On April 17, Beijing time, the NBA play-offs officially began. In a Western Conference matchup that just ended, the Warriors lost to the Kings away and officially missed out on qualifying for this season's NBA playoffs.
The Warriors fell into a nine-point deficit in the first quarter today, and they have been in a state of passive chasing points, trailing by as many as 16 points at most. The Warriors tried to chase down points in the final quarter of the game, but were unable to win on the road because they were too far behind. Curry had 22 points, Thompson was 0-of-10 from the field, Wiggins had 12 points and Kuminga had 15 points and seven rebounds.
With the Warriors losing today, they are certain to miss out on this season's playoffs. It should be noted that no team in the West has ever won two consecutive games to advance to the playoffs, and the Warriors were once expected to create miracles, but they suffered a defeat in the first game and said goodbye to the season early.
In addition, unlike James, who led the Lakers to win all three of their play-in games, Curry and the Warriors had a dismal playoff record, becoming the first team in history to lose three play-in games with an overall record of 0-3.
At the same time, given the Warriors' illustrious past, as well as their current struggles. A loss could well mean that the Warriors are about to rebuild this summer. Ahead of today's game, renowned commentator Nick Wright predicted, "I think there's less than 12 hours left before Curry, Dream, and Klay team up for the final game." Although Thompson has denied this, it does seem to be a trend at the moment.
The Warriors have been arguably the most successful team in the NBA over the past 10 years, reaching the Finals five years in a row starting in 2014-15 and winning three championships. In the last five seasons, the Warriors won the championship again in 2022 and missed out on making the playoffs for the third time this season, two of which were eliminated in the playoffs.
After such a failed season, what changes will the Warriors make this summer?