The opponent of the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs is the Kings, although the Warriors are not as ranked as the Kings and have no home court advantage, but public opinion is generally optimistic that the Warriors will advance. Tim Kawakami, a reporter accompanying the American media The Athletic, wrote an article explaining how much impact would be if the Warriors were out of the first round, saying that the Warriors' operation may be younger, and heavy box office losses will affect management's input.
1. The Warriors will have more motivation to operate younger
Before the trade deadline, the Warriors sent new star James Wiseman in exchange for Gary Payton Jr., a deal that has many benefits for the Warriors, but this deal does not make the Warriors taller and younger, the deal is just to ensure that Curry's peak is not wasted.
The Warriors made this trade for the present, not the future, and Payton Jr. can definitely help the Warriors, but if the Warriors are out of the first round, perhaps the Warriors will conclude that they are not just one player away from winning the championship. If the Warriors really think that way, then they want to get more young players, not veterans.
Assuming the Warriors are out of the first round, Curry will definitely be on the team next season, Wiggins and Looney will also be there, and maybe Thompson and Poole will stay, but they may not stay together.
Draymond Green's stay is a question mark, and the Warriors also have young players such as Kuminga, Moody, Baldwin and others. If Green leaves, will this roster be enough to get the Warriors into the playoffs? Maybe no problem. But unless the Warriors can get Green's perfect stand-in, they won't be able to compete for a championship. And if the Warriors can't compete for a championship, their roster could be torn apart.
2. Heavy box office losses affecting offseason investment
According to calculations, the total box office of each home game in the first and second rounds of the Warriors playoffs is $7 million, of which the profit is $2 million. By the Western Conference Finals, a home stadium grossed $10 million and made $4 million in profits. By the time of the finals, the total box office of a home stadium was almost $20 million, and the profit was $6 million.
So let's do the math:
If the Warriors can play at least 6 games against the Kings in the first round, so that the Warriors can play 3 home games, the box office profit is $6 million. If the Warriors stop in the first round, their box office profit will be $6 million at most.
If the Warriors can make it to the second round and play at least 6 games, that would give them another $6 million in box office profits, which would add up to $12 million in the first two rounds.
If the Warriors reach the Western Conference Finals and play at least 6 games, the box office profit for the Warriors single-round series is $12 million.
If the Warriors reach the Finals and play at least 6 games, the box office profit for the Warriors Finals is $18 million.
That is to say, if the Warriors reach the Finals and play at least 6 games per series, their box office profit is $42 million, which is very important for the Warriors who invest a lot of money. A few months ago, Warriors owner Lacob emphasized that the Warriors are now under a lot of financial pressure and that only going far in the playoffs can ease the pressure. If the Warriors are out of the first round this year, the intense pressure could cause the Warriors to shrink their monetary base in the offseason, which means Green, DiVincenzo, general manager Miles, and one of Thompson and Poole could leave.
The Warriors don't want to end a good era this way, and if the Warriors want to keep the story going, they'll have to do their best to go further in the playoffs.