Golden State Warriors: Potential First Round Playoff Matchups

San Antonio Spurs:

Mar 8, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward

(2) dunks the ball against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 116-105. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The Spurs are probably a long shot to fall to the eighth seed, but should that happen — or should the Spurs stay where they are while Warriors drop to the second seed — then Golden State would play San Antonio as either the one-eight or two-seven match-up.

We all know what the Spurs can do in the post season. They come out swinging in full force, play incredibly sound fundamental basketball, and utterly demoralize their opponents.

Ideally, this would not be who Golden State would want to face in the first round of the playoffs, given their history against the Spurs. The Warriors have yet to win a regular season game in San Antonio since Feb. 14, 1997.

The only win the Warriors have had since then is their game two victory in the 2013 Western Conference Semi-Finals, when they snapped the 30-game road losing streak in San Antonio. Aside from that, it’s been an uphill battle for Golden State.

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Thus far, Golden State has split the season series with San Antonio at a game a piece. The Warriors and Spurs play one more time this season in April. The first two games were in Oakland, but this game will be in San Antonio, where the Warriors will look to end their futility on the Spurs’ home court.

If the Warriors want to beat the Spurs in a seven game series, they need to prove to themselves that they can win in San Antonio first. They also have to play like the Spurs, by being fundamentally sound, getting the extra pass out for the open shot, and not being afraid to take it inside for the layup.

This is the only match-up that Warriors would probably lose. Although the Warriors are a much improved team compared to the 2012-2013 squad, they still struggle when they play the Spurs.

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