The Warriors opened camp in September stating that their primary goal over the 82-game regular season was to post the best record in the league, gaining the No. 1 seed in the postseason and homecourt advantage throughout.
In the wake of Kevin Durant’s knee injury last week, that goal has to become secondary.
The top objective has to be for coach Steve Kerr to take a chapter from the Book of Pop and manage minutes so that his roster enters the postseason as healthy and energetic as possible, even if means losing the top seed.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs for 20 years, making the playoffs in all 20. He was won and lost championships as the top seed. He has won as a No. 3 seed. The 2010-11 Spurs earned the top seed in the Western Conference -- and were ousted by Memphis in the first round.
All of which has given Popovich perspective, and wisdom, as he explained last week when responding to a question about overtaking the Warriors.
"We don't try to catch anybody. We just play. We always have," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters last week in San Antonio.
"Where we end up, we end up."
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Pop figured out long ago that having the No. 1 seeding is nice, but vitality is far more essential to succeed in the two-month postseason. It guarantees nothing, but a fatigued team is doomed to fail.
This doesn’t mean Kerr, who acknowledged that the Spurs are “breathing down our necks,” should immediately set about sacrificing the top seed. Playing the 8-seed, regardless of who earns it, is an easier path than going through an Oklahoma City or a Memphis. Besides, the players want it, as do their fans. And it’s conceivable that even in their weakened state, the Warriors still could achieve it.
But its value has changed, been diminished.
Should the Warriors reach the conference finals and face the Spurs, a potential Game 7 in San Antonio wouldn’t pose quote the same risk as, say, a Game 7 in Cleveland the Warriors reach the NBA Finals.
And it was largely with Cleveland in mind that the Warriors initially set out to pursue the No. 1 seed.
Until a week ago, they were on track, holding a 4.5-game lead over the Spurs, who had the second-best record in the West, and an 8.5-game lead over the Cavaliers, who owned the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Much has changed since Durant went down. Though Cleveland remains well to the rear, 9.5 games back, the Spurs have gained two games -- and will be favored to slice it to one when they play host to the Warriors on Saturday.
It is conceivable Kerr would rest certain players in San Antonio. It would be judicious, to be sure. Shrewd even.
Andre Igoudala’s minutes have gone from roughly 26 per game to 31. Draymond Green averaged 38 minutes in the first three games without Durant before being limited to 30 on Monday due to foul trouble; he was averaging 32. Minutes have spiked for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Everybody is being asked to do more until Durant comes back, which the Warriors hope is early next month, though mid-April is more realistic.
Coming off a back-to-back set (New York, Atlanta), the Warriors have another (Minnesota, San Antonio) at the end of the week. They’ll have three more over the final month of the regular season, including a particularly daunting Houston-San Antonio double March 28-29.
It’s a given that Popovich will rest players as the schedule dictates. It likely will cost him a couple games. This is, in part, why the Warriors still have reasonable chance to retain the No. 1 seed.
But it’s not as crucial as it was five months ago. It’s now a luxury. If that means potentially facing a Game 7 in San Antonio, so be it.