
“Minnesota has maintained a top-10 defense basically all season, but the offense has leaped forward down the stretch,” Cram wrote. “At the end of February, the Timberwolves ranked 13th in offensive rating. But since the start of March, they’ve had the third-best offense, behind only the Clippers and Celtics.
“Much of that improvement stems from hot shooting in the backcourt: Over that stretch, Mike Conley has made an astonishing 53.2% of his 3-pointers, while Donte DiVincenzo is shooting 43% from deep. Jaden McDaniels (38.2%) and Julius Randle (36.6%) also have boosted their efficiency, surrounding Anthony Edwards with plenty of spacing.”
We shouldn’t expect Minnesota’s role players to stay this hot for the rest of the season; nobody in the NBA makes 53.2% of his 3s over a long span,” Kram wrote. “The Timberwolves also have benefited from a relatively easy slate of opponents during this stretch: In March, they went 10-1 against sub-.500 opponents and 3-2 versus teams with winning records.
“They’re looking better now than how they looked for most of the campaign while struggling to incorporate Randle and DiVincenzo.
Coach JJ Redick made it pretty clear where he wants the Lakers to finish heading into the West playoffs. And that would be the same spot as everyone else in this ultra-tight race.
“We would like to be in the top four,” Redick told reporters. “We’d like to have home court [advantage]. I think beyond just playing well at home, it would be nice for our guys to finish [the regular season] in Portland and then be able to be home for nine or 10 days.”
And yes, No. 4 would make good sense. But man, is it far from guaranteed at this point.
“With a handful of games left in the regular season, LA could feasibly finish anywhere from No. 3 to No. 8 in the West,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Avoiding the play-in tournament and securing the No. 6 spot or better would give the Lakers a week to prepare for the playoffs and afford some time for a few of their banged-up players (LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura topping that list) to heal.
If they can finish No. 4 or better, they would begin by hosting their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena, where they have the second-best home record in the West.”
