How the Warriors can advance in the in-season tournament with a win against Kings
The Warriors can win their group, but will be scoreboard watching in Sacramento
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Warriors have a chance to win their in-season tournament group and advance to the quarterfinals despite a six-game losing streak, suspensions, and disarray.
The odds aren’t bad, but they must win the final group-play game. The Warriors will win Group C if they defeat the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier that day. If Minnesota defeats Oklahoma City, the Warriors will need to defeat the Kings by a large margin to win a three-way tiebreaker over Sacramento and Minnesota, as all three would be 3-1 in group play.
“It’ll be entertaining. It was a lot of fun. “The atmosphere, the excitement, the angst will be similar to Game 7,” said Draymond Green, who returns from a five-game suspension for Tuesday’s game. “The feeling I’m expecting is that i’ll feel like a Game 7.”
The Warriors have a plus-5 point differential heading into Tuesday’s games, the Kings have a plus-29 differential, and the Timberwolves have a minus-5 differential. To overtake the Phoenix Suns for a wild-card spot, the Warriors would need to blow out the Kings by 30 points or more. If the Warriors lose, they will not advance and will instead have two additional games added to their regular-season schedule.
After the first quarter of their game against the Kings, the Warriors will know the outcome of the Thunder-Timberwolves game. Staff will also be checking scores in order to adjust their thinking.
The motivation for advancing and winning the tournament is partly to win the first-ever in-season tournament, but mostly to provide some extra cash to some of the players who do not have big contracts. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and others want to win for the sake of their young players. Coaches on the winning team will also be compensated.
“I’ve heard a few players say it, and I believe it’s true. “Our vets would love to win so that the younger guys can get a good chunk of money,” Kerr said after practice on Sunday. “That’s true. Obviously, it doesn’t mean as much to the guys who are set for life and incredibly wealthy, but much of the NBA is made up of young guys who will only be here for a year or two on a non-guaranteed basis.”
Eight teams will receive $50,000 per player if they advance to the quarterfinals. The tournament winner receives $500,000, while the runners-up receive $200,000 each, as well as a trip to Las Vegas.
