Utah Jazz: 3 best possible NBA playoff first-round matchups
By Duncan Smith
Utah Jazz first-round opponent No. 1: Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors need to make the playoffs. In spite of their disjointed, frustrating season, Steph Curry has put together one of the best seasons of his career just to drag them as far as they’ve come. They currently sit ninth in the Western Conference with a 29-29 record, and they would probably be one of the worst teams in the NBA without Curry.
While teams like the Blazers and Mavs would certainly see a play-in berth as a disappointment, getting in is a goal for the Warriors. Ever since losing Klay Thompson for the season on draft night, expectations have been reduced for this team. Making it to the play-in with a shot at facing the first or second seed in the first round is the dream.
The Jazz are superior from top to bottom, but Curry could steal a game almost single-handedly to keep things interesting.
While the Warriors are the inferior team to the Blazers and Mavs, simply seeing the world’s best 3-point shooter face off against the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team is enough to make this our top choice as a first-round matchup for the Utah Jazz.
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