What's Is At Stake For Warriors In Friday's Game Against Kings?
Many teams across the NBA will be resting their starters on Friday night and preparing for the playoffs.
This will not be the case for the Golden State Warriors though, as Friday's game against the Sacramento Kings is their most important game of the season for numerous reasons.
Obviously they have not clinched their playoff spot yet and winning this game would go a long way in doing so, but this game is extremely important for Golden State from a morale factor.
Going 9-30 on the road this season, the Warriors have looked like a completely different team outside of Chase Center and this game against Sacramento is a chance for a fresh start with the postseason beginning next week.
No matter if De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and others play for the Kings, as Sacramento could rest their starters ahead of the postseason, a road win for the Warriors on Friday night would be huge because it proves that they can win on the road against a playoff team.
More importantly, a win would prove that they can win on the road in a building they will likely have to play a first-round series in.
The Kings are most likely going to be the 3-seed in the Western Conference and should they be defeated by the Warriors, Sacramento will be locked in to this 3-seed spot.
For the Warriors, a win would bump them up to the 5-seed momentarily in the Western Conference but the Los Angeles Clippers, who they are tied with in the standings, own the tiebreaker over Golden State and they would retake the 5-seed in the conference with a win on Saturday over the Portland Trail Blazers, who have been blatantly tanking over the last several weeks.
Anything can happen in the playoffs and who knows what kind of injuries will occur, but a win on Friday could be exactly what this organization needs to go on yet another title run.
As crazy as this may sound, the Warriors are still championship contending threats this season and while they have had their fair share of struggles over the course of the regular season, no team wants to have to play them in a seven-game series.
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the first title this Warriors' core won together, the Golden State Warriors have gone 93-34 in the playoffs and 22-2 in playoff series as a whole. Their only two series losses were in the 2016 NBA Finals and the 2019 NBA Finals.
Winning in the postseason has become second-nature to the Warriors and with Andrew Wiggins returning to the team and preparing to return for the playoffs, Golden State has everything they need to once again win a championship.
Defeating a team that they will likely see in the first-round of the playoffs will instantly put the Warriors on their path to the NBA Finals and should they get this win, it is not hard to believe that they will once again run through the Western Conference en route to the NBA Finals.
So what exactly is at stake here in Friday night's game in Sacramento other than the possibility that the Warriors correct their mindset?
When you look at the Western Conference standings, it is clear to see that Golden State must win this game.
They are tied with the Clippers, as mentioned earlier, and both the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans reside a game behind them in the standings. Both the Lakers and Pelicans are currently in the Play-In Tournament region of the standings.
Avoiding the Play-In is something every team, including the Warriors, would like to do, but should the Warriors lose again on the road, they could fall into the Play-In Tournament with no chance of getting out of it with one game remaining.
The Clippers, Lakers and Pelicans all own tiebreakers over Golden State this season, which is why the Warriors truly control their own fate.
With a win in Sacramento, the Warriors could very well put themselves on a collision course with their fifth title in the last nine seasons.
With a loss in Sacramento, the Warriors are in danger of not even making the playoffs given that they would be in the Play-In Tournament.
Friday night will truly give everyone a glimpse into what the future holds for the Warriors in the postseason.
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