Five intoxicating weeks for the Warriors have given way to 11 days of futility. The Great Surge provided by the addition of Jimmy Butler III has been halted, and the salient question now is whether they have it in them to summon a restart.
After going 14-2 in the first 16 games after Butler’s arrival, Golden State is 2-3 over its last five, most recently with consecutive losses at the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. With Stephen Curry out with a pelvic bruise, both underdogs rose up and slapped the Warriors off their home floors.
Those losses – along with a Los Angeles Clippers win in New York on Wednesday – have evicted the Warriors from their 23-day stay in sixth place in the Western Conference.
If Curry’s expected return isn’t enough to fight off the next two teams, the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, both underdogs, the Warriors will have nullified their good work over the five weeks that ended on March 15.
Golden State’s goal since the NBA All-Star break has been to finish among the top six in the West, thereby avoiding the NBA play-in tournament. They have 10 games to make up ground. It will be strenuous.
Here is a look at The Final 10:
The perpetually wounded Pelicans are 20-53. Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones are out for the season, and Zion Williamson is in and out of action. Golden State can’t afford any more losses to inferior teams. A loss here would put a torch within inches of their hopes. Gotta be a W.
March 30 at San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are 8-11 since Victor Wembanyama went down in mid-February. It’s not in their blood to go quietly, but losing the season series to the Spurs, even with the midseason arrival of De’Aaron Fox, should be grounds for postseason exclusion. Gotta be another W.
April 1 at Memphis Grizzlies
The road to the finish line gets bumpy. This is the first of five games against West teams playing for something. These two have a longstanding distaste for each other, and a victory would give Golden State the head-to-head tiebreaker. It’s unlikely that both teams will avoid the play-in tournament, but a win would offset the loss to the Hawks.
April 3 at Los Angeles Lakers
This is their first shot at the Lakers with Luka Doncić. There’s no chance to earn the tiebreaker, as the Warriors lost the first three games. But it’s a matter of both pride and the standings, and being on the ugly end of a season sweep would be disastrous. A win at Crypto.com Arena would offset the loss to the Heat. With what’s next, it’s practically imperative.
April 4 vs. Denver Nuggets
The Warriors, 10 days ago, had a chance to end the abuse of the Nuggets, who came into Chase Center – without Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun – and extended their win streak over Golden State to nine. All three are healthy now. A 10th straight loss to a possible playoff opponent, at home, can’t be good for the Warriors’ collective esteem.
April 6 vs. Houston Rockets
Glaring at the Rockets, the Warriors see a bunch of impetuous youngsters trying to make enough noise in the regular season to become playoff threats. The Warriors own the tiebreaker, and they don’t think the Rockets are ready to win a high-pressure game. A victory in waiting, but it must be earned.
April 8 at Phoenix Suns
The leaders in underachievement are below .500 and bouncing in and out of the play-in tournament box. Having lost two of three to the Suns – the last by 25 at Chase – the Warriors would be wise to ignore the standings because Kevin Durant and Co. can beat any team on a good night. Ask the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clippers and Nuggets. A serious team gets the W.
April 9 vs. San Antonio Spurs
See March 30. Except the Spurs could be easing into vacation mode. The Warriors can’t afford to rest anyone, because the basketball gods will be watching. They should blast them at Chase.
April 11 at Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers, pluckier of late, might be eliminated from play-in possibilities (unless the Suns do a full dive into the abyss), pleased with their encouraging second half and peeping toward appreciable improvement next season. Lose this, and even the other squads in the play-in cubicle might snicker.
April 13 vs. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers own the tiebreaker, having beaten the Warriors three times this season, all before Butler was acquired. The season finale, at Chase Center, likely will be a pivotal game for both teams. The loser conceivably will be destined for the tournament no self-respecting team wants.
A 7-3 finish, resulting in a 48-34 record, usually is enough for sixth place. That could be tested this season.
Anything less than 8-2 over the final 10 might nudge the Warriors into That Tournament, which would be quite the unwelcome hurdle for a team built around three stars in their mid-30s.
