Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs lead the way in NBA play-offs
By Lee Harvey
Last Updated: 15/04/16 8:05pm
The NBA play-offs begin on Saturday night. We examine the eight Western Conference teams to reach the post-season, identify their key players and analyse their title hopes.
Golden State Warriors
Regular season record: 73-9, Pacific division champions
Western Conference play-off seeding: 1
Star man: Steph Curry - last season's MVP raised the bar again this term, cementing his status as the greatest shooter in the history of the game. Curry smashed his own regular season three point shooting record, rattling home 402 baskets from beyond the arc. He surpassed the previous mark (286) with 24 regular season games to spare. Add to that an array of spectacular half-court shots and the fact that he ended the season as a member of the elite 50/40/90 club (that's 50 per cent successful shooting on field goals, 40 per cent on threes and 90 per cent on free throws for a season - only six other players have ever managed it in NBA history), it's safe to say he'll be celebrating a second regular season MVP award in due course.
Season in summary: The greatest season in NBA history. The Warriors won 39 of their first 43 games, all while head coach Steve Kerr was absent though ill-health. Games were routinely finished as competitive contests after three quarters with Klay Thompson's scoring and Draymond Green's hard-nosed defence augmenting Curry's offensive excellence.
Play-off prognosis: Overwhelming favourites to repeat their 2015 triumph. Unquestionably the team to beat. To paraphrase former Chicago Bulls guard Ron Harper, '73-9 won't mean a thing, without that Championship ring'.
San Antonio Spurs
Regular season record: 67-15, South West division champions
Western Conference play-off seeding: 2
Star man: Kawhi Leonard - Leonard's evolution from defensive specialist into one of the top five all-round players in the league was fully realised in 2016. In typically efficient fashion, the Spurs' small forward topped 20 points per game for the first time in his career and, allied with the successful free agency acquisition of LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland, allowed coach Gregg Popovich to successfully reinvent the Spurs' style of play.
Season in summary: The Spurs ended the season with a 40-1 home record, their sole defeat coming at the hands of the history-making Warriors. While the world was being wowed by Golden State, the Spurs went about their business in typically understated fashion, somehow remaining under the radar as they won 67 games, the most in franchise history.
Play-off prognosis: The team with the best chance to upset Golden State. Just how much did the shrewd Popovich hold back in the Spurs' regular season meetings with the Warriors?
Oklahoma City Thunder
Regular season record: 55-27, North West division champions
Western Conference play-off seeding: 3
Star men: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook - Durant bounced back from an injury-riddled 2015 in style, averaging 28.2 points per game and narrowly missing out on the second 50/40/90 season of his career. Westbrook was no less statistically impressive, racking up 18 triple doubles (games with double figure points, assists and rebounds), including one in just 18 minutes against the hapless Los Angeles Lakers.
Season in summary: All-stars Durant and Westbrook are acknowledged as two of the league's 10 best players. Given that, shouldn't the Thunder have won more than 55 games? Their Achilles heel? Poor execution in the final minutes of games. And that is sure to be a problem in the post-season.
Play-off prognosis: The Thunder should cruise through the opening round of the play-offs but it's hard to see them getting the better of San Antonio over seven games in second round.
LA Clippers
Regular season record: 53-29
Western Conference play-off seeding: 4
Star man: Chris Paul - with All-Star forward Blake Griffin out with an injury suffered in an off-court altercation with a member of the Clippers' own support staff, veteran point guard Paul ensured the forward's long-term absence did not derail the Clippers' season. Thanks to Paul's leadership and ability to control the pace and flow of games, they didn't miss a beat, and arguably looked more effective without Griffin than with him.
Season in summary: Another 50-win season for the Clippers, with Paul well supported by the sharpshooting of JJ Redick and the defence of DeAndre Jordan. The acid test for LA's best team awaits: can they finally get beyond the opening rounds of the play-offs and into the Conference finals? If they can't, don't expect to see Paul, Griffin and Jordan together next season.
Post-season prognosis: Likely to renew their rivalry with Golden State - who they ousted from the post-season in 2014 - in the second round of the play-offs. A hard-fought series is certain, but a repeat of their 2014 success isn't likely, especially with the returning Griffin looking some way short of his best.
Portland Trailblazers
Regular season record: 44-38
Western Conference play-off seeding: 5
Star man: Damian Lillard - Portland's point guard enjoyed a strong first half of the season yet, after being snubbed for a spot in the All-Star game, elevated his game again, dragging an unfancied Rip City squad into the post-season.
Season in summary: Losing power forward LaMarcus Aldridge to San Antonio in last summer's free agency looked like consigning Portland to the lower reaches of the Western Conference. But the determined Lillard, the emergence of shooting guard CJ McCollum and a solid season from head coach Terry Stotts has confounded those expectations.
Play-off prognosis: No one expected the Blazers to be a play-off team this year, but their Cinderella story will end with a first round exit at the hands of the Clippers.
Dallas Mavericks
Regular season record: 42-40
Western Conference play-off seeding: 6
Star man: Dirk Nowitzki - now in the twilight of his career, the former league MVP is a long way from the player who led the Mavericks to the title in 2012. However, the 37-year-old still found a way to lead Dallas into the post-season, lifting his scoring to 21.8 points per game in March when it was most needed.
Season in summary: With a roster full of veterans (Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, David Lee, Raymond Felton) backing up Nowitzki, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle found a way to lead his team to a post-season spot for a third successive season.
Play-off prognosis: Not good. The Mavs don't match up well with first round opponent Oklahoma City. They don't have anyone able to repel the scoring threat of Westbrook and Durant. Dirk and Co could be heading home after a one-sided first-round series.
Memphis Grizzlies
Regular season record: 42-40
Western Conference play-off seeding: 7
Star man: Zach Randolph - Bruising veteran power forward 'Z-Bo' epitomises the Grizzlies old school 'grit and grind' ethos. With All-Star team-mates Mike Conley and Marc Gasol absent with long-term injuries, Randolph carries even more responsibility on his shoulders in this post-season.
Season in summary: Injury ravaged. The Grizzlies limped into the post-season after the loss of their two best players, point guard Conley and centre Gasol, winning just 11 of their 28 games after the All-Star break.
Play-off prognosis: Without Conley and Gasol, a quick exit to the Spurs beckons for the Grizzlies.
Houston Rockets
Regular season record: 41-41
Western Conference play-off seeding: 8
Star man: James Harden - the owner of the NBA's most famous beard led the Rockets to the Western Conference finals last year and pushed Steph Curry all the way for MVP honours. But this season hasn't gone well. Harden still got his numbers (29 points per game, 7.5 assists per game) but his ball-dominant play has frustrated his team-mates, most notably centre Dwight Howard.
Season in summary: Coach Kevin McHale was fired three weeks into the season, but that didn't resolve the Rockets' on-court chemistry issues which persisted throughout the campaign. It took until the final night of the season for the Rockets to book their place in the post-season, as victory over Sacramento (combined with Utah's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant's final game) earned them the eighth seed.
Play-off prognosis: The Rockets' sub-par season resulted in them facing the Golden State Warriors in the first round. They surrendered 4-1 to the Dubs in last year's Western Conference finals. It's tough to see them doing better this time around.
