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The Golden State Warriors suffered a major blow to their playoff aspirations following their 114-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Amid a few missed calls that actually benefitted them, the Warriors were sunk by a Harrison Barnes game-winning three-point shot.
The loss put the Warriors in danger of falling into the play-in, and head coach Steve Kerr spoke about the team's mindset amid the close of the regular season during an appearance on the ‘Willard And Dibs' Show on 95.7 The Game.
“We want the week off, but we're also well aware that there's plenty of ways to get through this stuff,” Kerr said. “You don't even know how matchups are going to play into this, who you'll play, how it will play out.”
With the loss, the Warriors dropped to 47-33 and fell to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference standings, which puts them in prime play-in position. They are only a half game back of the Memphis Grizzlies though for the No. 6 seed.
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The Warriors have two games remaining on their schedule and would hope to have the following week off as Steve Kerr mentioned. The teams that make the playoffs outright have about one week off while the play-in commences.
“I know the Lakers made the Conference Finals two years ago through the Play-In It's not like it's a death sentence to go to the Play-In,” Kerr continued. “But there's no doubt you'd rather avoid it just to not have to deal with the extra game or two but also the stress in having to get through those games.”
The Warriors have been surging in the Western Conference standings since they made the trade for Jimmy Butler. They've gone 22-7 since Butler made his Warriors debut, rebounding from a slump they were mired in.
Butler's appeared in 28 out of 29 games for the Warriors since he made his debut at a little over 32 minutes per game. He's been averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.7 steals with splits of 46.4 percent shooting from the field, 28.1 percent shooting from the three-point line, and 87.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Warriors' fall to a play-in spot isn't quite the result of poor play but just how tough the West is in terms of playoff positioning. Two and a half games is all that separates the No. 3 seed through the No. 8 seed. The seventh seed and the eighth seed are play-in spots, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently at No. 3, have already clinched no worse than a top-six seed.
