NBA Playoffs: What is the Most Intriguing Playoff Series In the West?

April 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in with the screen by shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) against the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

In the NBA playoffs, things are much different than the regular season. Upsets happen, and nothing comes easy, unless you’re the Miami Heat, of course. Sweeping the Bucks 4-0, the Heat just looked like they were on autopilot.

Now that the weak have been eliminated, however, it’s time to get to work for most of the playoff teams.

Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that was hungry. Kevin Durant’s late jumper put the Thunder up by one, and Reggie Jackson made a pair of free throws to secure the victory.

The Indiana Pacers just escaped New York with a 102-95 victory on the road in Game 1. This is encouraging because Indiana could possibly be the only team that’s able to take down the Heat. Last year they lead 2-1, but the Heat won three straight to win the series. Indiana outscored the Knicks 29-19 in the third quarter; the Knicks’ comeback bid fell short in the fourth.

With those two games coming down to exciting finishes, one could only imagine how much more exciting the playoffs are going to get. With that being said, which two teams in the Western Conference are going to have the most exciting series in the second round?

San Antonio Spurs vs Golden State Warriors:

This is the only option. The Thunder may be an exciting team offensively, but the Grizzlies are one of the most boring teams, but are still renowned for their defense. In the playoffs, the fans love to see flashiness and excitement. That series isn’t exactly going to provide the fill that the fans are looking for. This Warriors-Spurs series will, however.

It’ll be entertaining to watch these two teams battle it out because one of the teams is based off of veteran experience, not using flash, while the other is young energy and excitement. It’s basically fighting with two opposites here. Both teams are coached well, have great potential and have the potential to make it to the finals. The Warriors have magic, and the Spurs have experience, which is better?

That’s what the exciting part is going to be: who will have the firepower to get past this second round and make it to the conference finals?

The Spurs are of course the favorite in the series, but looking back, none of the ESPN Analysts chose the Warriors to win at all. In fact, some of them said that the Warriors would lose in five. If they all predicted that, and none of their predictions were right, then the Warriors do have some magic working for them.

Without a doubt, this series is going to be the most exciting in the Western Conference to watch. Don’t believe me? Watch one game and Stephen Curry’s beautiful stroke will be something that you refuse to take your eyes off of.