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The Golden State Warriors held out Steph Curry and Draymond Green on Sunday against the Utah Jazz to focus on the Play-In tournament. Without the two, the "Dubs" emerged with a 123-116 win but remained in the 10th spot in the West as the Sacramento Kings also won. Since the Kings own the tiebreaker, the Warriors could only move up if they end up with a better record than their opponents.
The Bay Area team has to be thankful the NBA introduced the highly successful pre-playoff format a few years ago. Otherwise, they would have been forced into a long vacation. The Play-In has kept their hopes flickering for another postseason run.
In his podcast, Draymond Green had this to say about the competition that will determine the No. 7 and 8 seeds in both conferences:
“I hate the Play-In [tournament]. I absolutely hate it [but] it is the best thing ever created. When you look at the play-in and what it’s done for basketball, it’s the best thing ever created.
“The Play-In is insane! ... I hate the Play-In, I especially hate being the 10th seed. But as much as I hate it, as a basketball player, as a basketball fan, this Play-In is nuts and you gotta love it.”
The league wanted to prevent teams from tanking so one of the innovations they introduced was the Play-In tournament in 2021. LeBron James was so against it that he said, “Whoever came up with that s**t needs to be fired.”
The remark has bitten “King James” roughly over the past years. The LA Lakers were relegated to the Play-In tournament in 2021 where they lost to Draymond Green and the "Dubs". James and his teammates fell to the same fate last year but managed to reach the Western Conference Finals.
This year, two of the NBA’s marquee teams are in the said competition. The Lakers would have outrightly made it to the playoffs as they are No. 8 but the Warriors would have been sent packing early.
Draymond Green is confident Warriors will beat Kings
Last season, the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Sacramento Kings on the road in a rip-roaring Game 7. The "Dubs" needed a Steph Curry 50-point masterpiece to beat the No. 3 ranked team in the West. They will have to follow the same script to survive the initial round of the Play-In tournament.
Draymond Green had this to say after the Warriors’ practice leading into the showdown with the Kings:
“We just got to go win. When this team’s back is against the wall, I like how this group shows up.”
Green added that games between the two teams have created a rivalry. The Warriors’ defensive lynchpin was in the thick of controversy in the playoffs last season after he stomped on Kings center Domantas Sabonis’ chest.
Draymond Green doesn’t love the Play-In tournament but he and the Golden State Warriors have to embrace it. If they don’t take advantage of the opportunity, they will be relegated to spectators when the 2024 NBA playoffs begin.
Guess the Lakers players!
