Wednesday's 120-99 loss to the Boston Celtics served as evidence that the Golden State Warriors' fate is now settled: they'll be in the Play-In tournament come April. And Steve Kerr has come to grips with it:
"We're gonna be in the Play-In, we know that, one way or the other. So we gotta prepare," said Kerr postgame.
The biggest question is whether they can make a push for the 8th seed, a spot that would give them two shots at punching a playoff ticket. Wednesday’s loss caused the Warriors to slip to the 10th seed, half a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers. With 13 games to go and without holding the tiebreaker over the teams they are chasing — the Blazers and Clippers — the Warriors must string together wins.
Reasons for optimism on offense, questions on defense
The game of basketball generally boils down to one factor: who can make the most shots. In Boston, the Warriors could not take the lid off the basket. They hit just 10 of their 43 three-point attempts and shot a meager 40% from the field.
While the percentages were unimpressive, the Warriors came through in basically every other category. They turned the ball over a reasonable 14 times, scored 44 points in the paint against the league’s best paint defense, capitalized on their extra effort on the glass by adding 28 second-chance points, and forced Boston — which entered the game as the league’s lowest-turnover team at 12.3 per game — to cough it up 16 times, leading to 16 points off those miscues.
"I thought we did a lot of things well offensively, got a lot of good looks. It was just a night when shots didn't go down. We gotta be a lot better defensively, some gameplan mistakes early. We have to be prepared for when we get guys back, once Steph's back, Moses and Al," assessed Kerr postgame.
The Celtics got off to a hot start, outscoring the Warriors 36-23 in the opening frame, with Jaylen Brown erupting for 19 points in the first 12 minutes on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. Golden State never recovered from that early punch.
Draymond Green, however, kept Brown (32 points) in check after his early scoring burst. He switched onto him after the first quarter, and held him to just 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting the rest of the way.
But Boston’s offense ended up being too much for this Warriors defense. The Celtics shot 47.8% from the floor, 14-of-39 from deep, and 18-of-19 from the free-throw line. Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 56 points, while the Warriors’ starters mustered just 52.
The Warriors are begging for lineup stability
The Warriors rolled with their 36th different starting lineup this season and their 13th in a row, trailing only the Memphis Grizzlies for the longest streak this season.
Kristaps Porzingis got his second start as a Warrior in his return to Boston, where he won a championship in 2023-24. He received a big ovation during lineup introductions and was given a nice tribute video after the first quarter. The big man finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks, though he shot just 4-of-13 from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line.
"I still got a good way to go, but I would say 60%, for me it's like really high. I'm already now where I can contribute decently but give me four or five more games and I'll be pretty close to really good shape. According to my overall feel, I know I know I'm headed in the right direction", Porzingis said postgame on how he felt out on the floor.
Gary Payton II has repeatedly shown he can be a factor when it matters most. On Wednesday, he recorded his sixth straight double-figure game, chipping in 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in 21 minutes. He's provided a steady boost off the bench over his last nine games, averaging 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals on 58.9% shooting in that span.
Steve Kerr still believes that, once at full strength, the Warriors have what it takes be a threat. "When Steph’s back and Moses and Al. If we’re prepared when we get back, we can do some damage, we can go on a run," he said postgame.
Injury updates
Curry, who is on the trip but hasn't played since Jan. 30, continues to ramp up. He went through a 30-minute shooting workout with Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser and will be reevaluated on March 21. While both Seth Curry (adductor) and Al Horford (calf) are expected to be reevaluated next week, Moody's return timeline remains unclear. He's been out since March 2nd after suffering a wrist injury against the Clippers.
The Warriors will be in Detroit on Friday and in Atlanta on Saturday as part of their 14th back-to-back set of the season.