The Golden State Warriors won their last game of the season against Utah, but the help they needed from other teams didn't materialize, and so they start the play-in at the 10 position, meaning they will need to win two elimination games on the road just to get into the first round of the playoffs.
The crucial difference was that even though the Dubs defeated the Lakers last week, they lost to New Orleans at home, while the Lakers defeated the Pelicans on the road on Sunday. Sacramento also won their final game. So now the Warriors travel to Sacramento for the first play-in game on Tuesday. If they win it, they play the loser of the Lakers v. Pelicans.
The other consequential outcomes on Sunday mean that the Phoenix Suns avoid the play-in after all, and the #1 seed is Oklahoma City, with the Nuggets and Timberwolves behind. So if the Warriors win the play-in games, they will face the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
The Warriors played Utah Sunday at home resting Steph and Draymond, but Klay Thompson, who after the New Orleans game had expressed a desire for a rest day, was left to carry the scoring burden with 25 points. A banged up Kuminga didn't score at all, though he had the most assists of his career. With starters and the usual second team getting a bit more than 20 minutes each, Coach Kerr emptied the bench, giving a few players a rare appearance.
So how do things look? The Warriors are more banged up than they were a month ago, but many other teams have equal or worse injury problems. That's going to make these play-ins and playoffs less than predictable. The Warriors had a tough end of season schedule in terms of excessive travel and several back-to-backs, so fatigue may also be a factor.
Still, the Warriors will be expected to win in Sacramento. Their likely opponent then will be the Lakers, despite LA's big win against New Orleans Sunday, especially if Anthony Davis is out with the injury he apparently suffered at the end of Sunday's game (he led all scorers with 30.) Also, Le Bron played heavy minutes.
Either of the 9/8 teams is beatable, though both have defeated the Dubs at least once this season. Can the Dubs handle the Lakers with both Le Bron and Anthony Davis on the floor? They haven't in their past two victories over LA. The Dubs go into the play-ins with some momentum (while Sacramento does not), but so do New Orleans and LA when their stars are on the floor. On the other hand, if the Warriors win both games, they won't have to face Denver in the first round, with those match-up problems.
But first they have to get past the Kings. They may not have Gary Payton II available, Kuminga may not be fully healthy, and Podz continues his puzzling lack of scoring, putting more of a burden on a weary Klay Thompson. Still, Kerr has a lot of faith in the Draymond/Jackson-Davis combination to augment Steph and hopefully Klay, and in general Kerr expressed a lot of optimism about the team peaking now. Andrew Wiggins has been playing well lately, even after his ankle injury (he had 19 points Sunday.) Defense has stepped up a lot, but the Dubs still haven't conquered their propensity for turnovers. So it's Tuesday, game on for the play-in.
Meanwhile, congratulations to Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hit his 300th career home run on Sunday. The former National League Most Valuable Player joins such revered Pirates greats as Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner on the 300 dingers roll, though unlike them, Andrew didn't hit them all while playing for Pittsburgh. Still, he hit 216 as a Pirate, placing him just behind Roberto Clemente on the all time list. I've seen him play in both the Pirates and SF Giants uniform. He was one of the few real stars for the Pirates in the decades after the Barry Bonds era in Pittsburgh, with a lot of joy and charisma as well as the skills that made him an exciting player.
He remained a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and a fixture in the city, especially when he married a Pittsburgh girl and maintained a home there. He returned to the Pirates this season by his own choice as well as the club's, and he seems destined to retire there as a player and perhaps remain with the Pirates organization. This too is in an older tradition of Pittsburgh sports, when it wasn't unusual to see a couple of former Pirates managers sitting together in the ballpark stands.
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