Golden State Warriors Make Roster Move After Loss to Pelicans
The Golden State Warriors have made a news roster move before and after……
Following their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Golden State Warriors are reportedly converting two-way center Usman Garuba to a standard NBA contract for the rest of the season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Garuba, who had been on a two-way contract with Golden State, fills their final roster spot before the postseason begins.
While Garuba does not project to get any rotation minutes for Golden State, he is on the roster and is playoff eligible. As of right now, the Warriors may not even make the playoffs, as they are likely staring at the 10th seed following their loss on Friday.
The Warriors had done well in recent weeks to put themselves in position to move up the standings, but their latest loss likely seals their fate as the 10th seed. This means the Warriors will have to win two road play-in games to make the playoffs as the 8th seed, which then gets them a date with the 1st seed.
It has been an incredibly frustrating and disappointing season for the Warriors, but confidence still remains among their team that they can make noise in the postseason. Their path to the playoffs is now as difficult as possible, but they play-in tournament adds an element of excitement, because truly anything can happen with this format.
How Warriors, Kings can clinch West No. 8 seed entering final game
They don’t call it the “wild, wild West” for nothing.
Even heading into the final day of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, and after both teams lost Friday night, the Warriors (45-36) and Kings (45-36) still are fighting for postseason positioning
If the season ended today, both teams would battle it out in a win-or-go-home matchup between the No. 9 and 10 seeds on Tuesday, April 16 at Golden 1 Center. The Kings hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors and would claim the higher seed due to their better Pacific Division record.
However, fortunately for both teams, they are not locked into either of the bottom two seeds and still have a chance to leapfrog the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers and avoid the possible one-and-done matchup. Here’s how:
If the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans (49-32) on Sunday, the Warriors and Kings will be locked into the No. 9 and 10 seed matchup, with Sacramento still holding the tiebreaker and higher seed even if both teams win their final games on Sunday.
If the Lakers lose to the Pelicans, the Kings will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers (21-60) on Sunday at Golden 1 Center. Finally, if the Lakers and Kings both lose, the Warriors will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Utah Jazz (31-50) on Sunday at Chase Center.
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Simply put, the Kings are rooting for a Sacramento win and a Lakers loss. While the Warriors are rooting for a Golden State win and losses from the Kings and Lakers.
According to a press release sent out by the NBA on Saturday, the West’s 7-8 matchup and the 9-10 matchups will be on Tuesday only if the Philadelphia 76ers are the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed, likely due to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers playing a home game at Wells Fargo Center, which they share with the 76ers, on Tuesday.
If the 76ers are not the East’s seventh seed, the West’s 7-8 game will be played on Tuesday, with the 9-10 game played on Wednesday, April 17.
There still is a lot of moving parts, but we’re just about to the finish line.
How will the Western Conference shake out? And where will the Warriors and Kings finish? Tune in to NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California’s coverage of Sunday’s regular-season finales, with Warriors Pregame Live beginning at 11:30 a.m. and Kings Pregame Live beginning at 12:00 p.m.
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