LOS ANGELES – The Warriors have, repeatedly and firmly, stated that tanking was never an option this season. They have instead chosen, for better or worse, the toughest road.
Even as Steph Curry missed two months with persistent knee soreness and swelling, as Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler were lost for the year with knee injuries, as the team trotted out 41 different starting lineups as other members of the supporting cast dealt with various afflictions.
With Curry available for the postseason, and fellow mainstay Draymond Green also firmly in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, the current veteran core only has so many more shots at postseason glory before retirement calls.
“There’s a level of dignity and a level of competition that we can’t run from,” Curry said on Friday after a loss to the Kings in Sacramento. “The fact that I’m out there comes with expectations, whether you achieve them or not, the energy you put into it makes you who you are. That’s whether you win, or you lose.”
In a year that has a draft packed with expected future NBA stars and contributors, the Warriors have chosen to give the stars another opportunity at contending. Or, at least, that is the most blindingly bright and optimistic way of looking at the situation.
“We’re back in the mix, we’re back in the fight with Steph,” coach Steve Kerr said recently.
Even getting a shot at “being in the mix” would require the Warriors to win two straight road games in the play-in tournament: Wednesday against the No. 9 seed, and then Friday at the loser of the 7-versus-8 matchup.
No easy task. The Kawhi Leonard-led Los Angeles Clippers, who entered Sunday in ninth, are 2-1 against Golden State going into the final regular-season game. The No. 8-seeded Portland Trail Blazers won three of four against the Warriors this season.
The Warriors are 3-1 against the Suns – and an iffy call against Moody away from 4-0 – but a road playoff game is still a harrowing challenge.
But let’s say that Golden State gets a few vintage Curry games and enough from the rest of the depleted supporting cast to earn a spot in the playoffs. What happens next?
Just a seven-game series with defending champion Oklahoma City, which began the season 25-1 and, after dealing with midseason injuries, appears to be rounding into form once more.
For those keeping track, that would be six consecutive road games counting the regular season, play-in tournament and then the first two playoff games.
It’s a tough ask for any team, but maybe an impossible one for a squad that has been dealing with injuries all season. Given those circumstances, what is, realistically, the best-case scenario for the Warriors once the play-in begins?
Barring being able to pull off arguably the greatest upset in the history of the NBA’s first round, the Warriors winning a game or even two against the Thunder would be cause for optimism.
Beyond that, getting into a playoff series would also provide more time to examine players such as unrestricted free agent Kristaps Porzingis to show that he can stay healthy, and jell with the established core of Curry and Green.
The same goes for De’Anthony Melton, who is likely to decline his player option and will be seeking to show teams he can be an impact player in the postseason after fading down the stretch of the regular season.
And of course, keeping Curry healthy for the rest of the year is priority No. 1.
The Warriors’ title hopes are negligible, but there is still so much more than just pride to play for in Golden State.