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Impossible to say: If the Warriors beat the Warriors does that mean the Warriors win, or did they actually lose?
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Yes: They’re a stifling defensive team and have the kind of offence that can control the pace of any game, including one against the Dubs.
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Yes: LeBron James has been his usual unreal self and Kevin Love looks more like the Love that terrorized the league while he was in Minnesota. The Warriors have the better overall team, but the Cavaliers have the better top-end talent, and yes, that does mean that LeBron is still better than Curry.
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No: The Hawks are similarly built to the Warriors in that they stress three-point shooting above all else and have good post players (an all-world one in their case with Al Horford), but being similar isn’t the same as being just as good, and the Hawks aren’t as good.
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No: They still don’t know how to play Fred Hoiberg’s offence properly and even though their defensive play is improving and looking more like last season’s, you’re going to have to score to beat the Dubs, and they can’t do that well enough.
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Yes: Miami has the talent to give any team fits, and that includes the Warriors.
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Probably not: Looking at the rosters of both teams will tell you that Golden State shouldn’t lose to Dallas. Then again, that same level of analysis was used to predict the Mavs as an NBA bottom-feeder this season and they’re 9-5 right now, so you never know.
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No: The Raptors took Golden State to the brink and while they likely got hosed down the stretch by the officials who cost them that game, it still doesn’t mean they’re at the Warriors’ level.
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Yes: We’re only asking for one game here, and a superstar can single-handedly win a game by himself. Paul George is a legit superstar.
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Yes: Kevin Durant is back and Russell Westbrook is playing like Michael Jordan right now. Give me those two against just about anything.
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No: Believe it or not, but the Celtics are trying to model themselves after the likes of Golden State by shooting a lot of threes. That doesn’t mean they actually connect on their many, many attempts like the Dubs, though.
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Not right now: By all extents the Clippers do have the talent to get the job done and beat the Warriors, but after two losses to them already and apparent chemistry issues in the locker room, they need to find a way to regroup and rediscover who they are.
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No: Andre Drummond is an absolute beast. Unfortunately, the Warriors are big-game hunters.
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No: John Wall vs. Steph Curry one-on-one on the playground would be pretty cool to see.
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No: At 7-7, a common trend has emerged from the Grizzlies this season. They beat weaker competition, but can’t seem to pull one out against upper-echelon competition. Can you guess what kind of opponent Golden State is?
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Yes: Carmelo Anthony is still a very dangerous scorer and rookie Kristaps Porzingis has captured the imagination of New York City and the greater basketball world. I give the Knicks a solid puncher’s chance.
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No: This may have been a different story if Gordon Hayward was actually playing well, but he isn’t, and Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert aren’t enough to topple the Bay-area bombers.
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No: Being pretty good is nowhere near good enough.
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No: Brandon Knight has been awesome of late, but the Suns are only a mediocre NBA squad at the moment. That won’t get the job done.
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Yes: Andrew Wiggins is getting better every game, rookie Karl-Anthony Towns looks monstrous as an early rookie of the year favourite, and this team plays defence. As weird as it may seem, I can see the T-Wolves pulling off the big upset.
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No: The Bucks and Dubs both share personnel that boasts a lot of length and versatility. It’s a shame the Bucks don’t also have guys like the Splash Brothers, too.
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No: This team, as talented as it may be, doesn’t even know how to finish games against the NBA’s bottom tier properly, yet. Against the champs? It isn’t happening.
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No: The Nuggets have played the Warriors twice this season and have lost both games by an average of 14 points. Do you think they could actually beat them?
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Yes: Yes, New Orleans was crushed twice by Golden State at the beginning of the season, but this is a team that just recently manhandled the Spurs. Why can’t they beat the Warriors?
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No: Damian Lillard is a man on an island.
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No: Too much disfunction and too much confusion on who should be getting touches in-game. Just one set from the Dubs would be enough to make the Kings’ heads spin.
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Yes: Look, the Rockets aren’t playing good basketball right now and may well be out of it completely given their poor record, but in just one game James Harden could get cooking and bury Golden State by himself.
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No: The Lakers are definitely not California’s team anymore.
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No: LOL.
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No: See above.
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