If the Western Conference standings stay as they currently stand entering Saturday’s games, the Warriors’ first-round opponent would not be at full strength – though they haven’t really been all season.
Denver Nuggets’ stars Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are “unlikely to return to action” in the playoffs and won’t play in Sunday’s season finale against the Lakers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
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The Warriors entered Saturday in the third seed, which means they would draw the sixth-seeded Nuggets in the first round. Denver hasn’t had Murray in the lineup all season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL that he suffered near the end of last season. Porter played the first nine games before undergoing back surgery.
Without Murray and Porter, the Nuggets turned to Nikola Jokic to carry them to a 48-33 record, and they’ll likely continue to rely on the reigning MVP in the playoffs.
And unfortunately for the Warriors, they dropped three out of four games this season against the Nuggets without Murray or Porter on the floor – though Golden State did win the most recent matchup on March 10 at Denver.
Related: Kornacki breaks down Warriors' playoff seeding scenarios
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The Warriors actually match up better against the Utah Jazz, who are currently in the fifth seed but have the same record as the Nuggets entering the season’s final weekend. Golden State went 3-1 against Utah this season.
With two games left, Golden State could also slide to fourth with the Dallas Mavericks just a half-game behind in the standings. Given the uncertain playoff picture, a first-round matchup against the Nuggets is far from pre-determined.
Still, if it happens, there at least appears to be some clarity around whether the Warriors would face a much different Nuggets lineup than they have all season.