National Basketball Association

Potential First-Round Matchups For The San Antonio Spurs

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:28 p.m. ET

Fansided, Simon Shortt/FanSided via Hoops Habit

With less than 10 games to go on their schedule schedule, who could the San Antonio Spurs see in the first round of the playoffs? And more importantly, who is the best matchup for them?

There are just more than two weeks remaining in the regular season. The San Antonio Spurs have a 6½-game lead on the Houston Rockets, making at least a top-two finish very likely. Looking at the standings, there are really four teams battling for positioning as the seventh and eighth seeds.

That is, of course, operating under the assumption the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers are set around the fourth and fifth spots.

As it currently stands, the Oklahoma City Thunder (currently sixth), Memphis Grizzlies (seventh), Portland Trail Blazers (eighth) and Denver Nuggets (ninth) have the best chance of being one of the last two teams in the playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder currently have a 2½-game lead over the Grizzlies for sixth place and are just a game back of the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth. With a slightly more difficult schedule, it's unlikely they'll overtake Lob City.

There is, however, a chance they slip to seventh and could have to face the Spurs.

There are some that question this team's supporting cast or if you can win with Russell Westbrook. Even so this is not a team you want to face in Round 1. You're looking at a very taxing matchup physically with the likes of Westbrook, Taj Gibson, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter.

This could take a lot out of the Spurs' bigs, as well as Kawhi Leonard. Leonard would likely be guarded by Andre Roberson and have to defend Westbrook from the get-go.

While talent-wise the Spurs could probably win this series in five games, those five games could be felt in the later rounds of the postseason.

Memphis Grizzlies

This is probably the team San Antonio wants to face most, having swept them in their two most recent playoff matchups. But that doesn't mean they should sleep on them.

The big men would have their hands full with Marc Gasol in this series, not really having that big of a body who can guard him one-on-one. It will take the famous Spurs' team defense to keep him somewhat in check.

Beyond that, Kawhi will likely draw the assignment of guarding star point guard Mike Conley, hoping to cut the head of the snake, so to speak.

Offensively, the Spurs should have no problems getting whatever shots they want. In the past Memphis had counted on its stellar defense to keep them in games. But since the All-Star Game, they've just been average on that side of the ball.

With the Spurs having such a great offense this year, Memphis wouldn't pose as great of a challenge. This series could end in another sweep in favor of San Antonio/

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers could be the scariest team here at the bottom of the conference, jumping from 26th in points allowed per game before the All-Star break to 16th since.

Their improved defense along with their sixth-highest scoring offense in the league could pose some problems for the Spurs.

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Last year this team made it to the second round of the playoffs and played a fun and competitive five games against the Warriors. This year, the team added center Jusuf Nurkic, which drastically helped their defense.

The true big body plus their versatile wing players could halt some of the scoring of San Antonio.

As we've seen in recent years, the best way to defend the top perimeter scorers it to either have an elite defensive player or throw different types of defenders at him throughout the game.

Al-Farouq Aminu, Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless and Evan Turner could all see some face time with Leonard throughout this potential series. Combined, they just may be able to slow him down enough to let the offense to its thing.

As the only team in these scenarios to have two plus perimeter scorers, Danny Green would be called on to play a big role in this series. The downside to Leonard and Green on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum is Tony Parker would have to guard Harkless.

Harkless is a long, athletic wing averaging a career high 10.0 points per game. The biggest issue is he isn't doing it on catch-and-shoot jumpers, which is easier to hide Parker on. More than 50 percent of Harkless' shot attempts come from within three feet of the rim.

That means he'll be very comfortable trying to take Parker all the way to the cup.

Now don't get me wrong, the Spurs are the better team here. And while Portland has depth on the wing, they rely heavily on their starters in the backcourt and post.

But there's something to be said about a team that's hot and the Trail Blazers are tied for the second-most wins since the All-Star break. This team could be peaking at the right time, which could spell a six- or even seven-game series for the Spurs.

Denver Nuggets

Right now, Denver may have the toughest time getting into the postseason. They are in the midst of a five-game road trip and have some tough opponents the rest of the way.

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With just a 10-7 record since the All-Star break, they are doing the opposite of Portland and are valley-ing (I guess?) at the wrong time.

Should they make it in, however, they could provide a pretty entertaining Round 1 series. While they don't really have the talent or experience to make the games very competitive, they have enough offense and playmaking to be fun to watch.

Seeing how the Spurs matchup in the frontcourt would be interesting. Having LaMarcus Aldridge guard either Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler sounds like it would cause problems, especially with Nikola Jokic's playmaking abilities pulling Dewayne Dedmon away from the rim.

Even in spite of that potential matchup snafu, the Nuggets don't pose a huge threat. With a weak defense and a majority of their roster being inexperienced, the Spurs could take this series in four or five games.

No one wants to face Westbrook, Marc Gasol or Jokic. But it is Portland that could cause the Spurs the biggest headache. Their ability to throw different defenders at Kawhi and have their backcourt go for 70 points any given night makes them dangerous.

But with the Spurs' depth, experience and talent, they should be able to handle any of these teams and gear up for Round 2.