The Golden State Warriors haven't officially locked down a postseason spot, but they're not going to fall into the No. 11-15 range in the West with the rampant tanking that's going on these days. While knowing that their season will at least extend a little beyond Game 82 of the regular season should be a good thing, it isn't, at least not for this year's team.
Steph Curry will be 38 this month, and he's missed the past few weeks with a knee injury, but even his possible return in time for the postseason won't change all that much. Golden State doesn't have what it takes to make a playoff run, even if it does make it past the play-in.
Will fans tune in to watch the Warriors in the play-in? Absolutely. Will they be all that excited about it? Probably not, especially knowing that the end result of Golden State's season would've been better if it missed the play-in and received a high lottery pick.
Warriors advancing to the postseason feels more like a loss
The Warriors currently have the 15th-worst record in the league, putting them just outside the lottery. Maybe they'll find a way to sneak in, and the basketball gods will miraculously give them a high pick at the draft lottery, helping set them up for the post-Curry era. While that could happen, it would require a level of luck that Golden State hasn't had in years.
The more likely scenario is that the Warriors' pick will fall in the late lottery, or outside of the lottery altogether. All they'd need to do is win another title to make fans feel better about what would otherwise feel like a lost season. No pressure.
This year's draft lottery has been hyped to the point where, at this point in the season, Golden State losing every game for the rest of the year wouldn't do it any good. The Warriors are on a two-game losing streak that could continue as they face the Rockets and Thunder in their next two games, but unlike for tanking teams, those losses don't carry the same value.
Golden State fans have been exceptionally lucky over the past 11 years, winning four titles. It's not like this is a fan base starved for success, but that doesn't mean it makes anyone feel any better about the future. What would make them feel better would be adding a top young player in June, but the odds of that happening are very low.