SAN FRANCISCO – The week between the trade deadline and the All-Star break is often considered the last of the NBA’s dog days, that brief moment of time between the excitement of blockbuster transactions and the allure of an extended midseason break that leads into the stretch run.
But it is also when teams reveal their true intentions. The franchises who fancy themselves contenders gear up for the sprint to the postseason, while other teams pack it up and commit to tanking.
The Warriors are clearly, undeniably among the first group, injuries be damned.
Despite a season-ending ACL tear sustained by Jimmy Butler and nagging knee soreness hampering Steph Curry, Golden State still has playoff hopes.
The team swapped Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield for veteran stretch center Kristaps Porzingis, an oft-injured but incredibly impactful presence that could be a difference-maker in a playoff series.
Both Porzingis and Curry are expected to suit up for the Warriors on Feb. 19 against Boston, the team’s first game out of the break.
Then it is full speed ahead until the postseason.
“You just need a chance. If you give yourself a shot at it, we know how to do it,” Draymond Green said. “That’s a skill that probably 97% of the NBA does not have. They don’t know how to do it. We actually know.”
It is a message that his coach, Steve Kerr, endorses whole-heartedly.
During a recent press conference, he pointed to the improved play of veterans De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford off the bench as a reason the middling Warriors are not in the same boat as last year’s pre-Butler trade team.
Kerr acknowledged that making a run without Butler will not be easy, but like Green, will not count his team out in any seven-game series.
“Obviously, losing Jimmy was a killer,” Kerr said. “But we have depth, we have a good vibe, we have guys who play hard and work together. If we’re healthy, we can do some damage.”
Elsewhere in the conference, other teams are also looking to do damage …. but just to their chances of fielding a competitive team.
The Warriors entered Monday night as the No. 8 seed, and the teams directly below them made moves at the deadline that were indicative of franchises positioning themselves for success in the draft lottery, not the postseason.
The No. 9 Clippers traded James Harden for Cleveland’s Darius Garland, a defensible move. But they also swapped top-notch center Ivica Zubac for a package centered around draft picks.
No. 10 Portland stayed put, while both No. 11 Memphis (Jaren Jackson Jr.) and No. 12 Dallas (Anthony Davis) each sent away their stars for draft picks and cap flexibility.
The Jazz, who sent three first round picks for Jackson Jr. to Memphis, sat him in the fourth quarter of their game against Orlando to secure a loss for lottery-destined Utah.
Safe to say that the Jazz aren’t exactly gunning for a playoff spot either.
And above the Warriors, neither the Suns nor the Lakers made big moves to drastically improve their teams, with all due respect to Luke Kennard and Cole Anthony. So when looking at the rest of the conference landscape, why wouldn’t the veteran Warriors take a shot at making some noise in the postseason?
The man who put the squad together, Mike Dunleavy, was careful to not place too high of expectations on the squad that still has Steph Curry and Draymond Green’s veteran savvy leading the way.
“I’m anxious and interested,” Dunleavy said. “I don’t really have expectations, because it’s kind of an unknown for us. In some ways, it’ll be kind of fun, but I know we’ll be really competitive, i know we’ll fight, and we’ll see where the chips fall.”
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