Fresh off their regular season finale win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors know who they will face in the opening round of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament.
Led by Stephen Curry, the Dubs clinched the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with the victory of the Grizzlies. Golden State will take on the No. 7 seed and defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, on Wednesday.
The winner of Wednesday’s matchup will take on the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. If the Warriors fail to beat the Lakers, they will take on the winner of the Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs matchup on Friday. The winner of that game would play the No. 1 seeded Utah Jazz in Round 1.
This a dream matchup for the league. Two of the games’ biggest stars will square off with massive implications. The TV ratings should be high as all eyes in the sports world will want to see whose squad is victorious between Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
Curry has been All-World as of late. He claimed the NBA’s scoring title this season, averaging 31.8 points per game. LeBron has missed 27 games this season after suffering a high-ankle sprain.
Golden State has played its best basketball of the season of late. The Warriors enter the postseason with a season-high six-game winning streak. After struggling with injuries, L.A. has started to round into form as well. The Lakers have won their past outings.
It will be interesting to see what type of condition James is in. He appeared to tweak the same ankle in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams. Curry had 26 points as the Dubs came back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to beat L.A. 115-113 in January. But the Lakers blew out the Warriors the following two games, winning by an average of 28.5 points.
Golden State will have its hands full inside. L.A. has Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond and Marc Gasol on the roster. Steve Kerr will have to get creative in matching the Lakers’ size and will likely use a combination of Draymond Green and Kevon Looney at the 5.
The Dubs will have two chances at guaranteeing themselves at least one seven-game series, but getting a win on Wednesday will mean some extra rest and preparation for the first round of the playoffs.