The 2014–15 NBA regular season is winding down, and eyes are increasingly turning toward the playoffs and potential matchups.
The Western Conference race has essentially changed from ten teams to eight thanks to the Anthony Davis injury and Goran Dragic trade, but jockeying within the top eight could produce drastically different matchups in the first round.
Some potential matchups would produce some rematches from last season—such as Oklahoma City against Memphis—but with home court advantage flipped.
Check out the most potentially engrossing matchups below.
Warriors vs. Thunder
The current No. 1–No. 8 matchup would sure be exciting to watch if the Thunder don’t overtake the Spurs for the seventh seed. Russell Westbrook has arguably been the best player in the league in February, dropping 29.5 points a game on 48 percent shooting—and adding 10.1 assists and 8.2 rebounds. The Thunder have gone 10–1 this month.
Oklahoma City became even more dangerous at the trade deadline, retooling its bench with D.J. Augustin, Enes Kanter, Steve Novak, and Kyle Singler. That’s a great backup point guard, an offensive big man, and two sharpshooters to go along with Anthony Morrow, another shooter, and Dion Waiters, who can drive and dish pretty well when he sets his mind to it.
On the other side, the Warriors have the second-best offensive rating in the league at 109.6 points per 100 possessions—and the best defensive rating in the league, at 97.7 points per 100 possessions.
The Warriors and Thunder series would absolutely present the cream of the crop—in the first round, no less. Westbrook and Durant against Curry and Thompson? The Thunder’s offense—still driven mostly by two players—against the Warriors’ defense? The Warriors’ team approach in contrast to the Thunder’s star approach? Awesome.
