The Golden State Warriors failed to capitalize on a significant opportunity to bolster their seeding when they fell to the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday Night.
Ironically, Harrison Barnes, the Warriors’ former No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, delivered the game-winning shot.
At 48-33, the Warriors are the No. 6 seed in a loaded Western Conference with just one game remaining. Although tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors hold the tiebreaker.
The Warriors close out their season by hosting the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday afternoon.
Steve Kerr sends worrying message
It remains to be seen as to which seed the Warriors will end up with, but they control their own destiny.
A win against the Clippers guarantees them a top-six spot in the West.
Perhaps more importantly, they would get to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
However, Steve Kerr doesn’t believe the team is playing its best basketball right now. That’s concerning, as the NBA Playoffs are roughly a week away, less if the Warriors indeed have to play in the play-in tournament.
“We have to pass the ball better. We have to space better,” Kerr said following their win over the Portland Trail Blazers. “We have to develop a rhythm. We were in a better place, I think, a few weeks ago.
“We were playing with more rhythm, more flow and two-way connection and we have to get back to that. The last couple of weeks have been a little choppy.
Kerr was asked if those factors have caused him to worry with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
“It’s my job to worry about that,” Kerr said with a smile. “I have to address that and hopefully we can find that rhythm on Sunday, take care of business and then it will be great to actually practice for a few days.
“It’s a rare occurrence that anybody gets to practice anymore, and we need some.”
The season has been a roller coaster ride for the Warriors this season. They got out to an incredibly strong start and were the No. 1 seed through the first month, but fell as far as the No. 12 seed.
The trade for Jimmy Butler revitalized the team and they quickly ascended up the West standings.
While the Warriors aren’t in danger of missing the playoffs altogether, the last thing a team with this many veterans on it wants is to have to play extra games like the play-in.
