Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t sugarcoat things when discussing his team’s likely path to postseason play.
The Warriors currently sit 10th in the standings in the Western Conference with 13 games left to play. They’re 8.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the sixth seed, and Kerr simply doesn’t see a way for the Warriors to avoid the Play-In Tournament at this late stage of the season.
“Can we prepare ourselves for the play-in [tournament]?” Kerr asked, via ESPN. “We’re going to be in the play-in. We know that.”
With an 8.5 game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors likely aren’t in danger of missing out on postseason play entirely, but without a clear path to move up to a top-six seed, Golden State appears destined to be one of the four Play-In teams.
“We’ve had our eyes on six [seed] for a while,” Kerr said. “That’s out of the question now. We’re not getting there. If we can string together some wins, try to get to eighth, that’d be ideal. Get two cracks at [getting in the playoffs]. But we’re not getting to seven. We know that.”
The Warriors sit just a game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth seed in the conference, so getting there is attainable. The team in the eight spot will get two cracks at potentially qualifying for postseason play via the tournament, while the teams at nine and ten will get just one opportunity.
Of course, Golden State’s outlook for the remainder of the season hinges largely on the status of star guard Steph Curry, who has been sidelined since late January with a knee injury.
If Curry is able to return at some point in the near future, perhaps the Warriors could make a run. But, if Curry is unable to return to action, it’s tough to imagine Golden State making any sort of real noise.
No concrete timetable has been provided for a return for Curry, but he’s still hoping to return at some point this season.
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