Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches his team play the Denver Nuggets in the second quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches his team play the Denver Nuggets in the second quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
BOSTON – With another galling loss only a few minutes old, Warriors coach Steve Kerr walked into the visiting press conference room inside TD Garden and gave his brutally realistic assessment of his team’s future.
Steph Curry is still out with runner’s knee, Moses Moody is missing time with a wrist injury, Al Horford is sidelined by a calf strain and Jimmy Butler has long been lost for the season with an ACL tear. The undermanned Warriors have only one possible destination.
“Can we prepare ourselves for the play-in?” Kerr asked rhetorically after the Warriors lost to the Celtics 120-99. “We’re going to be in the play-in. We know that.”
After months of trying to “stay afloat” and “keep their head above water,” the Warriors are a sinking team that cannot drown in the regular season.
Even as they slipped into the 10th and final play-in spot – which would mean a win-or-go-home road game – with the Blazers’ victory over the Pacers.
Portland won three of four games against the Warriors this season and thus owns the tiebreaker.
“Damn, did we? That sucks,” Green exclaimed when told of his team’s slip to a precarious position in the standings.
Well, not all that precarious.
Though the Warriors (33-36) have sunk to the bottom of the postseason pool, their chances of being eliminated are virtually nil despite losing six of their last seven.
The Grizzlies, Mavericks, Jazz, Hornets and Kings are all trying to lose games, and will keep the Warriors trapped in the play-in.
The Warriors know this.
“The little things is what we have to keep our focus on, because we know the play-in is a short burst,” Gui Santos said. “We just have to be ready for these games. We know whether we win 13 games or lose 13 games, we’re going to be playing there.”
The little things are what have been missing from the Warriors’ resume as of late, not effort.
Though Kerr’s players still dive for loose balls and run the floor with gusto, he reeled at their blown defensive coverages and lack of attention to detail.
“You want to win a playoff game? You better be locked in. So lock in,” Kerr said. “We can’t just hang our heads. We’ve got to keep plugging away.”
After his Boston homecoming, Kristaps Porzingis said it fell upon the players, not their coaching staff, to pick up their attention to detail.
Green, the Warriors’ longest-tenured player on the floor Wednesday night, echoed Porzingis’ beliefs.
“We’ve got to create good habits, because as long as you’re creating good habits, it works out,” Green said. “You ain’t creating good habits, you can’t flip a switch in this league.”
Fortunately for Green, the franchise’s savior appears to be on track for a return this season. He was seen warming up pregame in Boston, going through his iconic shooting routine.
While the Warriors are struggling under the water, Curry has proven he can single-handedly pull them back up.
But even if Green’s veteran teammates return in top form, the Warriors have likely played their way out of skipping a tournament they’ve had to participate in for the last two seasons.
“We’ve had our eyes on (the No. 6 seed) for a while, and that’s out of the question right now,” Kerr said. “We’re not getting there. If we can string together some wins, try to get to eight, that would be ideal. We’d get two cracks at it. But we’re not getting to seven, we know that.”
RevContent Feed
Most Popular