The Golden State Warriors appear to be destined to finish as the #10 seed in the West, barring a shakeup during the final week of the season. But despite being in the final playoff spot in the conference, the team actually has a better record than they did through 78 games last season, when they finished as the 6th seed. And according to their head coach Steve Kerr, they are a better all around team in 2024.
Warriors Have Won 24 Of Their Last 35 Games
Postseason bound ✔️
The Warriors have clinched a top-10 seed in the Western Conference. pic.twitter.com/71jvmMoi4C
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 7, 2024
Things started off rocky for the Warriors. Due to key pieces missing time to injuries and suspensions, and a lack of production from the role players early on, the team was 5 games under .500 near the end of January, and their playoff hopes were in serious jeopardy.
But there have been few teams in the NBA that have been better since the start of February. Golden State is 24-11 in their last 35 games, with only the Dallas Mavericks playing better basketball over that span, and have won seven of their last eight heading into the final week of the regular season.
Kerr Says This Team Better Than Last Year’s
Reporter: “Are you a better team than last year?”
Steve Kerr: ” We’re definitely a better team than last year. Better two-way basketball, better chemistry, better vibes… I still believe that we can be something special.” 🗣️
(via @NBCSWarriors)pic.twitter.com/VctOLyifVZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 8, 2024
Still, with all of that winning, the Warriors are still Play-In Tournament bound, and might need to win two elimination games in order to qualify for the rest of the postseason. That hasn’t stopped Kerr from believing, though, as he said in a press conference on Monday that this year’s version of the team is better than the one that won a tough first round playoff series last season:
Oh yeah, we’re definitely a better team. Better two-way basketball, better connection, better chemistry, there’s a much better vibe with this team. So I still believe firmly believe that we can do something special.
Kerr went on to say that the road will be more difficult this time around, and acknowledged that the Warriors would likely have to play one, if not two Play-In games in order to move on.
Through 78 games, Golden State has a 43-35 record, which is two games better than the 41-37 mark they had a year ago. The Western Conference is that much more competitive this year, though, as the team in the 10th spot at this time last year had a losing record.
The 2022-23 version of the Warriors took down the tough Sacramento Kings in a memorable seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs before losing to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
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