Is this the Last Stand for the Core of the Golden State Warriors?

Game 7’s are always stress inducers. Win-or-go-home games are always like this. There’s a deeply unsettling feeling when your team slowly has the game slip away from them, and a chilling feeling when it’s finally over amid the grim reality that the season has come to an abrupt end.

In a vacuum, this game is exactly what it looks like. A win or go-home game to advance to the second-round to play the Los Angeles Lakers where ironically, either team will have home-court. On the Sacramento Kings’ side, it’s exactly that. They’ve had a phenomenal dream season and it’d continue with a win in Game 7. No one would fault them for losing this series and most non-Warrior fans are probably cheering for them. There’s virtually no pressure on Sacramento, they’re playing with house money. The same can’t be said for the Golden State Warriors.

For the Golden State Warriors, Sunday’s Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings means so much more than simply the game itself.

The Warriors have had a run for the ages. With four titles in the last eight seasons, they’ve got an incredible 18-0 playoff record in the West under Steve Kerr, and 22-2 overall. They’ve had MVP’s, DPOY’s and countless All-NBA first-team awards in this run. Like all things, it’s going to come to an end. The Bill Russell Celtics couldn’t go forever, the Bulls were forced to come to a halt, and the Kobe-era Lakers eventually fizzled out. The Warriors have defied the odds before.

After Kevin Durant left and Klay Thompson tore his ACL and then Achilles, they were counted out only to storm back to win another title. Now with a tumultuous season, one that started with Draymond Green not getting a contract extension, the infamous punch on Jordan Poole, the abysmal road record, and multiple Stephen Curry injuries, they stand on the brink of being eliminated in the first-round. If that were to eventuate, Golden State would be the first defending champ since the 2012 Mavericks to suffer that fate.

There’s a good chance Green leaves the Warriors this offseason, even if they somehow win a title. Golden State have handed out so much money, to players who deserve it, that the tax bill is going to soar higher then the astronomical heights it’s already reached. It’s hard to justify spending that tax bill when you lose in the first-round, and whether you believe that’s the right mindset or not, fans don’t really get a say. Simply put they need to keep winning to justify spending that tax bill.

This is why this Game 7 is just so important for the Warriors, namely the core three, the group that everything was built around. In this day and age where we see players team hop like musical chairs, the longevity that Curry, Thompson, and Green have built together is remarkable. They’ve been together for more than a decade, and won so many games together. They’ve won the third most in playoff history for a trio, but it feels like it’s coming to a head soon.

This might just feel like a normal Game 7, one that already is sure to bring a tremendous amount of stress to the fanbase. No one wants to go home when they’re so close to moving on, but for the Warriors it means so much more. It could signify being the final straw that broke the camel’s back and end this iteration of the Warriors dynasty, or they could survive the series and be alive in a another one that may even be favored in.

In the raucous crowd in Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, we’re going to see this core three for at the very least, one more game, and that’s going to be very fun to watch. Hopefully it’s not the last time.