SAN FRANCISCO — Despite a six-game losing streak, suspensions and disarray, the Warriors have a chance to win their in-season tournament group and advance to the quarterfinal.
The odds aren’t that bad, but they have to win the final group-play game. If they beat the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier that day, the Warriors win their Group C. If Minnesota beats Oklahoma City, the Warriors will have to beat the Kings by a substantial point differential to win a three-way tiebreaker over Sacramento and Minnesota, as all three would be 3-1 in group play.
“It’ll be fun. A lot of fun. It’ll be a lot like Game 7, the atmosphere, the excitement, the angst,” said Draymond Green, who returns from his five-game suspension for Tuesday’s game. “The feeling I’m expecting is that i’ll feel like a Game 7.”
Heading into Tuesday’s games, the Warriors have a plus-5 point differential, the Kings have a plus-29 differential and the Timberwolves have a minus-5 differential. To win a wild-card spot, the Warriors would have to blow out the Kings by 30-plus points to overtake the Phoenix Suns. If the Warriors lose, they don’t advance and will instead have two games added to their regular-season schedule later.
The Warriors will know the outcome of the Thunder-Timberwolves game after the first quarter of their game against the Kings. And staff will be checking scores to adjust their thinking.
The motive to advance and win the tournament is partly to win the first-ever in-season tournament and mostly to get some of the players who do not have big contracts some extra cash. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the like want to win for their young guys. Coaches on the winning team will also be getting a payout.
“I’ve seen a few players say this and I think it’s true. Our vets would love to win to see the younger guys get a significant chunk of money,” Kerr said after Sunday’s practice. “That’s real. Obviously, it doesn’t mean as much to the guys who are set for life and incredibly wealthy, but much of the NBA is young guys who will only be in this league for a year or two, on a non-guarantee.”
Eight teams that reach the quarterfinals will get $50,000 per player. Players on the tournament champion get $500,000 and runners-up get $200,000 per player — plus a trip to Las Vegas.