Steph Curry will lead the Golden State Warriors on Friday night against the Sacramento Kings. The NBA’s all-time leading three-point scorer has played in the Warriors’ last 16 games after a left leg injury sidelined him for nearly a month.
The two-time MVP played in the Bay Area team’s crucial 136-125 victory over the OKC Thunder on Tuesday. He played 37 minutes and finished with 32 points, five rebounds and six assists.
•
Curry is expected to spearhead the Golden State Warriors’ goal of finishing the season strong and earning an outright playoff spot.
In his last 16 games since returning from a leg injury, Steph Curry has averaged 29.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He is also shooting 48.2% from the field, including 42.3% from behind the arc.
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors need to win their next two games to hold their own against the LA Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.
The sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors (42-38) are just one game ahead of the LA Lakers (41-39) and New Orleans Pelicans (41-39). Golden State needs to finish the regular season with a better record than the Lakers since LA owns the series playoff (3-1).
If the Warriors go 1-1 in their remaining games and the Lakers sweep theirs, LeBron James’ team will earn the coveted sixth seed.
The same scenario will happen to the defending NBA champions in reference to the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans will continue by virtue of the tiebreaker.
The Warriors and Pelicans have each won two games in the head-to-head series, but New Orleans finishes ahead due to a superior conference record. Golden State would finish with a 29-23 win-loss slate in the West, while New Orleans would finish with a 31-22 record.
In this scenario, the Lakers will take the sixth seed, the Pelicans the seventh and the Warriors the eighth.
This is exactly the type of situation that Steph Curry and his teammates are trying to avoid.
The Golden State Warriors are the favorites to win against the Sacramento Kings
The Golden State Warriors will visit the Sacramento Kings, but they are the favorites to win the contest. Kings coach Mike Brown, who was a longtime assistant to Warriors caller Steve Kerr, may decide to rest his All-Stars.
The Kings have already clinched third place in the Western Conference. Domantas Sabonis has played 78 games this season, while De’Aaron Fox has played 72. Both could surely benefit from a well-deserved rest.
Sacramento hasn’t made the playoffs in 16 years. They don’t want to risk this rare postseason appearance by playing Fox and Sabonis in a pointless regular-season game.
Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole and the Warriors will have a huge advantage if Sabonis and Fox are unavailable.
You may also be interested in reading: “She’s the Steph Curry of women’s college basketball” – Stephen A. Smith equates Caitlin Clark to 4x NBA champion