Warriors back in control of NBA playoff status but must take advantage
Dubs back in control of playoff status but must take advantage originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO – The events of Tuesday night placed the Warriors right back where they want to be, close enough to reach out and grab their desired status for the playoffs.
If they bobble it again, as they did last Sunday, the defending champs will get not what they want but what they deserve, a grimy little seat at the dreaded play-in table.
Golden State got back on course Tuesday, managing yet another Chase Center comeback to beat Oklahoma City. That, along with the Sacramento Kings taking down the Pelicans in New Orleans, kept the Warriors among the top six teams in the Western Conference. Fifth place, for the moment.
They will fall to sixth Wednesday night, when the Clippers and Lakers play in Los Angeles. The winner moves ahead of Golden State and the loser drops to seventh.
“We got some help (Tuesday night),” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, referring to the Kings beating the Pelicans. “We’ll be watching games (Wednesday) night.
“It’s fun. This is all what it’s about. We love the competition. Even though we’d prefer to be home-free in the playoffs, this is where we are. I’m really proud of the guys and what they’ve done in recent weeks to put ourselves in this position. But now we’ve got to go finish the deal and get into the top six.”
Finishing the deal means winning the last two games of the regular season, both on the road, Friday at Sacramento and Sunday at Portland. Do that, and the Warriors finish no lower than sixth.
The Kings did Golden State a favor Tuesday and there is no reason to expect another on Friday at Golden 1 Center. It’s up to the Warriors to carry their own water, to take the next entrant into “the most important game of the season” derby.
They lost the last such game Sunday in Denver, after racing out to a quick double-digit lead. The Warriors seemed to understand what was at stake. They owned the first quarter and most of the second before reverting to their worst tendencies – turnovers and curious shot selection.
They were outscored 14-5 over the final 4:04 of the half. The Nuggets took control late in the third quarter and held off a late comeback – the kind of rally that has succeeded 13 times this season.
Each of those wins were, however, at Chase. The road has been a different beast, as illustrated by Golden State’s 33-9 record at home and its 9-30 record away from the Bay.
They have yet to uncover an explanation for one of the wildest home/road splits in NBA history.
“Bro, if I had the answer for you, I’d tell you,” Jordan Poole told me late Tuesday night. “I ain’t got that one for you.
“I think we’ll be good, though. We’ve got guys who have had experience and have played in some of the most heated moments, heated battles. Which is why we look to them for leadership, to the guys who have been here before.
"But if there’s any time to put it together, it’s now.”
Poole is referring to the core veterans: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. They have been through fires in the regular season and the playoffs.
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Furthermore, there is a chance the Warriors will regain the services of Andrew Wiggins, who returned to the team this week and, once he is cleared by the medical and training staffs, conceivably could play limited minutes this weekend.
“Everybody has to stay ready because you never know what could happen,” Curry said late Tuesday. “But having Wiggs back in the building helps. Hopefully, Klay (who missed the game with back soreness) is back on Friday. Let’s bottle up what we had in the second half defensively, stay out of the play-in game and have a week to prepare for whatever first-round series we have.
“There’s a lot of work to do until Sunday.”
The home schedule is in the books, and the road beckons. It’s win in Sacramento and Portland – which is playing only because the schedule dictates it – or risk having to drop into that grimy little seat.
Even in a season in which the Warriors have lost an astonishing number of very winnable games, they should handle the Trail Blazers with relative ease. The Kings? Not so much.
The Warriors will have to earn that one. Coming after the charitable gift received from the Kings on Tuesday, that is as it should be.
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