SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors now know when their play-in journey will begin.
Just not where.
The NBA has announced that the No. 10 vs. No. 9 seed matchup in the Western Conference will be the late game next Wednesday night. The Warriors (37-42) are locked into the No.10 spot after deciding not to tank, but the No. 9 seed is still hotly contested.
The Los Angeles Clippers are a game above the Portland Trail Blazers in the standings with two games left in the season.
The teams play each other on Friday, and the Clippers could clinch the No. 8 seed with a victory. However, a Trail Blazers win on Friday throws things back into flux.
Portland winning would tie the season series at two wins apiece – with the Blazers owning the tiebreaker thanks to a better conference record than the Clippers – and give both teams a 41-40 record going into Sunday’s season finale.
The Clippers happen to host the Warriors on Sunday. If they enter the day tied, the Clippers would need to beat Golden State and hope the Blazers lose to regain the No. 8 seed. Meanwhile, Portland would just need to win, or have the Clippers lose, to be the No. 8 seed.
The stakes are significant: The No. 8 seed will play at No. 7 seed Phoenix on Tuesday night and would advance into the playoff bracket with a win in that game. The No. 9 team must beat the Warriors, then face the loser of that Tuesday game in Phoenix, with the final playoff spot on the line.
Which team would the Warriors rather play at in a win-or-go-home play-in game?
Drawing the Clippers would allow the Warriors to stay in Los Angeles after the regular season finale rather than traveling to Portland, possibly with a stop back home in the Bay Area before Wednesday’s game.
The Warriors have also shown they can compete with the Clippers, winning once early in the year, and then suffering one- and 13-point losses to the Clippers in 2026, the second of which was competitive through much of the fourth quarter.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) takes a shot against Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (40) in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Playing in Portland would not be easy, either.
While Portland does not have a playoff-proven closer like the Clippers do in Kawhi Leonard, the Blazers gave Golden State huge problems – literally – in four early-season matchups. Seven-foot-one Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija and the Blazers’ collection of rangy wings pounded Golden State inside.
Back when the Warriors had Jimmy Butler healthy on the roster, the Blazers put up over 125 points in three victories over the Warriors, with Golden State only winning the last one 119-97 in January.
On the brighter side, Steph Curry is back and has scored at least 35 points in three of the four games against Portland, and the Warriors have high-level postseason experience the Blazers can’t match outside of guard Jrue Holiday.
But the Warriors’ preferences do not matter as their opponents control their own destiny, and Golden State coach Steve Kerr has said either team would be a formidable opponent.
“We’ve got to prepare for really high-level defensive teams, since we’ll play the Clippers or Portland, and if we’re able to win that one, either Phoenix or the other one,” Kerr said. “All three are really high-level defensive teams that force turnovers, and so if we’re careless with the ball, we’re in big trouble.”