The Warriors have 18 games remaining in the regular season. After their latest loss — their eighth in the past 10 games — Stephen Curry sounded alarm bells, saying a “losing spirit” has been creeping into the team.
“We cannot give in to this losing spirit of finding different ways to lose basketball,” Curry said. “The clock will tick out on you and you’ll go into the summer thinking what could’ve been, what should’ve been. Have regrets. I don’t want to let us get into that vibe. Obviously, 18 games left, we have to figure out how to turn things around pretty quick.”
As of Monday, before GSW’s game in Denver in which Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson will sit, the Warriors remain in second place in the West — behind the Phoenix Suns. But Golden State has to hold off the impressive Memphis Grizzlies if they want to keep the 2-seed. Just over one month remains in the regular season for the Warriors to regain their early-season form.
| Team | W | L |
| 1. Phoenix Suns | 51 | 13 |
| 2. Golden State Warriors | 43 | 21 |
| 3. Memphis Grizzlies | 44 | 22 |
| 4. Utah Jazz | 40 | 23 |
| 5. Dallas Mavericks | 39 | 25 |
| 6. Denver Nuggets | 38 | 26 |
Under the current playoff format, the top six teams in the conference make the playoffs, while teams seeded seven through 10 compete in play-in games to face the top two seeds. The most likely play-in teams are the Timberwolves, Clippers, Lakers and Pelicans.
As of Monday, March 7, the Warriors and Grizzlies are each eight games out of first place, jockeying for second place.
According to Tankathon, the Warriors have the ninth-hardest remaining schedule. They have two games against Denver — including Monday night — as well as tilts against Phoenix, Milwaukee, Miami and Utah. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have the fifth-easiest remaining schedule; their upcoming opponents have a combined .483 winning percentage.
The game to circle on the calendar is March 28, when the Warriors travel to Memphis. By then, it’s possible Draymond Green and James Wiseman are back in the lineup. The Warriors are 1-2 against the Grizzlies so far this season, including an overtime loss on Oct. 28.
That March 28 showdown could decide each team’s playoff seeding fate since they’re so close in records. FiveThirtyEight projects Memphis to finish in second place in the West with a 54-28 record — one more win than Golden State.
One important consideration that will rise to the top of mind of Warriors fans in the coming weeks: which seed gives Golden State the best chance of winning a title?
Right now, according to Zach Kram of The Ringer, the most likely West seedings peg the Warriors as the 3-seed with a first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. In that scenario, the second-seeded Grizzlies would face the winner of the play-in game between the Clippers and Timberwolves.
If the Clippers get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back from injury, the Warriors would benefit from avoiding them. But the same could be said for Denver, who could get a boost from Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr..
The final stretch of the NBA season has arrived. Whether Memphis overtakes Golden State for the 2-seed should remain a secondary concern for the Warriors, who need to focus everything they can on getting healthy and fixing a once-elite defense that’s cratered since February.