National Basketball Association

NBA: What Western Conference Teams Could Beat The Golden State Warriors?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:05 p.m. ET

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Oct 6, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) greets forward Draymond Green (23) before the start of the game against the Sacramento Kings at the SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors have won back-to-back NBA Western Conference titles and have added former MVP Kevin Durant; who can compete with this roster?

The NBA’s Western Conference from top to bottom may not be as strong as years past, but the one at the top could be the best ever.

It shouldn’t be allowed to sign former MVP Kevin Durant to join Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson, but unfortunately it is. The question now is if any team in the conference has any shot at competing against the back-to-back WCF champions.

The Warriors do have a new look roster outside of Kevin Durant. Zaza Pachulia was one of the most underlooked, best free agent signings in the offseason. He will replace Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup. Festus Ezeli is also absent from this year’s front court, resulting in David West to fill those minutes.

The rest of last year’s team is together sans Harrison Barnes.

Could this team win 70+ games again? Most likely, the range of 65-70 is more likely to let players rest.

Game-planning for a team like the Warriors can seem like an impossible task, however every team has weaknesses, including the Warriors. Here is some criteria to beat the Golden State:

Here are five teams that have the best chance at beating the defending conference champions.

Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) drives in against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23), forward Andre Iguodala (9) and guard Shaun Livingston (34) during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

5) Houston Rockets

This is an absolute best case scenario. Bringing in Mike D’antoni’s offensive system might be the best thing to ever happen to James Harden’s NBA career.

This tape is from D’Antoni’s time in Phoenix when the Suns were one of the most competitive teams in the NBA. The Rockets may not have the exact pieces that Phoenix had but a ball dominant guard in Harden compared to Steve Nash is the most important piece of them all.

The Rockets are going to be a top five offense in the league. The question is whether their defense will be capable enough to hold teams off the scoreboard. Losing Patrick Beverly creates even more belief that they will struggle on that end of the floor.

The Warriors will be licking their chops when they play Houston. However, they will still need to zero in on stopping Harden or they could find themselves in a tight game in “crunch time.”

Clint Capela will need to be the rim protector many think of him as. He will be key to the games between these two. If he allows Durant, Steph, Draymond, and Klay to finish at the rim at will, it will be a wrap before the first half is over.

Losing in the playoffs back-to-back years to the Warriors gives Houston plenty of reason to be motivated and ready to compete.

Mar 11, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) fouls Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) on a shot during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

4) Portland Trail Blazers

The back-court combination of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum was a nuisance to the Warriors through the whole season. The Blazers gave the Warriors their worst loss of last season, beating them by 32. Ultimately, the Warriors got the last laugh knocking them out of the playoffs in the second round.

In the other regular season matchups, it wasn’t as pretty for the Blazers, but the talent to compete is still there. Lillard is poised to have an MVP-type of season. The depth of the team allows them to have a few different lineups if they please, which is a plus against the Warriors. Though the depth is there, they need players to continue to improve after a successful 2015-16.

There could be struggles early if Stotts inserts Evan Turner into the starting lineup. Three ball dominant players in the same five is not ideal. I expect him to be in the second unit to provide a scoring punch if needed.

Mason Plumlee’s athleticism presents some intrigue if he can stay with Draymond along the perimeter to combat the mega-death lineup. Al-Farouq Aminu will be a mainstay at the power forward position throughout these two team’s matchups against one another.

Depth and certain matchups are crucial elements of this game. However, if Lillard and McCollum struggle to score the Blazers have little shot at upsetting the Warriors in a seven game series. The defense of the two guards can be questionable, but hot shooting can help people overlook that.

Nov 11, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) drives between Golden St,ate Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Draymond Green (23) at FedExForum. Golden State defeated Memphis 100-84. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

3) Memphis Grizzlies

**Health permitting**

Last year, Memphis rolled out lineups that could be comparable to junior varsity squads to the talent on opposing teams. When Lance Stephenson is the best player on your team some nights, there are problems.

That is in the past as Memphis is moving into the small-ball era with new head coach David Fizdale taking over. If they can stay healthy and produce at the same high-level as before, the Grizzlies pose as a threat to the Warriors.

New looks to the roster include Chandler Parson at small forward giving the team a legitimate shooter. Zach Randolph will come off the bench in favor of JaMychal Green at power forward. The injuries last season benefited Green, as it allowed a more in-depth look at him. Apparently, Fizdale saw something he liked.

The Mike Conley contract drew a lot of negative attention to the organization in the off-season. He’s an integral part of this team so I believe he fully deserves the money he received.

Although Fizdale wants to implement pace-and-space, slowing it down to their style might be the best recipe to compete with Golden State. Marc Gasol can abuse any small-ball lineup in the post on offense, but could get scary on the other end. Randolph will be limited to certain stretches, but is a formidable scorer off the bench and could be a nice threat if used correctly.

Play your own game and rebounding are usually the Memphis special so a seven game series between the Warriors and Grizzlies could be fun to watch play out.

Apr 10, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) is defended by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) and small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

2) San Antonio Spurs

Two-time defensive player of the year Kawhi Leonard is an magnificent defender. Last season the Spurs were an all-time great defense. The Golden State Warriors averaged 100.75 points per game in their four regular season meetings last year. The Warriors added Kevin Durant for this year. The Spurs lost one of the best defensive big men of all-time, Tim Duncan, to retirement.

Catch my drift?

The Spurs have to figure out a way to maintain a strong defense despite losing Duncan. Leonard can’t guard every player on the floor (I assume) so the rest of the lineup has to step up. Pau Gasol is not a rim protector and there are whispers that LaMarcus Aldridge might not stay in San Antonio for the whole year.

These are all reasons why they ended up number two on this list.

Gregg Popovich may be the best coach of all-time, but for the first time in a long time he doesn’t have the “Big Fundamental” on his roster. He’s going to have his work cut out for him this year.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are aging so the youngsters will have to play big roles if there’s a shot at beating the Warriors in the playoffs. Kawhi has to have his fingerprints all over this game and prove that he can stop KD in a seven game series.

Rebounding will also be a question and if they can sure that up before April, the Spurs chances to beat Golden State increases.

November 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) controls the basketball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) and forward Blake Griffin (32) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 112-108. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

1) Los Angeles Clippers

Are you surprised? Did you expect anything else?

This could go one of two ways. You see the Clippers as a legit threat to the Golden State Warriors. The other option is you laughing and bringing up the past playoff experiences of the Clippers.