Hoops Habit
Fansided

10 Matchups We Want To See In The 2017 NBA Playoffs

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 1, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) is guarded by Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart (36) during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) is guarded by Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart (36) during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 11
Next
2017 NBA Playoffs
Mar 20, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Western Conference First Round: No. 2 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 7 Oklahoma City Thunder

We start with our most unlikely first round playoff matchup, which would require the Golden State Warriors (currently 2.5 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the 1-seed) to drop to No. 2, and the Oklahoma City Thunder (currently one game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 6) to fall to No. 7.

However, if those two things were to somehow transpire, we’d get the juiciest narrative-driven matchup of the first round. Russell Westbrook against Kevin Durant and the team that not only knocked OKC out of the playoffs last year, but poached KD away? It doesn’t get much better than that.

Unfortunately, as much fun as the storylines would be, and as much as we could count on at least one jaw-dropping Westbrook performance and 17 on-court scuffles, this series probably wouldn’t be very competitive.

In their four regular season meetings, the Dubs went 4-0 against the Thunder, winning those games by an average margin of 19.8 points — even with two of those games being at Chesapeake Energy Arena and one of them being without a healthy Durant.

Westbrook would have every reason to come out with fire in his eyes, but his otherworldly triple-double average fell to 27.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game on dismal .375/.269/.840 shooting splits against Golden State this season.

Much like their regular season meetings, a potential Warriors-Thunder series would lean heavily on narrative and on-court tension more than the actual competitiveness of the matchup. Since the Dubs will probably secure the No. 1 seed, the only way we’d see this series anyway is if OKC climbs to No. 5 or No. 4 and advances to the Western Conference semifinals.