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The Golden State Warriors meet the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs with an interesting twist. The Warriors rose to prominence as the No. 6 seed in 2012-13 and they played the No. 3 seed Nuggets in that series. The standings have flipped in this scenario. Here’s how the teams match up ahead of the first round.
No. 3 Warriors vs. No. 6 Nuggets
Head-to-head record: Nuggets 3-1
Overall record: Warriors 53-29, Nuggets 48-34
Leading scorer on Warriors: Stephen Curry
Leading scorer on Nuggets: Nikola Jokic
Odds to win series: Warriors -215, Nuggets +175
The Golden State Warriors went through a stretch in which they reached the NBA Finals five years in a row, but they’ve fallen short of those lofty expectations the last two seasons. They should be among the favorites to represent the Western Conference this season, though they’re dealing with injuries yet again. Stephen Curry was banged up with a foot injury for the final month of the regular season, and the Warriors will need him to be healthy for them to reach their goals this spring.
The Denver Nuggets won at least one playoff series in the last three seasons, and they’ll look to do it again this postseason. They avoided the play-in tournament as they clinched a spot in the first round late in the regular season. Nikola Jokic continues to show star-like qualities as he continues to put up monster numbers, leading the Nuggets in all major statistical categories. The team can rely on him to keep putting up huge stats consistently, but he will need plenty of help from teammates if Denver wants to get past Round 1 in the Western Conference.