Golden State Warriors tumbling out of the playoff picture

We all knew things would get ugly once Stephen Curry injured himself by tripping on the sidelines against Houston, but the Golden State Warriors are quickly tumbling out of the playoff picture themselves.

Since Curry’s injury, the Dubs have lost 4-of-5 matches by an average margin of 14 points. Problems hit their peak in a 22-point loss to the Sacramento Kings and the Warriors looked defeated before their game against the Atlanta Hawks even began.

Recent losses are piling up and it’s time to accept that the Golden State Warriors will likely miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

This season has been tough to judge. For every good thing the Warriors accomplish, a troublesome stretch follows. It’s been hard to truly gauge where this team stands as on any given night they look completely different. Their inconsistency has led to a 22-24 record, placing them 10th in the Western Conference.

It hasn’t been all bad. Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion have emerged as exciting prospects for the future while Andrew Wiggins has steadily broken out of his shooting slump, averaging 25.8 points on a scorching hot 54.8 percent shooting clip from the 3-point line over this stretch. This includes a 40-point night against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Dubs only win that week.

Thanks to the new playoff format, the Warriors will be granted an opportunity to battle their way into the postseason by winning consecutive games against higher-seeds. This is always possible with a weapon like Curry – but the team might not even finish high enough to qualify for the tournament if they continue dropping games.

The Warriors have skidded back in the standings and now hold just a 2.5 game lead over the 13-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Meanwhile, the Kings and New Orleans Pelicans are looming behind them, daring to knock the Warriors out of the postseason picture entirely.

I’ve talked a few times about how missing the playoffs isn’t the end of the world for Golden State. In fact, retaining their first round pick and opening the door to potentially securing two lottery picks in an exciting draft is a pretty good scenario.

Still, it hurts to watch the Dubs collapse once again. The last two seasons have been a far cry from their five straight trips to the NBA Finals. But, with a little bit of patience, the Warriors can turn tragedy into triumph over the next few years.