The Golden State Warriors are doing everything they can to try and fight and win games despite being banged up, but even with their best efforts they are still coming up short. The season is slipping away from them, and it's starting to look like their season will end in the most fitting way possible.
Golden State has slipped to the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference standings. They are still going to be in the Play-In tournament, but it is looking more and more like they are going to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the Play-In.
Warriors likely to have their season ended by the Trail Blazers
Portland is currently the No. 10 seed in the West but at 31-35, they are not far behind the 32-33 Warriors. It would not shock anyone if Portland was able to leapfrog the Warriors given the way the two teams are trending right now.
If the two teams do face off in a loser-go-home Play-In matchup, the Warriors may be out of luck. The two teams have faced off four times this season, and the Blazers emerged victorious in three out of those four meetings.
For optimists who might think, 'Well, the Warriors will have Stephen Curry back by the Play-In,' the Warriors lost their first three matchups against Portland this season even with Curry as their leading scorer. He put up 35, 38, and 48 points respectively in those three losses, proving that even when the 2x MVP puts on his Superman cape, the Warriors have still had trouble with that team.
To be fair, the Warriors did beat the Blazers in their most recent meeting back in January. Curry actually only scored seven points in that game, so perhaps the key to beating Portland is for the superstar guard to have an underwhelming performance by his standards.
Maybe the Warriors can get healthy at the right time and build a little momentum before the Play-In. It has been such a tough year with injuries and off-the-court drama with Jonathan Kuminga, and perhaps the Dubs can put all of that behind them and come together at just the right time.
It doesn't seem likely though. In many ways, losing to the Trail Blazers, a team the Warriors are superior to on paper, would be a fitting end to a disappointing season for the franchise. Fans can hope for the best, but things seem to be trending towards an early Play-In exit for Golden State.