As the NBA regular season comes to a close, teams in the Western Conference are looking at some important decisions. These decisions will be just as important to their playoff journeys. For the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns, this is a particularly profound inflection point. Significant shifts in their strategic direction and personnel are coming soon.
Yet the Warriors will be hit with a severe crisis if they slide past the sixth seed in the current West standings. After all, the stakes have never been higher! With just a week remaining before their first round of the playoffs, this is the time to do it. If they fall into a lower seed, they’d be hit with the worst punishment of all, being required to play in the play-in tournament. Such a situation would not only make their path to the playoffs more difficult. Second, they would have to fight a much tougher fight.
If they were able to lock down a top seed, it would give the Warriors the luxury of time to get their best players in shape. If they don’t, they could find themselves up against the league’s best team in the first round. Whatever the merits of their proposal, that’s an outcome they surely would want to avoid. This Coach JJ Redick made clear this wish, “We would like to be in the top four.”
Warriors at a Crossroads
The Warriors too are very well aware of what this means for their future. Falling out of the top six seeds would put them in the play-in tournament — a potential disaster with little margin for error. Teams that have this much difficulty getting into the playoffs face added burdens. They will only win one game and their playoff position secures.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the darlings of the league with rising stars such as Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Meeting them in a first-round matchup would be especially intimidating. On the court, the Thunder have quickly become one of the league’s best teams. Since March, they are third in the league in offensive efficiency, behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics.
If the Warriors can maintain their position in the standings, they could use the additional week to rest and strategize, ensuring their star players are at peak performance when they finally hit the court for playoff action.
Suns Consider Kevin Durant’s Future
At the same time, the Phoenix Suns face a potential turning point in the future of their franchise with superstar Kevin Durant. With Durant set to turn 37 just after the start of next season. With a big contract of $55 million in 2024, the Suns need to do their diligence. They still have to decide if moving him now is the right call for the team’s long-term success.
Even that simple a decision to trade Durant has plenty of complications. The Suns hope to get back a “beautiful package” of players and draft capital. They’re working on a trade to facilitate that. Flexibility is certainly the nature of the franchise as they remain in survival mode during this pivotal moment.
If they decide to move Durant, they could face a dilemma between acquiring what they want versus settling for what they need. This decision is part of a bigger narrative underlining the difficulty in constructing a championship caliber roster while still allowing themselves financial flexibility going forward.
The Race for Playoff Positioning
With the playoffs just around the corner, Western Conference teams are stepping up their scouting game. They’re looking to get ready for possible tournament opponents down the road. Winning the first-round opponents lottery might be the highest priority, as teams want to set themselves up for the best chance at success.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, is poised to win the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They have some of the highest offensive skill abilities in the game which makes them a powerhouse competitor. Their recent surge has been indispensable in raising the overall competitive floor of this team.
The pressure mounts with every game as these two contenders head into the final stretch and compete for position within the playoff bracket. Their decisions will greatly affect their current seasons. Moreover, those decisions will dictate their fates in a league landscape that is changing by the season.
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