Finish with the best record to secure a spot in the NBA Finals? This logic has not been true in the league for several years. Best formation of the last regular season, the Jazz did not pass the milestone of the conference semi-final in the playoffs. Ditto the previous two years with the Bucks. Same with the 2017-18 Rockets failing to overcome the Warriors hurdle en route to their third title.
The Californians are the last team in the league to win the title after securing the No. 1 spot in the league in 2017. These recent examples put this absolute quest for the best balance sheet into perspective.
” Whether you’re trying to finish in fours, fives, sixes or sevens, the goal is always to win away “, recalls Draymond Greenwell aware that in the event of a confrontation with the Suns, if the playoffs were to start today, his team would have to win at least once at the Footprint Center.
The Suns (49 wins – 11 losses) currently have the best record in the league, still six games ahead of the Warriors (43 wins – 17 losses). The absence of Chris Paul for several weeks could certainly allow the Californians to get closer. But for the interior, back to training, we must not be obsessed with this first place.
Lose game 7 at home or win it away
” After going through this so many times, you realize that by exhausting yourself to get that first place, you get an extra game at home or home advantage for game 7. Yeah, but I’ve won games 7 away and lost 7 games at home so it doesn’t really matter “, understates the interior of the Warriors.
Example in 2018 when his team had indeed validated his ticket for the NBA finals by winning in Houston, during the last round of the conference final. Where the Warriors had lost the title in their hall, in 2016, against the Cavaliers during a last anthology meeting.
“If we can get it, great. But I don’t feel like anyone in this franchise thinks it’s worth wearing themselves out trying to chase after. “, notes the former defender of the year. The latter adds: By being in good health, we always try to win all possible matches. But if that’s not the case, there’s no point in playing guys and risking further injury or, if a guy is a little banged up, aggravation. It’s not worth it.“
This is probably the reason why the Warriors do not urge Draymond Green, absent since mid-January, to return.
