The Golden State Warriors' situation admittedly feels dire. They've lost three in a row and seven of their last 10 games. They currently sit in the ninth seed in the Western Conference, just a game and a half ahead of the 10th-seed Portland Trail Blazers.
Stephen Curry will not return for at least a few more games, and the ongoing nature of his injury leaves no definitive timetable for him to come back to action. To say the least, it's a frustrating time to be a Warriors fan.
But we've done plenty of naysaying over the past couple of months. Wasting away one of the final seasons of Curry's career will certainly cause that. But there's reason for hope for this season on a smaller scale.
Curry should return, and Golden State has a very real shot to force their way out of the Play-In tournament when he does.
The Warriors' season isn't truly over— at least not yet
The lack of a definitive timeline for Curry is frustrating, and there's certainly a world in which the Warriors must consider holding him out for the remainder of the season. Why risk something so weighty for a team whose ceiling is likely a first-round exit?
But the reality is that, while the team is being ultra-cautious in Curry's return to action, there's no way he or the Warriors are willing to entirely waste one of the only seasons left in the legend's career.
Golden State is locked into the play-in, and it seems more and more likely they'll be playing for the eight-seed by the day. The Los Angeles Clippers are surging, and they have a game in hand on the Warriors. This would mean that, even with Curry back, Golden State would need to win two consecutive play-in games to even make it to the first round.
That's a tall task. The first of these would be against the Portland Trail Blazers, however, who are floundering in their own right. They've gone 4-6 in their last 10 games, and the only thing saving them from being out of the picture entirely is the state of the tanking teams below them in the standings. They're 23rd in offensive rating and 18th in defensive rating this season.
If the Warriors are able to beat Portland, neither the Clippers nor the Phoenix Suns would be an insurmountable challenge. Los Angeles has been formidable lately, but they have their own age and health issues that could make them vulnerable were they to need two play-in games.
The Suns, meanwhile, have not yet set a definite timeline for the return of Dillon Brooks. In a one-game matchup, Golden State would almost certainly be able to match their physicality and offensive aggression.
Of course winning both of these games would likely net them a first-round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs. But, considering the way this season has gone, would valuable playoff experience for the team's young pieces be the worst way for things to end?
As long as Curry is around, Golden State has something to play for.