Preview: Warriors face Kings in play-in tournament eliminator

DO-OR-DIE IN SACRAMENTO BABY!

The Golden State Warriors take on the Sacramento Kings tonight in what could be either the start of a beautiful playoff run, or perhaps the end of the Golden Empire’s Big 3 combo of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

The Dubs had an up-and-down season that was marked by the consistent inconsistencies, blown leads, and rotational changes that led to frustration up and down the roster. But they also showed flashes of being the dominant champion who defined the last decade of NBA basketball by weaponizing joy and winning rings.

In their way will be the Kings, a team that nearly eliminated the Dubs from the first round of last year’s playoffs and will be seeking revenge at home in front of their raucous fanbase. It’s play-in tournament basketball baby! Where the bottom-feeders of the conference get to their final opportunities to scrap their way into the playoffs!

Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings

April 16th, 2024 | 7:00 PM PT

Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area

Listen: 95.7 The Game

The days of Curry, Thompson, and Green walking into opposing arenas in do-or-die games have given Dub Nation wonderful memories. These guys have dominated the Western Conference during their tenure together, losing only one series to a West team since 2014.But how much longer will these guys be together?

For context, with Thompson’s looming free agency this offseason, his age (34 years old) combined with recent severe injury history, and his on-court play at times not measuring up to the Hall-of-Fame standards he set for himself, this very well could be his last hurrah with the Dubs.

On the “Draymond Green Show” podcast, Thompson confided to his teammate about that stark reality:

I was actually struggling a lot with that at the beginning of this year because of the unknown. I might’ve let contract situations or playing time or making up a lot of excuses rather than just appreciating what is in front of me. It took me and Steve [Kerr] like four real heart-to-heart talks to finally break my shell. Being like you know what? I got to have fun this year. I deserve to have fun.

“Just smelling the roses and appreciating all the work it took to get here. In saying that, when it comes to free agency in July, I just got to keep that in mind. Yes, I want to re-sign with the [Warriors], but I also have to prioritize my mental health and lay out what is important to me at this point in my career. I know we have so much basketball ahead that I haven’t given it much thought. Because if I start thinking about July 1, then I’m just doing myself a disservice. For me it’s just about staying present, as simple as that is. Staying present and appreciating being in the NBA.

I damn near shed a tear when he said that. In a dream scenario Thompson deserves to go out on his terms, staying with the franchise that drafted him, while raising another banner to the rafters.

The next step to doing that will be knocking off the Kings, who are dangerous but wounded with injuries to key players Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter.

The Dubs know how to end Sacramento’s season in front of their home crowd; heck they did it almost a year ago! Let’s do it again Dubs!