How Warriors’ heartbreaking loss shakes up West playoff picture
This one stings if you’re a Warriors fan.
If not for Spurs veteran Harrison Barnes’ dagger on Wednesday, the Warriors would have all but avoided a play-in scenario.
Steve Kerr’s men would have woken up as the sixth seed Thursday with some breathing room over the Timberwolves (1.0 game lead) and Grizzlies (0.5 game lead). Instead, they dropped to the seventh seed and could likely fall to eighth by the end of the season.
Since the Warriors (47-33) own the tiebreaker over the Timberwolves (46-33) and Grizzlies (47-32), they would have finished ahead of both if all three finished with identical records — a realistic scenario. However, Wednesday’s loss means they’re behind the Grizzlies in the loss column and tied with the eighth-seeded Timberwolves entering the final weekend.
Warriors may have just gone from hosting a first round playoff series to getting onto a plane for the play-in tournament because of Harrison Barnes. Everything is wrestling.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 10, 2025
Another painful reality for the Warriors is that the Timberwolves face the easiest remaining schedule, which includes games against the Nets and Jazz. The Warriors, too, have a winnable game against the Trail Blazers on Friday but face a tall task against the red-hot Clippers on Sunday. If the Warriors had won on Wednesday, they wouldn’t be in a “must-win” scenario against Los Angeles in the season’s final game.
A win against Portland would have clinched them a guaranteed playoff berth, giving them a 49-32 record going into the season finale. Instead, they are now fighting for their playoff lives.
Alas, such is life. The Warriors know they’ve dug themselves a hole, but Stephen Curry wants his teammates to keep believing.
“With two games left, you can kind of narrow it down to, ‘Ok, there are 48 minutes left against Portland and then on Sunday [against Clippers].’ We’ve had a very professional approach and consistent level we’re playing at… A good team will bounce back and take care of business in the next two games,” Curry said.
Steph Curry: “A good team takes care of business the next two and goes from there. We have to prove we’re a good team.” pic.twitter.com/FHILiGl4yZ
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) April 10, 2025
To summarize, the Warriors are not assured a top-six playoff berth even if they beat the Blazers and Clippers. At this point, they no longer control their fate, all thanks to a former teammate in Barnes.
The Warriors’ loss also all but guarantees the Clippers (48-32) and Nuggets (48-32) won’t drop to the play-in. Those teams owe Barnes for his dagger just as much as the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.
NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️
▪️ DEN moves to No. 4 in West
▪️ LAL secures top-6 seed
▪️ ORL clinches No. 7 in East pic.twitter.com/J19p0pU25M
— NBA (@NBA) April 10, 2025
Sai Mohan
A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.
