Warriors’ Play-In Peril: Ex-NBA Star Issues Stark Warning, Exposing the High-Risk Gamble That Could Derail Golden State’s Championship Aspirations and End Their Season Abruptly
The Golden State Warriors had a tough start to the season but that has changed since the NBA trade deadline.
Since the deadline, the Warriors have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA and they have climbed from 10th to sixth in the Western Conference standings.
Of course, Golden State’s addition of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline from the Miami Heat has played a key role in the team’s recent success as he has fit perfectly alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the starting lineup.
While the Warriors have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past month, they are still in a fight for the final playoff spot as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers are right on their heels to knock them into a Play-In spot.
With the top of the West being stacked with good teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, the Warriors do not want to drop to the Play-In and former NBA champion and current ESPN analyst Udonis Haslem recently gave his thoughts about it.
“Neither (Oklahoma City or Houston) in the first round is gonna play out well for Golden State,” Haslem said on ESPN’s NBA Today.
Of course, no team wants to face off against the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, especially with how they have dominated their way through the season thus far behind MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Rockets would also be a tough team for the Warriors to match up against, but they are currently in a fight with the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed.
While both matchups would be tough for the Warriors, with how they have played lately they may be able to take down any of the top teams in the West once the playoffs begin.
Despite this, they would likely much rather secure a playoff spot than fall into a Play-In spot so they do not have to face one of the top two teams in the opening round.
