Why I'm Glad the Warriors Aren't Playing the Denver Nuggets

It has been confirmed that the Golden State Warriors will face the #8 seeded Portland Trail Blazers in First Round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. I feel confident the Dubs can win this matchup with some ease, especially considering we are 4-0 against the Blazers this season.

We also ended their playoff journey in the Western Conference Semifinals last season. Who could forget Steph Curry’s 40 point outburst in Game 4, where he poured on an NBA record 17 overtime points in Portland?

This feels like a more assured series than the Denver Nuggets would have been. They were close contenders to capture the #8 seed. If the Warriors had to face Denver in the First Round, there would be more cause for concern; as their team could have exploited Golden State’s weakness at the center position.

Denver had a poor start to their campaign and only seemed to come alive as the season got to the closing stages. In the regular season series the Warriors enjoyed a 2-1 advantage. However, across these games they were thoroughly out-rebounded, with Denver taking a 144-114 advantage.

The most recent fixture saw the Nuggets emerge victorious 132-110 over a depleted and emotionally drained Warriors team. Nikola Jokic ran wild and put up an absurd triple double, 17-21-12, a stat line that hasn’t been seen since the late 1960s.

The Nuggets dominated the paint, recording a 52-27 rebounding advantage, JaVale McGee and Kevon Looney were thoroughly roasted. But they didn’t just win the game in the paint, as Denver tied an NBA record with 24 3-pointers, the Warriors were soundly beaten.

The game came the day after Golden State’s emotional win at in Oklahoma City, where Kevin Durant was heavily booed on his return to his former home. It may have been tough for the players to motivate themselves to face the 25-30 Nuggets the day after.

However, with Jokic averaging 18-12-6 since the All-Star break and playing alongside another great passing big man in Mason Plumlee, this is a series that I am glad the Warriors are avoiding. Not to mention the other young emerging talent on the roster, the Nuggets appear to be a team of the future and one to watch next season.

As Pat Riley famously said "no rebounds, no rings" and the Nuggets are the team with the second most total rebounds in the NBA this season. While the Warriors are a respectable ninth, questions must be asked, like "why does Steph Curry manage to average 5.9 rebounds per game while JaVale McGee only manages 3.1?"

If the Nuggets had unleashed their bigs on the Warriors in the First Round of the Playoffs it could have caused some serious issues for the team. By no means would I have predict the Dubs to lose this series, but it would have been a lot more uncomfortable than Portland promises to be.

However, The Blazers have Jusuf Nurkic, who has been averaging 15-11 since the All-Star break. His play has been largely responsible for improving his team and securing a playoff berth. He is currently injured and may be back in time for Game 1 of the series.

Overall, it seems Golden State enjoy a significant psychological and quality advantage over the Trail Blazers that will see them through. In December, Portland was soundly defeated 135-90 in Oakland, the largest margin of victory in the history of the matchup. Plus, we have won all four games with an average 19.5 margin of victory. Feels like time to start planning ahead to the next round.

Read more from Jack Kavanagh at Brace the Hammer, an SB Nation hub of jaded West Ham fans, and Culture Hash a zone of semi-coherent ramblings on popular culture.