How Can Golden State Prepare for the 25-26 Play-In Tournament?
Sitting 10th in the Western Conference and five games below .500, Golden State did not envision being in this spot at the beginning of their campaign. After starting the year off as one of the best five records for a few weeks, the Warriors spent nearly three straight months in the eighth seed. For a while, the team from the Bay had the chance to escape their seemingly predestined annual finish of somewhere inside the Play-In Tournament. However, after injuries piled up like Jenga pieces, Steve Kerr’s team began a rough landslide. Even the eighth seed would’ve allowed his team two chances at clinching a playoff berth, but they now seem locked into the last slot for playoff contention. In this article, I’ll discuss what’s left for Golden State in their next few games that wrap up the regular season, and how they can use these opportunities to position themselves for two straight play-in wins.
Golden State has five games remaining to wrap up this long 82-game season, only two of which come against a non-playoff team, the Sacramento Kings. After their Easter night tilt versus the Houston Rockets and in between their contests against Sacramento, the Warriors will match up against the Luka Doncic-less Lakers. Their most crucial game, however, probably won’t be played until the very last day of the regular season, when they’ll take a quick visit South of the Bay to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams are fighting each other for the right to host what will most likely be a matchup between them to determine who will travel to the loser of Phoenix-Portland. The Clippers can still get out of their current seed, as they are currently sitting ninth but just half a game behind the Trail Blazers.
The Warriors have not looked good in the last month, so these next five games have become a needed opportunity for the team to fix its form. To their delight, Stephen Curry should have made his return by Tuesday at the latest, which will offer a much-needed pressure reliever. It’s of the utmost importance that the Warriors, at a minimum, take care of their two matchups versus the 21-57 Kings. Beating either the Rockets or the Lakers will surely boost Kerr’s group mentally, and defeating both will show a promising sign for the first time in a while.
Ideally, this team would’ve locked itself into a better spot and used these last few games to rest their aging starters, or what’s left of them. However, I believe that the Golden State’s preparation for the play-in largely depends on how they finish the season. If they can miraculously avoid the 10th seed and jump the Clippers or Blazers, that would achieve the best-case scenario for this upcoming week. If they cannot get any help, they will still need to excel in what they control, which is the image of their own games. Should that happen, the Warriors may have a real chance to compete in this year’s playoff dance.
