Drama until the very last day.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is getting his wish. As a handful of teams are packing their bags with four-leaf clovers in hopes of losing enough to win the NBA draft lottery, a number of spots remain up for grabs in the standings. The Warriors’ regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center could decide which of the two teams are in the playoffs as opposed to the play-in tournament.
April 13 also can’t be top of mind for the Warriors. At least not yet.
The week ahead can see the Warriors, currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, rise or fall with four games against teams ahead of them in the standings. It already began Monday for teams like the Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. For the Warriors, the first stop on this litmus test is FedExForum in Memphis on Tuesday night.
“Big game coming against Memphis. We’ll be well-rested and in rhythm for that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Sunday night to reporters in San Antonio after their 42-point win against the Spurs. “Big stretch coming.”
The Grizzlies now have lost three straight games. They’re 0-2 under interim coach Tuomas Iiasalo after Taylor Jenkins’ shocking exit, losing Monday night to the Boston Celtics 117-103. If the Warriors (43-31) beat the Grizzlies (44-31), playing on the second night of a back-to-back, they’ll be a half-game ahead of them as the No. 5 seed in the West.
A win also would make the Warriors 3-1 against the Grizzlies this season, giving them the tiebreaker between the two teams.
“If we can beat Memphis, we get the tiebreaker over them, that’s huge” Kerr acknowledged. “We’re right there with the Clippers. The Lakers are only a couple ahead. We got them after, so it’s quite a race going down the stretch.
“We have a difficult schedule. Our last eight games are pretty tough. We’re going to have to continue to play well.”
The No. 5 through No. 8 seed in the West, with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, are separated by one game.
- 5) Grizzlies 44-31
- 6) Warriors 43-31
- 7) Timberwolves 43-32
- 8) Clippers 43-32
Ahead of the Grizzlies by two games are the Lakers at 46-29. But their final seven games aren’t going to be the easiest.
The Lakers have the second-hardest strength of schedule left in the West, playing the Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans at home, Oklahoma City Thunder two consecutive games on the road, the ninth-seeded Dallas Mavericks on the road, and then the Rockets back at home before ending the regular season on the road in Portland against the Trail Blazers.
Following their game in Memphis, the Warriors will end their six-game road trip in LA against the Lakers, just to come home the next day to play the third-seeded Denver Nuggets (47-28) after being on the road for 14 straight days. They’ll get one day off and then host Houston – the No. 2 seed at 49-27 – to round out this challenge of a four-game stretch that can determine their playoff fate.
Playing the Suns in Phoenix should have made it a five-game gauntlet but no team has been more underwhelming, and a sprained left ankle might keep Kevin Durant sidelined.
“Every game we’ve been playing has been important probably for the last 20 games,” Kevon Looney said. “These last seven, eight are going to be just as important. We know the opportunity that we have in front of us. We have to make sure that we can capitalize.
“Each game is going to be difficult, definitely playing on the road. Those teams know it’s going to be a big game as well. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a chance for us to grow, it’s a chance for us to gain some ground.”
These are the meaningful games Steph Curry and Draymond Green have begged for. Jimmy Butler will have to get into a phone booth and turn into Playoff Jimmy before the postseason even begins. Kerr and the Warriors know they can count on Looney under the bright lights of the playoffs.
He has been there and done that in the biggest games. Young players like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody in a starting lineup that now is 11-0 have not, yet. Their performances in a get-right blowout win over the Spurs might have created the kind of momentum they’ll need for the most important week of the Warriors’ season.
Podziemski and Moody, two 22-year-olds, were the Warriors’ leading scorers. While Podziemski scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and made a career-high seven 3-pointers, Moody was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished 7 of 11 overall for 20 points.
“The good thing about our schedule is that we play everybody that’s above us, except OKC,” Podziemski said.
“It’s a sprint to the finish,” Moody said. “That’s what it is right now. It’s hard for me to pay attention to what the other teams are doing. If somebody wins, if somebody loses – whatever – I just know that if we win then stuff is going to go how we want it to.
“Focusing on that. Winning the next game. Winning the game after that. Just sprinting to the finish.”
Will it be a clear path for the Warriors, or an obstacle course too hard to handle? The playoffs still are to come. The intensity has arrived.
