This season's NBA Western Conference can be described as fierce competition, the first and second place Thunder Nuggets have exactly the same record, and the third place Timberwolves are only one win behind them. The fourth and fifth Clippers and the Mavericks are only one win apart, and the Suns and Pelicans behind them also have exactly the same record. The 9th and 10th ranked Kings and Warriors also have the same record, and only 1 win behind the Lakers, and more importantly, the Warriors and Kings are tied 2-2 this season, and the Warriors are only ranked lower because they are not as good as the Kings against opponents in the same division.
Warriors reap the reward!
The Warriors are in an awkward position this season, they are 10th in the division with the best record in history, but despite this, the Warriors still have to face the difficult situation of winning two consecutive life-and-death games to qualify for the playoffs, and the Warriors are playing away from home in both games. However, the Warriors are actually mentally prepared in advance, and when they lose to the Pelicans, the Warriors understand the fact that they will most likely be in the bottom half of the play-offs, and there is a good chance that they will not have any home-court advantage. Under this premise, the opponent faced in the play-offs is the situation that the Warriors are most concerned about.
The Kings certainly won't have a suspense over the Trail Blazers, but it's clear that the Warriors would prefer to meet the Kings in the playoffs rather than the Lakers, who eliminated them in the playoffs last season and were subsequently eliminated by the Lakers. On the other hand, everyone also knows that when they meet the Kings and Lakers (provided that they are all healthy), the Warriors and Kings have always been inseparable, and every game is bitten to the end, which has nothing to do with whose home game it is in. In the face of the Lakers, although the Warriors have killed their opponents three times this season, in these three games, the Lakers either do not have James or have thick eyebrows, and when the two of them are healthy, the only matchup, the Warriors lose at home, this is the gap. Obviously, when the Lakers beat the Pelicans 124-108 on the road, the Warriors are sure to meet the Kings in the first round of the play-offs, which is undoubtedly a big gift when they are sure to play in the play-in tournament, and it can increase the Warriors' chances of breaking through.
Curry may stage a Jedi counterattack!
I believe many people remember Curry's performance in the first-round series last season, when he scored 50 points in a single game and led the team to the following score on the home court of the Kings. This time, Curry will hopefully be able to repeat that kind of play in the same arena. First of all, the Kings collapsed in the final stage, which allowed them to slip from the top 6 in the West all the way to the 9th in the West, which is inseparable from the injuries of Monk and Huerter, and the Kings have completely lost a trustworthy and capable player at the No. 2 position. Moreover, with both Monk and Huerter certain that they will not play in the play-offs, the Warriors will face a weaker roster than last season's Kings.
On the Warriors' side, from a record point of view, they actually played a better regular season record than last season, and this is still a performance played when Wiggins and Looney declined, and Green was suspended several times in a row. To put it bluntly, this season's Warriors are better than last season, and their overall form is better. What's more, Curry has been given many opportunities to rotate during this time, he has missed the team's game against the Jazz twice, and the Warriors have won both games, especially in the last closing game, Curry sat on the sidelines easily, but the Kings were a life-and-death battle, and finally played with the Suns. Despite playing away from home in the play-offs, the Warriors are the team that has the upper hand in terms of fitness, lineup and form.
The Warriors have a chance to make history!
In the three years since the play-offs were established, the six 10th-ranked teams in the East and West have never had a chance to qualify for the playoffs, but the Warriors do have hope of breaking that history this season. On the one hand, they have exactly the same record as the Kings, so looking at it, the Warriors and Kings are actually comparable, and the Kings are going downhill, and the Warriors have been in very good form lately. Once the Warriors make it to the second round of the play-offs, then anything can happen, regardless of whether the opponent is the Lakers or the Pelicans, the Warriors only need to focus on themselves, as long as Kerr doesn't make trouble, the Warriors have a chance to break into the playoffs, and the chance is not small.