Golden State Warriors vs. Utah Jazz: Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry Won't Allow Upset

There are no guarantees in sports, and the Golden State Warriors proved that fact just last year when they blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. But if the Utah Jazz have a realistic chance to come back and win their second-round series against the No.1 seed in the Western Conference, it’s an incredibly slim one.

With a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3, the Warriors are probably more likely to sweep the Jazz than for the series to return to Golden State. Adding Kevin Durant to a team that already included Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson last offseason seemed to make the Warriors immune to an early-round upset, and that’s proven to be the case in the 2017 NBA Playoffs.

Just about every game appears to be same for the Warriors. They get out to a fast start and respond with another run every time the opposition poses even the slightest threat. Golden State has gone 6-0 this postseason with five double-digit wins, winning by six points in the one game that both Durant and head coach Steve Kerr missed.

Kerr didn’t make the trip with the team to Utah, and Mike Brown might be forced to serve as his replacement for the rest of the series. It hasn’t been a factor up to this point, and probably won’t be in Game 3, which Golden State enters as five-point favorites, via OddsShark.

Golden State simply has too many weapons for Utah to account for, and any shot they had of shocking the world probably went out the window when they were unable to steal home-court advantage at Oracle Arena. The Warriors suffered losses in the conference semifinals in both 2015 and 2016, though they might be immune to a second-round defeat in 2017.

The NBA’s third-best defensive team hasn’t been able to slow them down, allowing 106 points and 115 points in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively. Golden State has been able to play an up-tempo style against the team that played at the NBA’s slowest pace in the regular season, creating a recipe for disaster for the Jazz.

Utah did their best to keep up with Golden State in Game 2, and Gordon Hayward even put up 33 points on 21 shots. The Warriors, however, got more than 20 points from three of their stars, which was more than enough to beat the Jazz, especially since the team was without George Hill, who is dealing with a toe injury.

Every night, it seems to be someone different that gives the Warriors the spark to pull away from their competition. That’s the benefit of putting together a true “super-team” and signing a free agent that’s better than anyone on a team that set a record for wins a year ago.

It was Stephen Curry in the final two games of the first round, totaling 71 points to secure a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers. Draymond Green has been that player on a few occasions, most recently on Thursday night when he made five three-pointers in the first half to give the Warriors a comfortable victory.

The Warriors had a brief scare when Green left the game with an apparent knee injury, but he quickly returned after heading to the locker room.

Green has arguably been Golden State’s most impressive player this postseason, dominating both ends of the floor at times. In addition to hitting three three-pointers per game at a 54.5 percent rate, the All-Star is averaging 3.3 blocks and 2.2 steals. He’s the glue that holds the Warriors’ lineup of stars together, and they are virtually unbeatable when Green is at his best.

Even if Green’s shooting falls off, and it inevitably will, someone else will step up. Utah should get a lift by returning home, but barring career nights from the likes of Hayward and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz’s time in the playoffs will soon come to an end.