Golden State Warriors can clinch play-in spot in next two games

The Golden State Warriors may have had an up and down 2020-21 season, yet their fate still rests largely on their own shoulders.

The Golden State Warriors will have a chance to decide their own fate and clinch their spot in the Play-In Tournament over the next few days.

The ninth-placed Warriors have back-to-back games against the 11th placed Pelicans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans over the next two days.

The Warriors are currently 32-32 whilst the Pelicans stand at 29-35. At least one win for the Warriors would all but seal themselves a place in the NBA’s play-in tournament, whilst pushing the Pelicans towards another postseason miss.

But not only are the Warriors aiming to lengthen the gap between themselves and the only team that could realistically displace them from the play-in tournament, but they’re also looking to jump ahead in the logjam for the coveted eighth spot in the western conference standings.

Just one game separates the Grizzlies, the Warriors and the Spurs between eighth and tenth in the current standings. A Warriors win and a Grizzlies loss at home to the in-form Knicks would see Golden State overtake Memphis in eighth place.

Although an eighth-place finish at the end of the regular season may no longer guarantee a playoff position, it allows that team to have a double chance at finally locking in a playoff spot.

Following the back-to-back in New Orleans, the Warriors will finish the season with six straight home games. With this including two against 13th placed Oklahoma City, as well as one each against the Pelicans and Grizzlies, Warriors fans and the organization, should still be expecting a playoff berth despite a tumultuous season.

The Warriors will be without Kelly Oubre Jnr, Eric Paschall and Damion Lee for at least the first of the two-game stretch, whilst Andrew Wiggins, who hasn’t missed a game this season, is currently listed as questionable.