The Golden State Warriors have been banged up all season, but with Stephen Curry returning recently, making the playoffs is still certainly a possibility.
The Warriors (37-42) are essentially locked into the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference with three games left in the regular season. They'll have to win two games in the Play-In tournament to qualify as the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Their reward would be facing the dominant Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Golden State has been hampered by injuries to their stars - Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in January, Curry missed 27 consecutive games from late January to early April, Kristaps Porzingis has only played in 13 games after being acquired in early February, and Moses Moody suffered a gruesome knee injury two weeks ago, leaving him out for the rest of the season.
Despite all the terrible injury luck, the Play-In will give the Warriors an opportunity to ultimately still compete for a championship. Curry and Porzingis are seemingly healthy, and the duo is deadly on paper.
Golden State hung tough with the No. 5 seeded Houston Rockets on Sunday, falling 117-116 - a positive sign that they can compete with the top Western Conference teams with Curry healthy.
If the standings stay the way they are with three-to-four games remaining for every team, Golden State will have to beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the 9/10 matchup in the Play-In, before playing the loser of the Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers 7/8 game. Both games will be on the road, but with Curry on the court, nothing is out of the realm.
What are the odds for the Golden State Warriors to make the playoffs?
The Golden State Warriors are +310 to win both Play-In games and qualify for the 2026 NBA Playoffs, implying a 24% chance of making it. They are +20000 to come of the Western Conference and +40000 to win it all.
The Warriors will close with a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, and a couple road games against the Sacramento Kings and the Clippers. Only time will tell if Curry, Porzingis, Draymond Green, and co. can gain some momentum heading into the Play-In.
All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
