10 Matchups We Want To See In The 2017 NBA Playoffs

5. Western Conference semifinals: No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 3 Houston Rockets

In another 2-3 second round matchup, we have the two biggest threats to Golden State’s third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. While most people are salivating over a potential showdown between the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals, we shouldn’t sleep on the Houston Rockets causing problems for Gregg Popovich’s squad in the semis.

If the current seeding holds, we’d likely be getting a matchup between a dominant Spurs team and an MVP candidate who’s historically given them problems in James Harden (assuming San Antonio dismantles Memphis again in the first round and the Rockets beat either the Thunder or Clippers).

While a Rockets-Thunder series would provide a head-to-head gauntlet between perhaps the two MVP frontrunners, Harden vs. Kawhi Leonard would be another battle between two legitimate MVP candidates. Though the Spurs won the season series 3-1, those four games were decided by a total of 12 points, and all three Rockets losses were by two points.

The Spurs have the advantages of depth, coaching, Kawhi putting the clamps on star players and the NBA’s top-ranked defense. The Rockets have perhaps the best offensive creator in the game, a barrage of three-pointers and the league’s second-ranked offense. In a battle for Texas supremacy, this would be a juicy second round showdown.

Harden would be fighting to prove himself as a legitimate leader, the deserving MVP frontrunner and that Mike D’Antoni‘s offense can lead to championship glory. Kawhi would be trying to prove himself once again as Tim Duncan‘s successor, along with fighting the somehow-still-a-thing perception that he’s a “system player.”

It’d be a battle between offense and defense, from overall team playing style to the superstars who’d be facing off. No matter who wins this potential series, we’d all win from getting to soak it all in.