Sports are beloved by many due to the unpredictable nature of the games and their results. Unfortunately, if you’re tuning into the 2017-18 NBA season, the top of the Western Conference standings is already a foregone conclusion. The Golden State Warriors will be the No. 1 seed; that’s a near-100 percent certainty. So, instead of wasting time pretending they won’t be, let’s instead focus on the teams that could potentially face the juggernaut in the first round of the playoffs.

Yes, we’re talking about squads fighting for the eighth spot in the much-improved Western Conference—you know, the teams that will just be happy to make the playoffs until they realize their opponent will embarrass them four games in a row on national television.

New Orleans Pelicans

Our NBA Math team has covered the Pelicans from numerous angles this offseason, from looking at the fearsome duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis to analyzing the depth (or lack thereof) that could hold them back. Since those articles were published, they lost Solomon Hill to a hamstring injury that may keep him sidelined for up to eight months, traded Quincy Pondexter to the Chicago Bulls and announced rookie Frank Jackson will undergo surgery after suffering a broken foot.

Ergo, it’s safe to say the Pelicans will be relying on their starting lineup to carry them to the playoffs.

After looking at how New Orleans could match up with the Warriors, the frontcourt is their best bet at finding an advantage. While Golden State has Draymond Green (and, in smaller lineups, Kevin Durant), they don’t have a second defender capable of handling Cousins or Davis. In three appearances against the Warriors last season, Davis averaged 35.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks while shooting 60.3 percent from the floor. His dominance against their frontcourt should continue this season with Cousins attracting extra defensive attention alongside him.

On the other hand, the Warriors have won the past seven matchups against the Pelicans, in large part because they have no one to throw at the backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. That still hasn’t changed this offseason, and with Hill going down, they lack even a basic perimeter defender who can at least make things difficult for Durant.

Even though the duo of Davis and Cousins would get their numbers and dominate for stretches, the Warriors have too much of an advantage everywhere else on the court (and on the bench) for this to be a competitive series.

Series Prediction: Warriors 4, Pelicans 0

Los Angeles Clippers

The Warriors have won 10 consecutive games against the Clippers. Let that sink in.

For better or worse, these aren’t the same Clippers. Chris Paul is gone. In his stead lies a combination of quality starters and backups such as Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell. And then they have free-agent additions Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic, two players who only help on offense. They enter the season as a worse team without Paul, but a deeper one all the same.

That depth will only go so far, though. The Clippers will not be good defensively and are still a mentally fragile team—especially, it stands to reason, when facing a reigning champion that’s owned them like Golden State. Playing Teodosic, Williams and Gallinari significant minutes will put a heavy burden on Beverley and DeAndre Jordan that they won’t be able to lift on their own. Los Angeles was 13th in points allowed per 100 possessions last season, and we should expect that standing to drastically fall.

Even in the most optimistic terms, this new Clippers roster continues to lack the personnel to bother Thompson and Durant, and Green always does a good job making life difficult for Blake Griffin, who will bear more responsibility initiating the offense. Plus, all these consecutive wins later, Golden State still gets up to play the Clippers (in last season’s series, the Warriors won by an average of 21.5 points, which nearly doubled their overall margin of 11.6 points per game).

This should all lead to a very comfortable series win.

Series prediction: Warriors 4, Clippers 0

Utah Jazz

Golden State just swept Utah in the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals, but the series was tighter than the final results indicate. And while the Jazz are a significantly different team this season following the loss of All-Star Gordon Hayward and George Hill, they managed to put together yet another playoff-caliber team.

We know who they will be this season: They’ll grind out low-scoring wins (think 82-78), using their suffocating defense and slow pace to pound opponents into submission. They have a capable defender at every position, with Ricky Rubio and Rudy Gobert leading the way from the point guard and center spots. Those two should also develop into a potent pick-and-roll combination, and with capable shooters such as Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles surrounding them, they might be able to rival or match their 12th-ranked offense from last season.

Defensively, the Jazz should once again be top three in the league. Adding Rubio, Thabo Sefolosha and Ekpe Udoh to an already stellar cast of stoppers gives them the persisting look and feel of an elite unit. And let’s not forget their defense is led by the “Stifle Tower” at center, who paced the league in blocks per game and defensive win shares last season.

Unfortunately for Gobert, things can get a little tough for him when he’s switched onto quick guards (i.e. Steph Curry):

Man, that video never gets old.

Ultimately, while Utah certainly has the defensive pieces to make things tough for the Warriors, no universe exists in which they can keep up with their counterpart’s offensive firepower.

Series prediction: Warriors 4, Jazz 0

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have given the Warriors the most trouble from this small gaggle in recent seasons. From pushing them to six games during the 2015 playoffs to splitting the regular-season series last year, they always seem up to the (daunting) task. Yet, while their physical defense and slow pace has given Golden State difficulties in the past, these current Grizzlies match up differently.

It appears the “Grit-n-Grind” era is officially over with the departure of Zach Randolph and, probably, Tony Allen (who remains unsigned). Vince Carter also left in free agency, while Tyreke Evans and Ben McLemore were brought in to diversify the offense and provide some much-needed shooting.

Chandler Parsons must stay healthy and return to his previous level for the Grizzlies to make any real noise in the West, let alone against the Warriors. Whether or not that occurs this season, you can almost always guarantee the duo of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol will continue to churn out underrated levels of productivity.

Last year, Memphis placed seventh in defensive efficiency and 19th in offensive efficiency. It wouldn’t be a shock to see them drop from the top 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions as they creep up to league-average performances at the other end, particularly if Parsons can make that healthy return. Unfortunately, their two best players continue to age, and the supporting cast is sub-par. If Parsons can’t return and JaMychal Green isn’t re-signed, Memphis will have to rely significantly on players such as Evans, James Ennis and Jarrell Martin.

Yikes.

The Grizzlies projected starting five of Conley, Evans, Parsons, Green (when/if he re-signs) and Gasol is a quality starting lineup that is worthy of playoff contention. Memphis has thrown various alterations of that starting five in recent years that have troubled Golden State, but this year they return with less defense and more play-making (in the switch from Allen to Evans).

Moving to the bench is where things get ugly. Relying on Andrew Harrison, Wade Baldwin or Mario Chalmers at backup point guard doesn’t inspire much confidence. Other backups such as McLemore, Troy Daniels, Ennis and Brandan Wright are solid enough players in a vacuum, but they don’t help out in any way against the Warriors (especially on the defensive end).

It seems, then, that the Grizzlies will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season. If they are able to sneak their way in, they will likely be an easy appetizer for Golden State.

Series prediction: Warriors over Grizzlies in 4

The Western Conference improved significantly this offseason. But each team fighting for the last spot in the playoff standings has significant flaws, which would prevent them from giving the Golden State Warriors a significant challenge in the first round.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com.