If you haven’t noticed yet, the 2016 version of the NBA playoffs is not exactly the most exciting. Honestly, if it weren’t for the Mavericks snagging one lucky game from the Thunder on Tuesday, we easily could have had four sweeps in the first round on the Western side (and we’re probably still going to get three of them). The East isn’t much better than the West. At least in the West we have something to look forward to in the next few rounds. What do we have to look forward to in the East? Toronto vs. Cleveland? If that’s the marquee matchup of the Eastern Conference playoffs, you know it’s been a rough year.
No, the only real storyline for the playoffs now is whether anyone can beat the Warriors. It’s been the question all year and will be asked countless times between now and June. So let’s answer the question: can anyone beat Steph Curry and the Warriors in a seven-game series?
The short answer: maybe, but probably not.
As it stands in today’s watered-down NBA, there are only three teams that even have an outside shot of doing the impossible: the Thunder, the Cavaliers and the Spurs. That’s it.
The Thunder have the lowest chance of the three, but when you have Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on the same team, you never know what could happen.
The Cavs are going to the Finals — it’s going to happen (sorry, Toronto). They were tricky for Golden State last year without Kyrie and Love, so there is the chance they could get them in the Finals. Not a great chance, but a chance.
The Spurs have the most realistic shot. In most years, a 67-win team would be the talk of the league, but then the 2016 Warriors happened. The Spurs have all the pieces necessary to pull it off on paper — best coach in the league, best defender in the league, chemistry, winning pedigree and stars to take over when they need them — but having the pieces doesn’t mean you’re going to solve the puzzle in time.
Bottom line: the idea of anyone taking four of seven games from Curry and Co. right now is hard to imagine. They’re nearly unbeatable in Oracle Arena (where they will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs), and they have the single biggest difference-maker in the game — Steph Curry. He’s had the magic going all year, and as long as it doesn’t fail him at the end, it’s going to be a shock to see anyone other than Golden State standing on a podium with the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.
