The Golden State Warriors are an older, injured team heading into the NBA’s play-in tournament and just caught a significant break with regards to those deficiencies.
Golden State will square off against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, April 15 in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game on the Western Conference side of the bracket. Should the Warriors win the contest, which will take place in L.A., the Dubs will travel to play the Phoenix Suns for the right to claim the No. 8 seed in the West playoffs.
Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard wrote on social media Tuesday night that the Portland Trail Blazers‘ four-point victory over the Suns in Arizona actually constitutes a significant benefit to the Warriors if they can advance through their play-in opener.
POR is sooooo athletic. Which the Warriors are not.
“IF the Warriors can beat the Clippers tomorrow … POR knocking PHX to the Friday win-and-get-the-8-seed game probably helps GSWs,” Kawakami posted to X. “POR is sooooo athletic. Which the Warriors are not.”
Warriors Lost to Clippers in Final Game This Year, Dropped Season Series to Los Angeles
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State is the underdog in Los Angles against the Clippers on Wednesday night and lost the season series to L.A. by a tally of 3-1.
The two teams played in Los Angeles on the final day of the regular season, with the Clippers coming out on top by a score of 115-110.
Steph Curry put up 24 points in the loss. Draymond Green did not play in the game, though he will be ready to go Wednesday night. Los Angeles held out Kawhi Leonard in the win, though he is also going to participate in the upcoming elimination contest.
Golden State Arguably Has More Incentive to Lose in NBA Play-In Tournament than Advance to Playoffs
GettyCooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks.
Anthony Slater of ESPN reported this week that Golden State has every intention of competing as hard as possible and playing to win against the Clippers on Wednesday night. The same will be true if the Warriors claim victory in L.A. and move onto Phoenix Friday for a chance to capture the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
However, Slater laid out the numbers during an appearance on “NBA Today,” which indicate that it might be a smarter decision for the Dubs to lose at least one of their next two potential games and land in the NBA draft lottery rather than enter the postseason as the lowest seed in the West.
“They’re not not trying to get into the playoffs,” Slater said of the Warriors. “Steph’s gonna try to get hot. It’s a showcase stage for them. Draymond said it: they don’t have many of these type of nights left.”
“But I think it is fair to wonder organizationally whether it’s better for them to lose,” Slater continued, noting the Dallas Mavericks loss in the play-in tournament last year, which landed them Cooper Flagg with the top overall pick. “If the Warriors lose, they keep their lottery odds — 9.4 percent chance to jump into the top four [picks] this draft.”
Warriors Catch Big Break Ahead of NBA Play-In Opener