Going into Sunday, the Warriors are 4.5 games back of the Lakers for the No. 6 seed. That gap can rise to five games by the end of Sunday night after the Lakers’ game in Los Angeles against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors are three games behind the No. 7-seed Phoenix Suns, who currently are down Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. For how difficult leaping into the top six and out of the play-in tournament would be for the Warriors, it’s virtually impossible they fall out of the top 10.
The No. 10-seeded Los Angeles Clippers play the 19-win New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. They’re four games behind the Warriors in the win column going into that game, and the Clippers also are Golden State’s next opponent Monday night. More importantly, nobody below the Clippers or the No. 9-seeded Portland Trail Blazers are going to move ahead of them.