It's going to be an interesting playoffs. If the Cavs keep playing like they do and lose to the Celtics or someone, which seems entirely possible, then there's going to be a LOT of shit-talking on both them and the Warriors if they wind up winning the championship (didn't someone a couple years ago shit-talk the Warriors after winning because "well, they didn't play US" or something like that?) without having played the Cavs.

Regardless, the Warriors are playing well. Certainly well enough to win four out of seven games on any team if they execute. The one thing that I've noticed about Curry and some of the rest of the players is that they tend to get showboaty when they feel bored though, which results in some really weird losses to bad teams. We'll see what happens!

@rorie: You are thinking about the Clippers. Doc Rivers said the Warriors lucked out in avoiding the Spurs and Clippers after the title in 2015.

Yep, that was on the tip of my tongue. I mean, the Spurs are definitely going to give the Warriors a run any time they play, but I think they beat the Clips two of three times that year?

1 reason they might not: The San Antonio Spurs. I won't even disagree that the Warriors have the most talented group of starters overall, but they remind me of some recent Clippers teams that were similarly loaded. There's a difference between having a collection of talent and having a team. The Warriors are more the former than the latter. There's an argument that Kawhi Leonard is the best overall player in the NBA, but that's not what makes the Spurs dangerous. It's the same thing we've seen from the franchise for so many years; it's unselfish team play.

Curry, Durant, and Thompson are tremendous players, but they all are prone to trying to "take over" games every now and then. They're all shooters, for better and worse. It generally works out because they rarely all go cold and as such, they can typically just outscore the opposition, but playoff basketball is a different animal. I'm not entirely sold on the Warrior defense because it leans heavily on Draymond Green, who is fairly easy to get into foul trouble. The Spurs can offer the defense to limit their scoring, and the Warriors already tend to get frustrated at times. I'm not saying Golden State can't just talent their way to the championship as they may very well do, but I just don't see it being some sure thing, and the Spurs won't just lay down for them.

This is all, of course, assuming the Warriors and Spurs take care of business until they meet. I'm not chalking that up just yet, either, as the Western Conference has several really good teams. Meanwhile, I fully expect the Eastern Conference to just high-five LeBron on his way to the championship series once again. Must be nice.

@notnert427: Saying that the Warriors can only hope "talent their way to the championship" or that they just "typically outscore their opposition" sells them extremely short. They have a system in place and have been running that system with most of these players for the last few years. They have consistently been elite on both sides of the ball, even in the playoffs. The Warriors aren't just rolling the balls out.

It would be crazy if the Celtics could somehow pull it off and win the whole thing but I doubt they will. Even still Isiah Thomas is such an incredible player. He's 5'9 and somehow averages 29 points a game. Always amazes me when I watch him. Reminds me of why I loved Iverson so much back in the day.

Yeah ok. I'm gonna call fanboy on that one. No coach in their right mind would take KD over Lebron(This is coming from a Rockets fan). Is KD having a great regular season, undoubtedly. Is KD benefiting greatly from playing in the Warriors system, of course. This is also why he's not being considered for MVP because the 2 guys that are legitimate candidates have achieved a great deal while working with a lot less.

The thing Durant doesn't do that Lebron does, is elevate his teammates. This has a lot to do with KD's somewhat suspect Basketball IQ(something which Lebron is universally praised for). KD just isn't a leader. He's a silent assassin. When he takes charge he often makes the wrong decisions. For example, OKC could have easily won last years Western Conference Finals, if KD didn't start playing hero ball in the waning moments of a couple of games.

Durant is a strong contender for second best player though :)

Also I more or less agree with your other points. Although I wouldn't place so much faith in regular season stats. We've seen teams completely change their dynamic/identity in April/May before. The playoffs are For Real, in a way the regular season isn't.

@qrowdyy: I don't really believe Durant is the best player either. The point I was going for was that with the exception of the Cavs the Warriors can feel confident they have the best player on the court against any given opponent. Is there something to debate there? Certainly, but it's not unreasonable for the Warriors to think that.

Dude, the eastern conference is such a shitshow. Lebron has been in the last six finals. SIX. Lets get some new blood in there. smh

That's very much traditional basketball wisdom talking. A jump shooting team can't win a championship. Its been 100% accurate in the past. Except the Warriors have bucked that trend, they're the exception to the rule. Which is why everyone's being throwing around superlatives about them for the past 2 years(remember when people were seriously debating whether Curry was better than Jordan last season, HAH!). The Warriors do go cold on occasion, but not often enough to bank on for a 7 game series. Barring some kind of mental collapse the Spurs will have to flat out beat the Warriors when they're clicking on all cylinders at least twice to win that matchup.

Yeah, KD is a better shooter than LBJ, but LBJ is a better all around player due to his passing, scoring in the post, defense, more durable, and leadership. If Lebron had Westbrook, Harden, and others on his team he would've won a chip, "tamed" Westbrook rather than running from him, and kept them together as long as they were winning. Seems like KD "just wants to play ball", while LBJ looks at it more as a business and "his team" since he's part coach and GM too. Warriors will probably win... Cavs and maybe Spurs are the only teams that can really stop them, which makes KD leaving to the Warriors such a lame move. Him going to Celtics, Clippers, Heat, etc would've been more interesting for the league.

I dislike the Warriors since Draymond is a straight up dirty player. Much like Bruce Bowen, which is one of the reasons I used to hate the Spurs. Plus Curry is cocky in such a 10 year old way (running around the court with his arms out like he's an airplane) it's pretty annoying. They're all highly skilled, but unlikable IMO.

Of course theyll win. Anything less than a chip from them this season would be a complete and utter failure. The only team I can see giving them issues is Houston and that's only if they're hot for the entire series which is doubtful because of how fast the warriors are on defense. I don't think SA can survive a shoot out with them and the Cavs are not as good this year

Well, they're playing the Blazers in the first round, and so I'm going to have to correct you and let you know that they actually won't make it out of that first round.

Pictured below, is myself:

@jjweatherman: The Blazers will at least steal one game, the "Lillard and McCollum can't miss and combine for 80 points" type of game. That's all the belief I can give you.