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The Golden State Warriors are set to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly-anticipated NBA play-in game Wednesday evening at the Staples Center in Southern California.
The winner of this game will earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs with the loser having to take on the winner of the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies matchup for the eighth seed.
It goes without saying that the defending champion Lakers find themselves as big-time favorites at home. Even with Stephen Curry playing at an MVP level and Los Angeles coming off a questionable regular season, LeBron James and Co. should come out on top.
This one stat might very well suggest that the Golden State Warriors don’t have much of a chance.
One win in their past 15 games officiated by either John Goble or Trey Maddox. Whether that’s a coincidence remains to be seen. The Goble note is interesting in that it dates back to the Warriors’ dynastic run ending in 2018-19.
However, it must be noted that the Warriors put up a 15-50 record during the 2019-20 season with Klay Thompson sidelined for the duration and Curry missing all but a handful of games. They responded by going 39-33 this past regular season, primarily due to Curry’s otherworldly performance.
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers: The season series
Golden State won its first game against Los Angeles during the regular season, coming back from a 16-point halftime deficit back on January 18.
The Lakers responded by defeating these Warriors in their final two regular-season games by a combined 57 points — both games taking place without Anthony Davis in the mix.
In a matchup that’s being called Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James 5.0, the two had mixed results against one another.
- Stephen Curry: 23.0 points, 5.3 assists, 42% shooting
- LeBron James: 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 51% shooting
The loser of this game will then face a do-or-die matchup with either the Grizzlies or Spurs Friday evening at home. If that is indeed the Golden State Warriors, a win in said game would set the stage for a first-round series against the Utah Jazz.