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The race for securing a playoff spot is intense in the Western Conference as the Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers are sitting in ninth and 10th place. Many are already convinced that both teams will be participating in the play-in tournament. But the other two teams are hindering their path.
Heading into Tuesday night's games, the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings are seventh and eighth, respectively.
However, Gilbert Arenas, who used to play for Golden State, is convinced that his former team and the Lakers will push past New Orleans and Sacramento and be in the playoffs. He said that the fanbases of both organizations will be a major factor.
"Relax, Golden State and Lakers are about to be in the playoffs," Arenas said. "The other two teams that got no fanbase. Get on out of here! ... That's TV. You'd rather have that than Pelicans?"
For the Warriors, they're in a tough situation as, should the standings not change before the regular season ends, they'd have to face the host Lakers in the first round of the play-in. The winner of that game will face whichever team loses between the Pelicans and the Kings. That last game will determine the final playoff spot, the eighth seed. (The winner of Pels-Kings would get the No. 7 seed.)
Warriors' playoff scenario
Hypothetically, if the Warriors secure a spot in the postseason, they'll have to face tough teams who have home-court advantage throughout their run. If they secure the eighth seed, the team will play against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are currently the best team in the West.
They have a shooting advantage against the Wolves, but their lack of size will be problematic. The series could also be a bit chippy as they had an intense altercation that led to Draymond Green getting ejected in less than two minutes of their first meeting this season.
Defensively, they'll have problems containing the Wolves' big men. Not only do they have to worry about Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, but Naz Reid will also be an obstacle. Also, there's Anthony Edwards, an unstoppable star on the rise.
If they land the seventh seed, they'll run into the defending champion Denver Nuggets. There's nothing much to say about this hypothetical matchup as the Nuggets are champions. They have size, shooting and intelligent defense.
Golden State's only advantage is that it has Steph Curry, and he can punish the perimeter defense. But it's also a disadvantage as the Nuggets could simply focus only on him on that end.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
