SAN FRANCISCO -- And then there were five, all without Steph Curry. That's the road the Warriors face to close out the regular season, all while the Western Conference standings keep tightening up for Golden State and a handful of other teams.
Curry on Friday was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a sprained ligament in his left foot. He hasn't played since March 16 and the Warriors have gone 1-6 since he has been out, including losing their last four straight. For the season, they're 3-10 without their superstar point guard.
The Warriors (48-29) received some major help from the Washington Wizards on Friday as they blew out the Dallas Mavericks (48-30), placing Golden State back in the No. 3 seed for the Western Conference. Saturday night's slate against the Utah Jazz (46-31), who currently are the No. 5 seed, is the best team the Warriors will face before the playoffs begin, and they're also their most-favorable matchup of teams they're likely to see in the first round.
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Aside from the Jazz, the Warriors also still have dates left with the Kings (29-49), Los Angeles Lakers (31-46), San Antonio Spurs (32-45) and New Orleans Pelicans (34-43). Those aren't exactly the cream of the crop of the NBA this season. The Warriors have gone 2-1 against the Jazz this season, 3-0 against the Kings, 2-1 against the Lakers, 1-2 against Gregg Popovich and the pesky Spurs and 1-1 against the surging Pelicans.
Despite the down records of the above teams, all four still have their eyes on the play-in tournament or better, and then the Jazz of course are looking to rise in the standings as well. The Warriors are only two-and-a-half games ahead of the No. 6-seeded Denver Nuggets, and that's the cut-off line to avoid the play-in tournament, a destination the Warriors fell flat in last season.
"We're shooting for the highest seed we can get," Steve Kerr said Friday to reporters. "We're trying to win every game, not at the expense of health. As far as concern, you got to play somebody. If we could shoot for a first-round bye, I'd be really concerned. But that's not the case. We're gonna play somebody.
"The main thing is being as healthy as possible and being in a good space mentally, spiritually, physically going into that first-round matchup -- no matter who we play."
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Kerr recently has admitted he checks scores around the league and stays up to date on the standings, just like the rest of us. Who can blame him? It's human nature at its simplest form in sports.
Warriors center Kevon Looney, however, says the standings and seedings aren't even mentioned among players. Not at all.
"It hasn't been hard for us at all," Looney said when I asked about trying to avoid scoreboard watching. "We've been sliding down, so we just need to focus on ourself and getting back to our ways. That's really been what we've been focusing on. Coming down the stretch, so much changes from day to day with the seedings. We're all so close.
"We haven't talked about it or focused on it. I don't know if the coaches have or the front office has, but as players, we're just trying to figure out how we can get some wins -- especially with Steph out."
Looney continued to push the notion that the Warriors feel they can play against anybody and beat anybody. That feeling only is heightened at full strength and with the head of the snake.
The Warriors' five opponents seem to be somewhat favorable, for the most part. The schedule as a whole, though, isn't. Golden State has faced an absurd amount of back-to-backs late in the season, and still have two to go. That means more rest for some key players, even in games that can determine the Warriors' path to the playoffs.
Klay Thompson hasn't played both games during back-to-backs since making his return in early January. Otto Porter Jr. hasn't for the most part as a veteran with a history of injuries. Draymond Green hasn't since making his return from a 31-game absence on March 14, and Andre Iguodala has been held to only 28 games and just recently returned from missing seven weeks to a back injury.
"It's TBD, but it's likely that we'll rest some guys," Kerr said when I asked about his plans for upcoming back-to-backs. "I think Klay and Andre, pretty much automatic -- just based on Klay's injury recovery and then Andre, with his age, we're not going to mess around.
"So those guys, it's almost automatic. I think the other two guys are more up in the air."
That means Klay and Iguodala likely will not play Sunday against the Kings, and if Kerr continues to rest them on the second day of a back-to-back, they also likely won't play in the regular-season finale in New Orleans. The status of Draymond and Porter is more up in the air.
FiveThirtyEight, as of this publishing, predicts the Warriors will finish the regular season with the third-best record in the West. But they have them tied with the Dallas Mavericks, who beat the Warriors three out of four times. That would make the Warriors the No. 4 seed and they would play the Jazz in the first round.
The Ringer's projections have the same results playing out too, with the Warriors and Mavericks each winning 51 games, but the Mavs being the higher seed.
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It's clear the Warriors' top priority, as it has been all season long, remains being as healthy as possible. Unfortunately for them, that hasn't been the case most of the time. Second on the list is earning the highest seed they can, followed by keeping home-court advantage in the first round as a top-four seed and finally making sure they avoid the play-in tournament.
Whatever the Warriors' fate might be, one thing also is clear: Curry believes his squad can beat any team in their way, and he fully expects to be there for the ride.
"Hopefully doing everything I can to get fully healthy, ready for a playoff run and that's what it's all about at this point in time," Curry said Friday in an exclusive interview with NBC Bay Area's Anthony Flores. "Being there for my teammates, trying to finish out the season strong and know that whoever we play in the playoffs, we'll be ready."