The consensus among NBA experts at the beginning of the basketball season was that we were destined to see the Golden State Warriors defend their title as champions in a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. 82 games later nothing has changed with the Warriors and Cavaliers still on pace for a rematch as the top seeds in their respective conferences. A rematch between Golden State and Cleveland might also be what the fans want to see the most but what about the intriguing matchups we would want to see along the way? Here is a look at the four NBA playoff series that everybody wants to see.
Western Conference Finals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs
There are some that feel the Warriors’ toughest test in defending their title will come in the Western Conference Finals rather than the NBA Finals with a potential matchup against the rival Spurs. Although, the Warriors did recently go into San Antonio and hand them a fairly resounding defeat. Golden State and San Antonio put on some impressive shows when they met throughout the regular season and the reality is that the Spurs might be the more likely team to end the Warriors’ run. San Antonio reloaded this offseason with the additions of LaMarcus Aldridge and David West with the hope it would be enough to help the core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili deliver one more NBA championship and a showdown versus Stephen Curry and the Warriors is the matchup that everybody wants to see.
Western Conference Finals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
The Warriors had no problem with Oklahoma City during the regular season but it would certainly be interesting to see whether that would be the case if they met in the Western Conference Finals. That would require the Thunder upsetting San Antonio in the second round and while that is unlikely it certainly isn’t impossible. This could be Kevin Durant’s final season for Oklahoma City, which means this could be the final opportunity for he and Russell Westbrook to deliver a title for the Thunder. Do they have enough firepower to take down the Warriors? It would certainly be an entertaining series to watch and another showdown basketball fans would love to see.
Western Conference Second Round
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Oklahoma City Thunder
In order for the Spurs or Thunder to reach the Western Conference Finals they will likely have to go through one another first in the second round. It’s amazing that both teams have the potential to be legitimate NBA title contenders and yet one of them will be forced out of the playoffs this early on. Both teams face closing windows for very different reasons with an aging core close to the end in San Antonio while Kevin Durant is destined to become a free agent for Oklahoma City so the urgency would be incredible if these teams meet in the second round.
Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (2) Toronto Raptors
The majority of our focus to this point has been on the Western Conference and for obvious reasons but there is one Eastern Conference showdown that basketball fans would love to see. The Raptors finished with a franchise-record 56 wins but fell one short of Cleveland for the best record in the conference and home court advantage for the playoffs. Toronto will have to get past the first two rounds after struggling in the postseason the last two years but Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan lead an impressive core with DeMarre Carroll and Norman Powell among the potential X-Factors that could help make the difference. LeBron and the Cavaliers getting back to the NBA Finals has been a foregone conclusion this season for the most part according to the experts but this series would be an entertaining final with Toronto getting its chance to upset Cleveland and prevent LeBron from reaching the NBA Finals once again.
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