As the Golden State Warriors attempt to contend yet again in the Western Conference, it could prove extremely difficult to force their way into the top six in order to secure a bona-fide playoff spot.
With their brutal defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers in their last game of the regular season, the Warriors were stuck in the play-in despite their excellent stretch of play to close out their campaign, and now the team must yet again face a brutal stretch of matchups to finish off their 2025-26 season.
In addition to matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State must yet again face off against the Clippers in their final game of the regular season, a troubling sign that old demons could come back to haunt them.
Warriors are slated for a rough final stretch of the regular season
After months in which the Warriors were mired in mediocrity and sat largely on the fringe of the play-in last season, their acquisition of Jimmy Butler turned things around entirely.
Yet, despite their 23-8 hot streak following his arrival to the team, brutal losses to both the Clippers the San Antonio Spurs in the final week of the season caused them to fall into the play-in: an outcome which resulted in a brutal first-round matchup against the two-seed Houston Rockets.
Although the Warriors won that series, the physical Rockets wore down their stars over the course of seven games, resulting in their eventual demise at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Now, as they enter the same gauntlet yet again, those final games of the regular season could be more meaningful than ever.
Last season, the Warriors went 1-3 against the Lakers, 0-4 against the Clippers and 0-2 against the Cavaliers, signaling that the final six games of the 2025-26 season will yet again be a tough stretch for the team.
However, there are still two saving graces. The first is that Golden State will not need to travel outside of California for any of their games in April, meaning that they will get some much-needed rest before a possible playoff run.
Secondly, two of their last six games are against the Sacramento Kings, who look to be even more disjointed this season form a standpoint of roster construction and held a record of 2-2 against the Warriors last season.
Nevertheless, as fans look ahead and speculate about the tougher or easier stretches of next season, it is difficult not to be concerned about what could happen if Golden State has not secured their playoff seeding before this final stretch.