Emerging: Warriors Receive Concerning Update on Draymond Green and Warriors may kickstart biggest…..

The Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors rivalry has been a great one to watch in recent years. With a matchup in the NBA Play-In Tournament as well as the NBA Playoffs, LeBron James and Stephen Curry have squared off in some high-stakes games in the Western Conference.

There will be a new addition to the rivalry on Saturday as the Lakers are hosting the Warriors coming off an ugly loss to the Sacramento Kings. Both teams desperately need a win, with the Lakers and Warriors being ninth and 10th in the West, respectively.

While there are still more games to play after Saturday’s affair, this is a big game, particularly for the purple and gold. This is as much of a must-win as a March game can be for an NBA team, as a Warriors win would be demoralizing and could set off a series of events that do not end well.

Warriors may kickstart Lakers’ biggest nightmare with a win

The Warriors beating the Lakers on Saturday would do a couple of things as far as the standings are concerned. Golden State is currently the 10th seed in the conference and a win would put them ahead of the Lakers for the ninth seed.

The two teams would be tied in the standings with the same record but the Warriors would have the tiebreaker advantage with two wins to one. If the Lakers win, they would establish a two-game cushion and ensure that the Warriors cannot win the head-to-head tiebreaker this season.

While there would be plenty of time for the Lakers to jump out in front, the next stretch of games do not forecast to go very well for the team. Los Angeles is not hosting pushovers as this homestand continues and then the team embarks on a road trip that will test the will of the locker room.

A loss to the Warriors on Saturday, particularly if it comes in back-breaking fashion, could set off a series of events that do not end well for the Lakers. Los Angeles may dig into an even larger rut as the 10th seed and with how hot the Houston Rockets are, they could even fall out of the play-in altogether.

The Lakers play the Warriors again in the third-to-last game of the year but that could be Golden State’s chance to cement the Lakers as a lower seed. If the Lakers lose and things spiral, then the Warriors would almost certainly lock things up with another win to clinch the season tiebreaker.

And if the Lakers are the 10th seed in the West then they are not going to make the playoffs, plain and simple. This team has been awful on the road this season (12-20 record) and the odds of the team winning back-to-back elimination road games is slim.

Plus, even if that happens, the Lakers would then be in line to play the Denver Nuggets in the first round (assuming they continue to play well). Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves are beatable in the first round for the Lakers. The Nuggets, without a doubt, are not.

The Lakers would have to climb into the eighth seed to have a chance at being the seventh seed but the team does not even have the luxury of trying to carve out the path of least resistance. Right now, the Lakers have to just worry about getting to the dance first and that starts with a win over the Warriors on Saturday.

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Warriors Receive Concerning Update on Draymond Green: ‘It’s Just No Fun’

While Stephen Curry is trending in the right direction, the same cannot be said for Golden State Warriors small ball starting center Draymond Green.

Green, who missed their 109-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on March 13, is still questionable to play against the Los Angeles Lakers this Saturday, March 16.

“My back has been bothering me for like four or five games and I’ve kind of been going through it like just playing through it and playing through it,” Green said on his podcast on Thursday, March 14. “They’re doing things to get me back to a good space to go in the game and then third quarter or so it just locks all the way back up and you’re grinding through the rest of the game just trying to get to the end.

“Next day, not in a good space, can’t really get on the court even if wanted to get some work in, and then getting it back to a good space to go back out there and play.”

Green, the backbone of the Warriors’ defense, is still hoping he could return sooner rather than later.

“And so the hope is that in not having a game since Monday for myself, not playing in the Dallas [Mavericks] game, that those extra couple of days will allow it to go away because it’s just no fun.”

Rookie’s Time to Shine

The 10th-place Warriors were 16-9 since Green returned from his second suspension on Jan. 15 before he skipped the Dallas road game with his back issues.

If he misses Saturday’s crucial match against the 9th-place Lakers, rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis will continue to start while Kevon Looney can earn his way back into the rotation while Dario Saric could see increased playing time.

The 6-foot-9 Jackson-Davis will have his hands against Lakers star Anthony Davis, who is raring to bounce back after drawing flak following another loss to Domantas Sabonis, who is now 10-0 against him.

Steph Curry Plans to Play vs. Lakers

Curry is also listed as questionable but he plans to play after rejoining the Warriors team practice in Los Angeles on Friday, March 15.

“That’s the plan. … Nice to be back with the team. Good energy going,” Curry told reporters, per Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Curry missed the Warriors’ last three games with a right ankle sprain.

“You can’t fast-forward or cheat the healing process,” Curry told reporters after Friday’s practice in Los Angeles. “There are some that are kinda on the fence with whether you can push through it and not make it worse, just deal with the pain.”

He was cautious in his approach and took some time off because it’s the same type of injury that hounded him in the early parts of his NBA career before his rise to superstardom. So he knows fully well how tricky this type of injury is.

“I’ve been through all types of injuries and this one was one where there was a certain time frame to let my ankle heal,” Curry continued. “And then have a little bit of work on the court to build back up. It’s tough to miss games, but you’ve gotta understand you can’t make things worse. Especially with what time of year we’re in right now.”