The Golden State Warriors have a gauntlet in front of them over the next week or so, with the franchise set to face four of their biggest rivals in a battle for Western Conference playoff positioning.
The Warriors have been on fire since acquiring Jimmy Butler and are attempting to ride their hot streak to prime playoff seeding. Right now, they are avoiding the Play-In Tournament, but things are so tight, however, that just a couple of losses could drop them multiple spots in the standings. This is exactly why the Golden State's championship chances could rest in their next four games.
The Warriors’ remaining schedule looks daunting
Golden State currently sit in the sixth-seed in the Western Conference playoff race with a record of 43-31. They trail the fifth-seeded Grizzlies by only half a game and the fourth-seeded Lakers by 2.5. The Warriors also have only one less loss than the Timberwolves and Clippers, both who are eyeing the sixth-seed. This tight cluster shows just how fierce the competition for higher seeding will be as the season winds down.
According to Tankathon, the Warriors have the 10th-most difficult remaining schedule. This makes sense when you realize their next four games are all against teams above them in the Western Conference standings. They will face the Grizzlies, Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets over the next few days.
How Golden State fare in these games could ultimately decide their playoff fate and championship hopes. If the Warriors can lock up the fifth or sixth-seed (or even fourth!) with a nice winning streak, their path to a championship becomes much more reasonable. Having to go through the Play-In Tournament would put unnecessary miles and stress on a team that is dying to take off under the bright lights of the playoffs.
Avoiding the Play-In Tournament and grabbing a higher seed aren’t all that is at stake over these next few games. The Warriors’ tough stretch of games could show them if they really are the contenders they think they are following the addition of Butler.
Despite going 18-5 since acquiring Butler, Golden State still have almost no wins against the healthy versions of the elite teams in the league. Beating some of the best teams in the West in games with playoff implications would be huge for the Warriors' confidence entering the playoffs.
They also will get a glimpse at who they’ll need to beat if they want to return to the NBA Finals. So keep an eye on the next four Warriors games -- they could have much more meaning than just wins and losses.