The Golden State Warriors pulled one of the only upsets so far in the NBA Playoffs after defeating the Denver Nuggets in six games in the first round of the Western Conference series as the number six seed and now the team will face the San Antonio Spurs in the second round that starts up on Monday night.
The amazing thing about the first series for the Warriors is that many in the media and around the league did not give them a chance to win, for example, all the experts at ESPN selected the Denver Nuggets to advance, as seen in the picture embedded in the article. Many experts, including Michael Wilbon, Israel Gutierrez, Chris Broussard, Ian Thorpe and Marc Stein, selected the Nuggets, many predicting five games. All were solid picks since the Nuggets played so well, but it's interesting that not a single one selected the Warriors.
The Nuggets were one of the most balanced teams in the NBA this season and won 57 games, giving many the impression that they could advance under coach George Karl. The team was more talented on paper than the Warriors, especially when they were without David Lee for a stretch, but the play of Stephen Curry proved he was the best player on the court during the series and now the team will play against the number two seed in the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors-Nuggets series was one of the most physical of the playoffs and Golden State head coach Mark Jackson accused Denver of deliberately trying to hurt Curry after he suffered an ankle injury in Game 2, calling their play "dirty". Nuggets head coach George Karl said he felt Golden State played the same way and the two teams took it out on each other, including when Andrew Bogut shoved Kenneth Faried. The Nuggets lost only three games at home during the regular season, but they dropped Game 2 before making a comeback to force a Game 6.
The Warriors now will have to go on the road again against the Spurs, who made quick work by sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in four games that never were very close. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have been rolling and the team looks like a lock to make the conference finals. Curry has been excellent for the Warriors while averaging over 20 points and the team got injured forward David Lee back from a hip injury in Game 6, while Bogut has been playing very well for the team. The Spurs have only played four games but they were all wins and Tony Parker is leading while averaging over 20 points per game and Tim Duncan has been playing like his younger self.
The second round will start on Sunday with two series as the New York Knicks will host the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder will be home against the Memphis Grizzlies, who defeated the LA Clippers in the first round. The Knicks defeated the Celtics in six, while the Pacers defeated the Atlanta Hawks. The Houston Rockets were defeated by the Thunder, who had a 3-0 lead before dropping the next two games. Kevin Durant was fantastic and despite losing Russell Westbrook for the playoffs the Thunder were able to advance.