Golden State Warriors Play-In fate is in their own hands

Whether the Golden State Warriors reach the playoffs or not will be entirely up to how they perform down the stretch of the season. With numerous games against some of their closest competitors remaining — the Dubs will decide their own fate.

The Golden State Warriors will have the opportunity to decide for themselves where they will stand in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Now more than ever, every NBA team has a fair shot at reaching the playoffs. As a refresher, the bottom 7-10 seeds in each conference will duel in a single-game tournament to determine the final playoff spots.

Some may even argue the new Play-In format gives too much of an opportunity for struggling teams to make the playoffs. For example, the Toronto Raptors are 10 games below .500 but only two games back from the Play-In. This opens the possibility for the Raptors to squeeze into the playoffs while a team like the seven-seeded Miami Heat (32-29) could be bumped from the playoffs entirely.

For the Warriors, no one can argue they don’t deserve to reach the playoffs. An MVP caliber season from Stephen Curry has vaulted this team deep into the Western Conference playoff race and the Warriors are right in the middle of a few notable teams.

Right now, Golden State sits at 10th in the West — just four games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans who will battle for the final Play-In spot. With the Dubs and Pels set to square off three times over the next few weeks, it’s safe to say these squads are in charge of their own fate.

As for the rest of the West, Golden State is less than four games back from leaping over the San Antonio Spurs (9), Memphis Grizzlies (8) and Portland Trail Blazers (7) and catching the Dallas Mavericks to claim the sixth seed and avoid the Play-In. The Warriors will play the Mavericks on Tuesday, offering a chance to narrow the gap a bit more.

However, where things get really interesting is the final game of the season when Golden State takes on Memphis. With these teams so close in the standings, it’s entirely possible this match decides whether the Dubs are in the 9/10 game or the 8/7. The value of being the eighth or seventh seed is having the luxury of only needing to win one-of-two games to advance.

Golden State has won seven-of-their-last-10 games and It’s safe to say they will have to continue playing their best basketball in order to get a favorable outcome for the Play-In Tournament.