Which team will finish first in Western Conference?

The race for first place in the Western Conference boils down to two teams—the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. After today, both teams will have 10 games left in the regular season, and the Warriors currently hold a 2.5 game lead over the Spurs for the top spot.

To best determine which team will finish first by the end of the season, let’s take a look at the remaining games for Golden State and San Antonio.

Warriors: vs Memphis, at Houston, at San Antonio, vs Houston, vs Washington, vs Minnesota, at Phoenix, vs New Orleans, vs Utah, vs Los Angeles Lakers.

Spurs: vs New York, vs Cleveland, vs Golden State, at Oklahoma City, vs Utah, vs Memphis, vs Los Angeles Lakers, at Dallas, vs Los Angeles Clippers, at Portland, at Utah.

The Spurs host the Knicks tonight at the AT&T Center, and the only player resting for San Antonio is shooting guard Danny Green, according to the team’s injury report. Even though the Spurs lost to the Knicks earlier this season, let’s assume that the host team finds a way to get the win tonight. After all, the Spurs are 27-7 at home this season and they’ve gone 10-3 in the month of March. That win would put San Antonio only two games behind Golden State.

As for the rest of the games on the Spurs’ schedule, they face one more team above .500 than the Warriors do, and three of their last four games are on the road. Meanwhile, Golden State finishes out the season with three straight home games.

Could the Spurs catch the Warriors for first place in the West? Absolutely. It only takes one slip-up on the Warriors’ part to open the door for San Antonio, like when Golden State dropped three straight games earlier this month. However, if the Spurs rest players, specifically starters, like they’ve been known to do, then first place may be out of reach. We’ll see what unfolds down the stretch.

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