Earlier this season, the Golden State Warriors had hopes of earning a top-6 seed in the Western Conference. Now, the Warriors are projected to be the 10th seed, meaning that they will have to win two road games to make the NBA playoffs.
Will Injuries Sink The Warriors’ Slim Playoff Hopes?
Golden State enters the stretch run in arguably the worst form of the season. The Warriors dropped their fourth straight game, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-117 last night. To make matters worse, the Warriors lost three more players due to injury, the setback. That increases their total number of injured players to seven.
With Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, and Moses Moody already ruled out, Draymond Green hurt his back during pre-game activities and was declared out about 30 minutes before tipoff.
Veteran center Al Horford left five minutes into the game with right calf tightness. Veteran guard Seth Curry limped to the locker room in the second quarter with left adductor soreness, and second-year center Quinten Post also didn’t finish the game with a sprained left ankle.
“We’re going through it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said following the Wolves game. “We’re about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember.”
Overall, the Golden State has lost 15 of its last 22 games. The Warriors have the ninth-worst record during this stretch, as they have struggled on the offensive end, averaging just 112.4 points per game and being outscored by nearly 4.5 points per game.
The Warriors sit in ninth place in the Western Conference at 32-34. While the Warriors have a 99% chance of making the conference Play-In Tournament, they are only one-half game ahead of the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors are just 17-24 against teams with a .500 or above record. According to Tankathon, the Dubs have the ninth-easiest schedule remaining, though the Blazers have the easiest. Additionally, they have only been given a 14% chance of winning two road contests to earn the eighth seed.
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