On Friday, the Warriors managed to survive in the NBA In-Season Tournament.Golden State defeated the San Antonio Spurs 118–112 at Chase Center behind 35 points from Steph Curry to get to 2-1 in the In-Season Tournament.In the West Group C standings, the Warriors (2-1) are tied with the Timberwolves (2-1) and behind only the Kings (3-0). The Thunder (1-2) and Spurs (0-4) are out, and one of those three clubs will win Group C and move on to the In-Season Tournament playoffs.
The Warriors play the Kings at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday to complete their schedule for the In-Season Tournament. They need to defeat Sacramento in order to go to the quarterfinals. The Warriors can advance past the group stage in the following ways:
Kings fell to Warriors, and Timberwolves to Thunder
Both the Warriors and the Kings would have a 3-1 record, and Golden State would defeat Sacramento in the head-to-head In-Season Tournament tiebreaker.
Timberwolves defeat Thunder, Warriors defeat Kings.
The head-to-head records of the Timberwolves, Kings, and Warriors would all be 1-1, giving them a combined 3-1 record. The following tiebreakers would determine the champion of Group C: point differential during the group stage, total points earned during the group stage, 2022–23 regular-season record, and random drawing.
The Kings had the most point difference (plus-29) out of the three teams after three games, followed by the Warriors (plus-5) and Wolves (minus-3).
In Group C play, total points scored determines if the teams are still tied after accounting for point differential. The Warriors lead with 360 points, followed by the Kings (358) and Timberwolves (332).
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It is improbable that Golden State, the wild card in the Western Conference, will make it to the quarterfinals. In addition to the Timberwolves beating the Thunder, they would need to defeat the Kings, and Golden State would need to lose the Group C championship in a tiebreaker.
With a plus-34 point difference and the current wild-card position, the Phoenix Suns (3-1) are in position. It will be difficult for the Warriors to overcome that.
Quite easy, huh?
Whatever the case, it will be entertaining to watch Tuesday’s game at Golden 1 Center when Draymond Green returns from a five-game ban for a new chapter in the developing Warriors-Kings rivalry, one that could have consequences for the In-Season Tournament.
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