By: Farres Maruf, Josh Stromberg and Sakeef Salman

With the first round of the NBA Playoffs right around the corner, we take a look at all of the matchups that will take place in the Western Conference bracket and discuss which teams have the best chance of advancing to the next round.

Golden State Warriors (1) vs Houston Rockets (8)

Season Review

Warriors: Well, there’s not much to say here that hasn’t already been said. They started 24-0, hold the record for most wins in a season, never lost consecutive games, and lead the league in offensive rating and are top five defensively. Steph Curry is the best player in the league (I don’t want to hear it LeBron fans) with an outstanding PER of 31.1 and on top of that, he broke his own 3-point record by over 100 threes in a ridiculous fashion… but you already knew all of that didn’t you? Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are showing more versatility than ever and have proven that they can lead the team when Curry inevitably rolls an ankle again. Speaking of Draymond, he is the key cog in the machine known as the Death Lineup. Unveiled in earnest during the Finals last season, the 5-man combination of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Iggy, and Green is by far the best lineup in the league. Steve Kerr is obviously a great coach who encourages smoother ball movement and has helped Curry become the monster that he is. Hell, even the assistant coach, Luke Walton, did a great job helping lead the team to a 39-4 record to start the season. People may get injured (I’m looking at you, Bogut) and others may have bad games, but let’s be real; they can deal with any adversity thrown their way and won’t have any trouble for a majority of the playoffs. Can you imagine this team losing 4 out of 7 games?

–Josh

Rockets: To say the Rockets regressed this season is like saying Kobe’s last season wasn’t that bad. It’s a gross understatement. Before I bash them too much, it’s worth noting that they did improve their offensive rating from 12th last season to 8th this season. Clint Capella improved his play to the point where if Howard does end up leaving, which many people thought was going to happen this season through a trade, the Rockets won’t be missing out on much. He’s athletic and energetic on the defensive end and figures to blossom into a top-tier center in several years. Montejunas has been injured for a majority of the season, but has shown flashes of his pre-injury self, which is great since he is a good stretch-four option for the team. And that’s all the good that this team has had this season. Howard forgot how to play defense and Harden is back to his ball watching ways which has contributed to the Rockets abysmal drop from 8th in defensive rating last season to 22nd this season. Speaking of Harden, The Beard is still putting up outstanding numbers, but his team play has taken a step back this season. He has a tendency to hold the ball and not look to pass unless someone is obviously open or he has to. Some people might blame the firing of head coach Kevin McHale for that, but he has always been that way. It just got a bit worse. It doesn’t help that he has been reportedly clashing with Howard (even though they both deny it) considering they’re the two most important players on the team. Individually, most everyone on the team has improved. As a team, though, they seem to have lost the chemistry that lead them to the 2nd seed in the playoffs last season.

–Josh

Key Matchups

Thompson vs Harden

Harden is going to get his points no matter what, but Thompson is no slouch as a defender and he’s going to be tasked with limiting the damage that Harden will inflict. On the other hand, Harden probably won’t be chasing Klay around screens and giving a hard contest to his shots, so Thompson could end up having a huge series.

Livingston vs Smaller PG

Even though Livingston is somehow one of the only players on the Dubs that can’t shoot threes, he’s carved out a nice role on the team with his defense and seemingly automatic turnaround midrange jumper. Seriously, that thing is cash every time. Since the Rockets don’t have a PG who can guard that shot, it might cause them to switch a bigger player on to him which will create mismatches elsewhere on the court when Livingston is running the bench unit.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Mo Speights

At this point, I don’t think any of the Warriors players are considered “under the radar” but every time I see Speights on the court and knocking down threes I get excited. In the rare stretches where the Warriors can’t get any shots to fall it seems like Speights is always that jolt of energy that gets the rest of the team to get back into the zone.

Farres: Patrick Beverley

He will tasked to guard Steph through the series. Beverly is a great 3 & D PG, he’s even upped his 3 point percentage to 40%. He has a knack for being annoying and getting in people’s heads, shout out Westbrook,, so if he could throw steph off his game, which I highly doubt, he could give the Rockets a chance.

Josh: Michael Beasley

Having only recently signed with the team, I admittedly have a small sample size to deal with here. He has scored about 13 points per game on good shooting splits and in under 20 minutes a game, though, so there’s a good chance that he can continue that play into the playoffs and be a solid contributor off the bench. Or he could revert to how he used to be. Either way, it’ll be interesting.

Predictions

Farres: Warriors 4-0

A James Harden offensive explosion coupled with a bad shooting night for the warriors could lead to the Rockets stealing a game, but just can’t see the warriors losing a game to this team. The Rockets have lacked hustle and urgency all season and I don’t expect it to change here.The Warriors won in 5 last year and they are significantly better this season and the Rockets are far worse than last year.

Sakeef: Warriors 4-0

Harden could very well end up averaging like 35 PPG in this series and it wouldn’t matter. The Rockets have too many issues personnel wise and chemistry wise to be able to steal a game from the Dubs. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start getting reports about locker room arguments and tirades right after the Rockets go down 3-0.

Josh: Warriors 4-1

I’ll be honest: I don’t really believe that Houston will win a game. Golden State is just too dominant of a force and Houston has been in shambles the whole season. I just feel like I’m being too disrespectful to Harden if I don’t give his team the benefit of the doubt here.

San Antonio Spurs (2) vs Memphis Grizzlies (7)

Season Review

Spurs: The Spurs defy father time so often that we shouldn’t even be surprised anymore. This season, though, was something else. They won over 80% of their games for the first time in franchise history thanks to the true breakout of Kawhi Leonard and the addition of Lamarcus Aldridge. Kawhi saw an uptick in just about every statistical category this season, most notably by shooting north of 40% from three for the first time in his career. He may have traded some of his defensive effort so he could improve on the offensive end, but he’s still one of the best defensive players in the league and is a big reason why the Spurs own the best defensive rating this season. Popovich transformed Aldridge into a more efficient scorer and a non-liability on the defensive end for the first time in his career. His stats may be down, but that is just a result of the Spurs’ system; he is still one of the most dangerous post players in the game. Per usual, the Spurs got valuable contributions from their bench, which is the best in the association, throughout the season while they rested the old farts. San Antonio is still as dominating as ever, and the new era of Kawhi has truly taken over.

–Josh

Grizzlies: The Grizz this season remind me of Weekend at Bernie’s. Almost all of their essential players “died” (Gasol has a foot fracture, Conley has tendinitis in his achilles, and Wright has a sprained MCL) yet people are being fooled into thinking they’re alive due to the play of… Z-Bo, Mario Chalmers, Tony Allen, and Matt Barnes (shudders). Yeah, not exactly a great group of people. Don’t get me wrong, these players aren’t necessarily bad, but they’re not what you want as your core group. Z-Bo has declined all-around since last season, Barnes is shooting considerably worse than he was with the Clips, Allen is losing his edge on the defensive end, and Chalmers is still Chalmers. To make matters worse, behind those guys are a lot of random scrubs. They’ve had such a revolving door this season that Basketball Reference lists 28 people as being on their roster at one point or another this season, ridiculous to say the least. Thankfully, their big guns got injured in the second half of the season, so they had a good enough record already to be able to ride it into the playoffs despite their 11-17 record post All-Star game. They are ranked at 19th for both offensive and defensive rating, and have only pulled in enough defensive rebounds to put them at 20th in that category. The latter is especially sad since they are known for having good big men who can dominate the glass. This was a lost season for the grit-n-grind team with no real bright spots to make them feel any better about themselves.

–Josh

Key Matchups

Zach Randolph vs Lamarcus Aldridge

There really weren’t a lot of options to pick from here Z-Bo has really had to shoulder the load on offense during the last half of the season with no one else really able to create their own shot or create shots for others. These two faced off last season in the playoffs when the Grizzlies knocked off the Blazers in Aldridge’s last season. Depending on how well Aldridge or Duncan is able to defend Z-Bo, the Spurs will either win by a lot or win by less.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Lance Stephenson

Not really under the radar, but he’s been forgotten by the general public. Lance has the ability to take control of a game with his playmaking ability and defense. He probably won’t have a big impact on this series but he will definitely make some plays, whether they’re good or not is up to him.

Farres: Danny Green

Since the Grizzlies are a dead team walking at the point, the Spurs will probably not want to rely on their stars and old players as much, to keep them fresh for the harder match-ups to come. Danny Green has been shooting poorly this season, but the Spurs will hope that he can pick up some form in this series, so he could be back to his old self for the rest of the playoffs.

Josh: Kyle Anderson

Anyone who watches the Spurs regularly knows this guy. None of his stats jump off the page, but he’s more of an eye test kind of player at this point in his career. He plays with the calmness and confidence that I would expect to see from a veteran. He may not play much in crunch time, but expect him to put in some valuable minutes when he is playing.

Predictions

Farres: Spurs 4-0

Even though the Warriors took most of the limelight, the Spurs are just as fantastic. They are the best 2nd seed of all time, tied for the 7th best record ever.. I can’t see them losing many games throughout the playoffs to anyone besides the warriors. The Grizzlies always come out to play though, and they won’t let their multitude of injuries be an excuse.

Sakeef: Spurs 4-0

If the Grizzlies are able to win a single game, that should be considered the biggest upset in these playoffs. They’ve been absolutely blasted by injuries and are basically a walking corpse. The Grizzlies could compete and keep a couple of the games close but I’m not giving them any shot in winning a game. This could be the end of the Conley-Gasol-Randolph era.

Josh: Spurs 4-0

The top-2 seeds in the west are just too good to lose to anyone but each other. The Spurs could rest their starters during the series and their bench would have no trouble picking up the slack. The Grizz are a shell of the team they were, and they can’t expect to even get close in a game when their two best players are injured. It will be a slow-paced series, but at least it will end quickly.

Oklahoma City Thunder (3) vs Dallas Mavericks (6)

Season Review

Thunder: The Thunder have been an interesting team this season. Finishing the season with a 55-27 record, there’s no denying that they are one of the elite teams in the league. They essentially lead the league in offensive rating, trailing only the best team of all time. Defensively they were underwhelming, but that was to be expected considering Donovan was brought in to liven up their stagnant offense. Donovan was somewhat successful with that endeavor, as he raised their assist total to 9th in the league from 13th in the ‘13-’14 season (‘14-’15 was a lost season). As far as individual players go, KD is still the offensive juggernaut that he’s always been, averaging 28.1 PPG on 50.4% shooting from the field and 38.4% from three. Even though Ibaka has declined on both ends of the floor, him and Adams still make an imposing frontcourt duo, especially on the defensive end. Kanter is still an absolute klutz on the defensive end (-3.2 DBPM), but he makes up for it by scoring consistently (12.7 PPG on 58% shooting from the field) and rebounding well (8.1 RPG). Westbrook has been tearing it up this season, averaging close to a triple-double and being a brick wall on the defensive end. That being said, he has a tendency to revert back to the old westbrook ways during the fourth quarter, which has led to several ugly collapses this season. With Durant’s free agency looming in the offseason, this is a critical postseason for the Thunder. He’s likely going to sign a one-year contract with a player option, but if they fail to make a deep playoff run, what will KD do?

–Josh

Mavericks: On the heels of the Rondo disaster, the mavs did not have high expectations coming into the season, some even predicted them to be last in the conference. After missing out on Deandre Jordan, the Mavs signed Deron Williams and Wes Matthews and traded for Zaza Pachulia. Matthews was coming off an achilles tear injury so he struggled through the beginning of the season, but has been significantly better lately, averaging 15.8 PPG and shooting 43.4% from 3 since March 20th. While Zaza has been the opposite, great in the beginning of the season but has been terrible as of late. He went from averaging a double double pre-All-Star break, even getting some All-Star votes himself from idiots like me, to averaging only 5.8 PPG and 7 boards. Chandler Parsons also returned from injury this season and played great once he got back into his groove, averaging 18 PPG in the second half of the season, but he injured his knee again and is out for the season. The Mavs have gone small to replace Parson by shifting Matthews to small forward and rotating JJ Barea, who has been great as of late, and Raymond Felton. With all of this inconsistent play, it is quite incredible that the Mavs are returning to the playoffs, and it’s all because of Dirk. Dirk must have found Tim Duncan’s fountain of youth because he is still putting up great numbers and has kept this team afloat. The Mavs keep on retooling their team, but it looks like all they need to make the playoffs are Dirk and head coach, Rick Carlisle.

-Farres

Key Matchups

Jose Juan Barea/Deron Williams vs Russell Westbrook

Russ has every advantage against Barea going for him and is obviously going to put up some insane numbers, but Barea has played very well down the stretch of the season and also has a knack for having big games in the playoffs. D-Will has been playing a lot more shooting guard this season but he is going to be better equipped at defending Westbrook than Barea. Any chance for the Mavericks to succeed will depend on how they slow they down Westbrook.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Dion Waiters

Everyone loves to shit on Waiters for being a Costco JR Smith, but that’s basically what he is. I’m not really sure why, but I have a good feeling that Waiters is going to get really hot during the series and just knock down a bunch of threes and stepbacks. I could be completely wrong and he could just brick a bunch of shots but I’m gonna be optimistic on Dion.

Farres: Justin Anderson

He’s a super athletic, can get boards, and can play defense. The rookie is still learning how to score and get adjusted to the NBA. But his minutes have been increasing as of late because of Chandler Parson’s injury and because the Mavs are starting to believe this kid can be special. He also has one of the best nicknames in the NBA, Simba.

Josh: Javale McGee

Well, I definitely can’t say anything good about Javale. Maybe he’ll get a highlight dunk or two, but really you want to watch him for the bloopers. The MVP of Shaqtin’ a Fool, everything he does on the court is stupid. Whether he throws the ball out or falls on a teammate, he’ll make a play or two that you’ll remember.

Predictions

Farres: Thunder 4-0

The Thunder superstars will be too much for the Mavs to handle since they don’t have anyone who can match up with them defensively. I think the Thunder will come to play this postseason, as it could be Durant’s last season in OKC. The Mavs did take the 2014 nba champions Spurs to 7 games though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they steal a game.

Sakeef: Thunder 4-1

It’s never good business betting against Carlisle and Dirk, but the Mavs are just too banged up and overmatched to really compete. I’m sure Durant and Westbrook are eager to put on a show after missing the playoffs last year. The dynamic duo are going to dominate and most likely put the series away early. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mavs were able to steal a game through a random throwback performance from D-Will and Dirk hitting everything.

Josh: Thunder 4-1

I just don’t have much faith in the Mavs. Yes they have Dirk who could single-handedly win them a game, but I don’t see much else positive for them. Westbrook is bound to turn the ball over and take some dumb late game shots that helps them lose a game, but there is no way a team with that much talent can lose this series, especially with KD at full strength.

Los Angeles Clippers (4) vs Portland Trail Blazers (5)

Season Review

Clippers: The Clips have had another underachieving season, although at least they have an excuse this time. Even with Blake Griffin, their leading scorer, being out for well over half the season, they still ended in the top 10 of both offensive and defensive rating. This is due in large part by the leadership of Chris Paul, who almost recorded a 20-10 season, and Deandre Jordan, who finished 2nd in the league in rebounds with 13.8 per game. But even with Deandre pulling down that many boards, they rank 28th in both defensive and offensive rebounding percentage. That is somewhat in part to Blake being injured, but it’s still pathetic for a team with Deandre on it. At least they make up for not getting 2nd chance points by being top 10 in three point attempts and percentage, which is odd considering how Austin Rivers is one of the best three point shooters on the team. Doc Rivers is still the most confusing head coach/president of basketball operations out there. His head scratching move of the season was getting rid of Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson while bringing in Jeff Green. Getting rid of Smith was understandable considering he was shooting poorly and not bringing much consistency to the team, but the Lance for Green trade was just odd. Lance was shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three while putting up decent numbers in extremely limited minutes, yet he was traded for an inconsistent forward who only shot 42% from the field and 33% from three. True, Green averaged more than twice as many points as Lance, but he was also given about twice as many minutes. The bench, while having good parts, has been inconsistent as always. But, hey, at least they have Jamal Crawford, aka one of the best bad-shot makers in the league.

–Josh

Trail Blazers: This wasn’t supposed to happen. Four of five of the Blazer’s starters left during the offseason. This was supposed to be a lost season, with the lone bright spot being Lillard’s chance to try leading a team all on his own. Yet, here they are. A lot of their success can be attributed to Terry Stotts wonderful coaching job that has firmly entrenched him into the Coach of the Year conversation. One of the more noteable things he did this season was play EVERYONE. Ten players on the roster are averaging 15+ mpg, which no other playoff team can lay claim to. Lillard was once again snubbed from the All-Star game (sorry, Klay), and he was not happy. Unlike last season, which saw an all around decline after the All-Star break, he has been tearing up opposing teams to the tune of 26.5 ppg on 39.6% shooting from behind the arc. His killer instinct was most evident in a 32 point win over the Warriors where he scored an outstanding 51 points. CJ McCollum helped Lillard carry the team with a breakout season which saw him start every game he played in and improve in every aspect of the game. His performance has led him to become the frontrunner for the Most-Improved Player award, which he clearly deserves. Al-Farouq Aminu finally capitalized on his massive potential this season by shooting 36% from three which helped him average 10.2 points and pull in 6.1 rpg. Maurice Harkless, a more under-the-radar player, has also shown improvements this season by improving around the board, most notably with his shooting from the field (47.8% compared to 40% last season). Overall, this team has exceeded expectations from the coach to the end of the bench.

–Josh

Key Matchups

Chris Paul vs Damian Lillard

This is the matchup everyone will be watching. CP3 is the better floor general while Lillard has been doing his best Curry impression during the second half of the season. They both have ice in their veins during the end of games, especially Lillard. Lillard has a legitimate chance to dominate this matchup, but he needs to play focused defense in order to achieve that. He has yet to do that all season.

JJ Redick vs CJ McCollum

JJ is the best three-point shooter in the league (by percentage) and CJ is also shooting well north of 40%. CJ may have the upper hand as far as athleticism goes, but don’t expect him to overpower JJ so easily. Redick is a pitbull on the defensive end and will not back down to anyone. This matchup may get feisty, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their shooting quietly decides the series.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Al-Farouq Aminu

Aminu has had a very productive season for the Blazers. He’s averaging a career high in PPG (10.2), 3P% (36.1%), and TS%(53.3%). He’s probably the third best player on the team after Lillard and McCollum but doesn’t get the same attention as they do. I also don’t think the Clippers really have a small forward that can defend him, with Jeff Green being inconsistent and Pierce being old. Also, I watched him hit eight threes on my Celtics to beat us so he’s good (I apologize for my Doc Rivers logic).

Farres: Allen Crabbe

The Blazers don’t have much depth, but Crabbe has been great off the bench. He’s been an exceptional 2 way player, shooting 39% from 3. He’ll be able to guard Reddick and Crawford, forcing Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to shoulder the offensive workload. He’ll be a free agent after this season and don’t be surprised if he gets a somewhat big contract from someone.

Josh: Cole Aldrich

New to the Clips after spending two seasons on the middling Knicks, Aldrich is quietly having the best year of his career. Most notably, this is easily his best defensive season which is shown by his DBPM (defensive box plus/minus) of 5.8, which is actually the best mark on the team. Look for him to play good defense and grab a decent amount of boards for the small amount of time that Deandre is rested.

Predictions

Farres: Clippers 4-2:

The Blazers are a fun, fiery team fueled by Dame Lillard. They will get as far as their backcourt can take them, and sadly I don’t think that’ll be very far, especially with Griffin back. But Dame Lillard feeds of the doubters and continuously proves us wrong. I think it will come down to both teams’ depth/role players and the clippers, who aren’t very deep themselves, are more deep than the Blazers.

Sakeef: Clippers 4-3

This is going to be the best series of the first round in the West. Dame has struggled at times against Chris Paul, but as we all know he’s been on a tear since the break. The Clippers are more talented across the board, but the biggest impact is probably going to come from Paul Pierce This is the time of year where The Truth usually elevates to a new level and just knocks down some insane clutch shots. After all, it is why they brought him there. Blake usually is an incredible playoff performer but he might still be shaking off the rust from his long layoff. I’m excited to see how Dame/CJ vs Paul/Redick turns out.

Josh: Clippers 4-3

This will be the most fun series of the playoffs. CP3 and Lillard will be trading buckets the entirety of it, and both teams like to run in transition. I’m giving it to the Clips on the basis of them having better players who have something to prove when it comes to their ability to perform in the playoffs, but the young Blazers will be playing with the intensity that you would expect to see from a young team. I wouldn’t be surprised if this series is decided by the first team to win a game on the road.