Now that the Warriors and Kings are both officially set to participate in NBA Play-In Tournament games to begin the postseason, it's time to look ahead.
With the Phoenix Suns defeating the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, Golden State lost any chance of making the playoffs and the Western Conference's No. 6 seed was permanently out of reach of the Warriors. Meanwhile, Sacramento sealed its play-in fate on Thursday with a 135-123 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center.
As of Thursday night, the Kings (45-35) were the No. 8 seed in the West, while the Warriors (45-35) moved from No. 10 to No. 9 after a 110-92 win over the Trail Blazers. rose in rank. Portland.
If the season ended now, the West's play-in slots would look like this (via NBA.com):
In the first play-in game, the Kings will face the seventh-seeded Suns, with whom Sacramento has previously tied the season series at two games apiece. But the deadlock will be broken when the two teams meet at Golden 1 Center on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Warriors will face an epic clash with LeBron James and the No. 10 Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State has won the season series against LA with 3 wins and 1 loss.
From there, if the Kings lose to the Suns, they will face the winner of the Warriors-Lakers game, and if they win Game 2, they will face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoff series. Alternatively, if Sacramento defeats Phoenix in the play-in, they will face the second-place Minnesota Timberwolves.
If the Warriors lose the play-in game, they will be eliminated. And if they win, they will face either the Kings or Suns before potentially facing the defending NBA champions in the opening round of the playoffs.
A lot can happen between then and now, but with only two regular-season games left for both teams, Warriors and Kings fans have no idea how the postseason will start. I've been thinking about it quite a lot.
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