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(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (16) Memphis Grizzlies

Warriors: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (Average Ranking: 3.3)

Grizzlies: Mike Conley and Courtney Lee (Average Ranking: 12.5)

Take Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol out of the mix, and the Memphis Grizzlies lose nearly all of their grit-and-grind strength. That's a major issue here, because the best hope for dethroning the top-ranked Splash Brothers is to make them uncomfortable with physicality.

Both Mike Conley and Courtney Lee are solid stoppers, but the perimeter prowess of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can crash the best defensive systems. When these clubs squared off in the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, Curry and Thompson outscored their backcourt counterpoints by an average of 18.9 points per game (42.3 to 23.4). This battle would be similarly lopsided.

Outcome: Warriors 21, Grizzlies 8

(8) Atlanta Hawks vs. (9) Oklahoma City Thunder

Hawks: Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver (Average Ranking: 8.3)

Thunder: Russell Westbrook and Andre Roberson (Average Ranking: 9.0)

Last season, Russell Westbrook proved how effective he can be as a one-man wrecking ball, nearly netting the injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder a playoff berth on his own. The four-time All-Star point guard would need to reprise that role, as teammate Andre Roberson (assuming he retains his starting spot under new coach Billy Donovan) would provide little outside of defense and hustle.

But Westbrook's solo act wouldn't be enough to stop the Atlanta Hawks. Between Jeff Teague's quickness and Kyle Korver's size, Atlanta could throw different looks at Westbrook. He'd still keep things relatively close, but Atlanta would win the numbers game by having a pair of competent scorers.

Outcome: Hawks 21, Thunder 15



(5) Phoenix Suns vs. (12) Cleveland Cavaliers

Suns: Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe (Average Ranking: 7.5)

Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert (Average Ranking: 10.2)

As the 5-12 pairing might suggest, this tilt has upset potential. The Phoenix Suns seem a bit overseeded, as Brandon Knight's best statistics came before the midseason trade that moved him alongside Eric Bledsoe. The Cleveland Cavaliers look like a sleeper, thanks to Kyrie Irving's incendiary offense (22 games with 25-plus points last season, tied for 11th-most) and Iman Shumpert's three-and-D skills.

Knight and Bledsoe can take turns attacking, but the offense would get a little clunky late when Phoenix needs a go-to scorer to emerge. Irving's handles are tight enough to get himself going, and the streaky Shumpert would knock in enough triples to stop the Suns from overloading on Uncle Drew.

Outcome: Cavaliers 21, Suns 19

(4) Miami Heat vs. (13) San Antonio Spurs

Heat: Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade (Average Ranking: 6.7)

Spurs: Tony Parker and Danny Green (Average Ranking: 11.2)

Blame San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for his group's low seed. With Tony Parker and Danny Green both limited to less than 29 minutes a night, their underwhelming counting categories diminished the impact of their top-shelf shooting marks from the field (46.2 percent, fifth out of these 16 backcourt tandems) and from distance (41.9 percent, fourth).

The Spurs get a brutal draw with the Miami Heat's Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade, who paced all of these guards in field-goal percentage (48.5) and ranked fourth in both points (37.8) and PER (38.8). Some of these numbers were created when they were apart (Dragic came to South Beach in a deadline deal), but they showed good chemistry during their short run together.

Miami can exploit San Antonio's weaknesses both ways, attacking Parker's defense and exposing Green's lack of an off-the-dribble game. That's too many liabilities against a pair with this much talent.

Outcome: Heat 21, Spurs 17