The Golden State Warriors opened the season as heavy favorites to win the NBA title. While the Dubs struggled with injuries and got involved in an early-season spat between two of their superstars, one thing went surprisingly smooth: the integration of DeMarcus Cousins.
The Warriors are currently sitting at first place in the Western Conference, and third overall with a 41-16 win-loss record. The team's record this year fails only in comparison from the previous years, and the scary thing is that the Warriors' engines aren't really firing on all cylinders yet.
But then again, and make no mistake about it: While this year's edition of Dubs is expected to take home the title, they are still beatable. Or at least, it seemed like it.
Don't get it wrong: It would take the NBA teams everything they have to beat these Warriors in a seven-game series. But yes, they can be beaten.
This season, the Golden State Warriors have lost once against the Denver Nuggets, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Detroit Pistons, the Utah Jazz, and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Dubs also have two losses against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Toronto Raptors.
All these losses came against teams that are in contention for a playoff berth. Only the Lakers and the Mavericks are the teams that currently sit outside the playoff picture and with 25 games left in the season, these two teams can catch up.
So, these Warriors are beatable no matter what the odds-makers say. It all happens in the basketball court after all, and sometimes, it just takes a simple pinprick to defeat a giant. That being said, here are 3 Western Conference teams that could derail the Warriors quest for a three-peat.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers is a team familiar with the pressure of playoff games have made the postseason eight times in the last 10 NBA seasons. While the Blazers haven't gotten past the second round, all their games have been competitive.
Two of the main reasons why the Blazers are always in playoff conversations are mainly because of their explosive backcourt and their talented coach. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are underappreciated superstars but they do get good results. Terry Stotts is a master tactician who has a knack for putting his players in situations where they would succeed.
As a team, Portland is 10th in scoring, 14th in field goal percentage, and seventh in three-point percentage. While Lillard and McCollum are talented scorers, the team only averages 22.8 assists per game while turning the ball over 14 times.
Defensively, the Blazers only allow 110.3 points (13th). While Portland ranks 13th in opponent field goal percentage (45.6%), they are near the bottom in opponent three-point percentage (36.7%).
While league ranking suggests that Portland is a middle-class team, the Trail Blazers have already defeated the Warriors twice already this season. Also, the Trail Blazers recently got a big boost by adding Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter to their roster via waiver wires.
As per 24/7 Sports, the Portland Trail Blazers currently has a 200/1 odds of winning the NBA title.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets came close to dethroning the Golden State Warriors last season. The Rockets were a game away from making it to the NBA Finals but let the game slip away in their homecourts.
The Houston Rockets has a system that makes them an interesting matchup against the Warriors. The Rockets also have the personnel to make the Mike D'Antoni system work.
While the Rockets is sitting just 11th in the league in scoring, 26th in field goal percentage, and 20th in three-point percentage, basketball pundits know that all these statistics are thrown out of the window come playoff time.
On paper, the Rockets have the best chance in beating the Warriors. Led by reigning league MVP James Harden and Chris Paul, Houston has already beaten Golden State twice this season. The Rockets will face the Warriors twice more this season and it would be interesting to see if the Warriors can hold off the red-hot Harden.
As per 24/7 Sports, the Houston Rockets currently has a 12/1 odds of winning the NBA title.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder started the season slowly, starting the season 0-4 before finishing 37-20 at the All-Star break. The Thunder is currently sitting third in the Western Conference and shows no sign of letting up.
The Thunder and the Warriors have split their season series and will face each other again for the last time in the regular season on March 17 in Oklahoma. Triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and MVP-candidate Paul George are leading the charge for the Thunder who picked up Markieff Morris from the waiver wire.
The Thunder last faced the Warriors in the playoffs during the 2016 Western Conference Finals when the Dubs recovered from a 1-3 deficit to outlast Oklahoma in seven games. Kevin Durant was still playing for the Thunder that season.
The Thunder has the firepower and the defensive acumen to dethrone the Warriors. The Thunder ranks fifth in points per game and first in steals per game.
It would be the most intriguing matchup if the Thunder and the Warriors face each other in the playoffs. As per 24/7 Sports, the Oklahoma City Thunder currently has a 16/1 odds of winning the NBA title.
The list includes the team that has the best chance, at least on paper, to beat the Warriors in a seven-game series. It doesn't belittle the chances of other teams in the West if they are to meet the Stephen Curry and company in the playoffs.
It's just that the Nuggets are a little inexperienced and the James-led Lakers may not recover from all the drama. The Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Los Angeles Clippers just don't have the manpower that could overcome the star-studded Golden State Warriors team.
If last year's edition of the Golden State Warriors is a horse-drawn carriage, then the current Dubs team is a top-of-the-line Ferrari in need of a little fine-tuning. And they have 25 games to turn an already perfectly good engine into as good a shape as it can be.
If that happens, when that happens, then the rest of the NBA will have a difficult time trying to contain the Warriors. Instead of playing to win, these Dubs' playoffs opponents may end up playing not to lose in an embarrassing fashion.
Or opposing teams may just opt to take the longer view and wait for the Warriors to blow their roster up this coming offseason. But the offseason is still a few months away and there is no guarantee that Golden State would just allow their superstars to walk away.
This team has destiny written all over it. It would take nothing short of a miracle to beat these Warriors four times in a best-of-seven series. As Draymond Green says, NBA teams have got to be lucky enough to beat the Dubs. "And luck might've run out," said Green.
