Sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers would have been satisfying enough for the Golden State Warriors in their first round series. Instead, they come out all guns blazing, beating down and dominating their opponents. Out of their four games in this series, only one game they played was decided by one or less with two being won by 25 or more.
The next round of these playoffs will arguably be a tough challenge for these Warriors even though the Warriors will not face a team that added an MVP caliber player after winning 73 games the previous seasons.
They will either play the Los Angeles Clippers or the Utah Jazz who finished the season fourth and fifth in the Western Conference respectively, the series currently locked at 3-3 and the decisive game seven played on Sunday.
Clippers have more experience than the Jazz
This playoff series will be the sixth straight year the Los Angeles Clippers will appear, however, despite this they are without Blake Griffin a five-time All-Star, who will not play the rest of the playoffs due to a toe injury. The Utah Jazz who are a team on the rise won 51 games which have been the highest the franchise has achieved since the 2009-10 squad which included Jerry Sloan, Deron Williams, and Carlos Boozer. For three of the Jazz's starters, this is the first time they have appeared in the playoffs.
Either possible opponents the Warriors face in the first round have their weaknesses and strengths, but the question remains; who would the Warriors prefer in the second round? By analyzing the strengths and weakness of these two teams, we can decide on a choice. This argument is not too tight, unlike the Jazz-Clippers series.
The Los Angeles Clippers are the preferred opponents by a significant amount. It is hard to imagine the Clippers seriously challenging the Warriors.
Neither team realistically stands a chance
The best case scenario involves Chris Paul going toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry and Deandre Jordan making mince meat out of the Warriors' centers.
Even if these situations do occur, J.J Redick is nowhere near Klay Thompson's level, while Luc Mbah a Moute and Marrese Speights are going to be embarrassed by both Kevin Durant and Draymond Green respectively. A Warriors bench that is rested will be no match for a Clippers bench that will be beaten up from a seven-game series.
Whoever the Warriors play, they will be the favorites in this series. Granted the Jazz have good defensive players, players that are becoming better players at a rapid pace and an underrated coach. However, despite this, they only have one all-star caliber player compared to the Warriors four, and no MVP-caliber players like Durant or Curry.
Jazz are the harder opponents for the Warriors
The Utah Jazz, however, might be able to keep this series exciting and controlling the pace will be a crucial factor this series but winning the battle will come down to making their defense even stingier more than it currently is. And if the Utah Jazz managed to steal a road game from the Golden State Warriors they will have a rowdy crowd back home to support this Jazz team upon return to Salt Lake City.
The brand of basketball of the Jazz player is entirely different from the Warriors approach and the Clippers who are playing like a poor man's Warriors team. Between the constant and stylistic defensive commitment, by far the Utah Jazz would be the tougher opponent for the Golden State Warriors.
