The Golden State Warriors currently sit 10th in the Western Conference, half a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers and LA Clippers, who occupy the ninth and eighth seed, respectively. More importantly, they’re 7.5 games out of the sixth seed, which is currently held by the Denver Nuggets. With just 14 games remaining in the regular season, the franchise looks set for another play-in tournament appearance.
When speaking on a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” veteran forward Draymond Green shared his frustration with the Warriors’ current situation. He joked that the team has become somewhat of a “play-in tournament magnet” in recent years.
“I’m sick of the play-in [tournament],” Green said. “It seems like we’re a play-in magnet. It sucks, but it’s great when you want an opportunity to get into the playoffs. And that is the reality for us. We are not moving out of the play-in, and we won’t drop out of the play-in either. So, we’re in the play-in, and that’s what coach Kerr’s message has been to the team.”
Green continued.
“Like, ‘Guys, we’re in the play-in no matter what. We have to continue building great habits and get better so that when we get Steph [Curry] back, we get Moses [Moody] back, we get Al [Horford] back, get Seth Curry back, when you start getting all the guys back, that you’re in a good space, that you’ve built great habits, that [with] those guys, you’re not adjusting to playing basketball right away. You’re adjusting to them being incorporated and then how you work around it.’ And so that’s got to be the focus.”
To make matters worse, if the Warriors finish as the ninth of tenth seed, they will need to win two elimination-style games to qualify for the postseason. Even if that scenario does play out, they will be coming up against a team that has had a week’s rest.
“Number one, if you’re not in the play-in, you get a week off,” Green stated. “And I think that week off and what it does for you is huge going into the playoffs. If you’re talking [about] one extra week for bodies to rest, for guys to be healthy, for you to mentally reset, if you have a week off, you can take the first couple of days of the week off and then start preparing.”
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they’ve dealt with a string of injury issues this season. Jimmy Butler was ruled out for the rest of the campaign after suffering an ACL injury, while Stephen Curry has missed a considerable amount of time. As such, the Warriors would likely be happy with heading into the play-in tournament at full strength, minus Butler, of course. However, even that isn’t guaranteed at this point, which in turn, has left the team’s chances of success hanging by a thread.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors’ Draymond Green airs frustration over play-in tournament
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