No one expects the Golden State Warriors to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference this upcoming season. Still, they should at least factor into the Play-In picture and with some big developments in the West this offseason, it’s worth seeing where the Warriors now stand in the pecking order.
Last season, the Warriors limped into the Play-In as the No. 10 seed and faced the No. 9 seed Los Angeles Clippers. They won that game thanks to a vintage performance from their veterans, only to lose to the Phoenix Suns in the next Play-In game.
Warriors can still make playoffs in 2027
On paper, the Warriors should probably be around a .500 team next season. If everyone stayed healthy then it wouldn’t be crazy to think they could get close to winning 50 games, but with so many older players, injuries simply have to be factored into the equation. Still, they should leapfrog at least one team in the standings.
With all of the drama surrounding the Clippers this offseason stemming from shady dealings involving Kawhi Leonard, it’s fair to assume the Warriors should be better than them next season. Leonard is now back with the Toronto Raptors which means one less star player in the West.
So on paper, that should jump the Warriors up to the No. 9 seed. Then comes the Portland Trail Blazers who finished with a 42-40 record, the same as the Clippers. For whatever reason, Portland has given the Warriors trouble as of late and with Damian Lillard likely to be back from injury and Ja Morant now in the fold, that seems likely to only widen the gap between Golden State and Portland.
Lillard is 36 now so he could definitely spend a lot of time on the shelf and Morant is notoriously a loose cannon, but if those guys stay on the court and play up to their potential, there is no reason to think they can’t improve upon their results last season.
The Phoenix Suns entered the Play-In as the No. 7 seed with a 45-37 record, the inverse of Golden State’s record. The Suns are a solid team and they ended Golden State’s season, but if the Warriors are healthy they should be able to compete with them.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Warriors and Suns were competing for the No. 8 seed in the West heading into the Play-In next season. That’s a far cry from the days when the Warriors were the No. 1 seed in the conference, but that’s simply where they're at.
A good goal for the Warriors would probably be 45 wins and the No. 8 seed. That way they can afford to lose one Play-In game and they’ll still have an opportunity to make it to the playoffs by beating the winner of the game between the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds.
The championship days are likely over, but the Warriors are still going to play hard and try to win as long as Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr are in the fold. Expect them to fight even if they’re no longer a championship contender.
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