Another day of NBA basketball came and went Friday, and both the Warriors and Kings lost games that had major postseason implications.
With both Northern California teams locked into NBA Play-In Tournament spots, now the focus is on where Golden State and Sacramento will finish in the Western Conference standings when they play their regular-season finales Sunday, thus determining whom they'll face in the tourney and when.
The Warriors and Kings both fell in the standings Friday -- Golden State after its 114-109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center, and Sacramento following a 108-107 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center. The Los Angeles Lakers (46-35) defeated the Memphis Grizzlies to jump from No. 10 to No. 8.
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So, the Kings (45-36) now are the No. 9 seed, down from No. 8 before the loss, and the Warriors (45-36) fell from No. 9 back to No. 10.
If the season ended now, here's how the West's play-in bracket would look, via NBA.com:
The Kings and Warriors would face off as the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds, respectively, with the winner advancing to face the Suns-Lakers winner and the loser going home. From there, either the Kings or Warriors could advance to play the No. 1 seed -- currently the Oklahoma City Thunder -- in an NBA first-round playoff series with another win.
Golden State Warriors
As far as when the games would take place, the 7-vs-8 game would be Tuesday, the 9-vs-10 game Tuesday or Wednesday and the 7-8 loser vs. 9-10 winner game Friday, with the 2024 NBA playoffs scheduled to start Saturday.
The Warriors and Kings still both have a chance to grab the West's No. 8 seed, but there's no denying that a rematch of last season's epic first-round playoff series, which Golden State won in seven, would be a play-in game to remember.
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