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Kendra AndrewsGAME
SAN FRANCISCO — As golden empire warriors go through the last game of Annual season 2022-23they’re operating with one clear goal: to finish sixth at the Western Conference.
“We definitely want to stay out of the play-in tournament,” Stephen’s Curry Talk about it later Warriors 120-112 win against Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. “You never know how that could play out – a game here or there.”
“It’s dangerous,” Blue Draymond more. “We’d rather avoid that.”
After Friday’s game, the Warriors finished sixth at the Western Conference, just a few percentage points behind the second-placed team. phoenix sun in fifth place (however, the Suns had a goal against the Warriors). Both Phoenix and Golden State are half a game behind Laser cutting in fourth place and is a game and a half on Minnesota Timberwolves And Los Angeles Lakers in seventh and eighth place respectively.
However, the Warriors do not keep track of the leaderboard. And to some extent, it’s not worth it.
With congestion in the Western rankings, seeding is more likely to take place in the final matches. Any change in the standings will depend not only on the victory of an individual team, but also on how every match throughout the tournament ends.
“We just try to win every game we play,” Green said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily ‘Oh, we can catch those guys.’ It’s a jam. If you’re interested in the business and winning the games you have to win — maybe one or two games you’re not allowed to win — you’ve put yourself in a great location. That’s our goal.”
Golden State’s last two games were hugely influential in placing themselves in those positions. The victory of warriors against Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday created a 2.5-game gap between the two teams. And with the Mavericks losing again on Friday, they have now dropped to 11th in the West.
The Warriors’ win over the 76ers was another key move to stay out of the play-ins. golden state play Sunday with the Timberwolves.
Last week, coach Steve Kerr said the Warriors must approach each of their remaining games as if they were knockouts. Green, who admitted he struggled to give 100% for a mid-March match, echoed Kerr’s message and said it’s the time of year to boost performance. .
Their last two games give an indication of the level of play that the Warriors typically display in the post-season.
“The mindset is always that you’re trying to put together a solid run to get into the knockouts,” Curry said. No one wants to hover in the knockout stages and have to turn it on. “We did somewhat of that last year but you don’t want that kind of uncertainty. No matter how it plays out, you want to operate at full capacity.”
The Warriors have seven games left on their regular season schedule — four at home and three on the road. Golden State ended up winning by a margin on the same trip for the first time this season, but there’s still mounting pressure to capitalize on their four-game home advantage.
Two of those games — Sunday vs Timberwolves and Tuesday vs New Orleans Pelicans — against teams trying to make it through the play-in or better yet, the knockout.
“It’s extremely important,” Jordan Poole talk about needing to win their remaining home games. The Warriors will also host Oklahoma City next week – another hungry team.
“Given the dynamics and situation this year with wins and losses at home, we cannot ignore losses at home.”
According to Curry, no matter how you look at the final stages of the season – whether it’s focusing on the ranking race, momentum needs to be built in the final seven games or how individuals want to take charge of the game. take their role – Warriors have one goal in mind.
“It all led to a sense of urgency to win the next game,” Curry said.
