Kosport Magazine: Warriors Secure Top-10 Seed with Win Over Rockets
The Golden State Warriors have been on a roll lately, and their latest victory over the Houston Rockets solidified their spot in the top 10 of the NBA standings. The Warriors’ players, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, made sure to let the Rockets know who was in control as they chanted “Warrrriors, come out to play!” during the game.
This phrase was also seen on Rockets forward Tari Eason’s shirt before the game, but after the Warriors’ dominant performance, Eason was seen leaving the arena shirtless with a vest and a diamond chain. While the Warriors appreciated the smack-talk, they made it clear that it’s important to back it up on the court.
“It’s one thing if you are out there playing, out there competing and you can back it up. But you’re just going to be trolling from the sideline? What are you doing?” Thompson said. “The time we talk smack, we’re out there competing. That’s all I have to say about that.”
Green echoed Thompson’s sentiment, stating that if you’re going to talk trash, you have to be able to back it up on the court. Eason, unfortunately, has been shut down for the rest of the season due to a benign growth on his lower leg bone that required surgery.
But the Warriors’ win over the Rockets not only shut down any potential trash talk, it also secured their spot in the top 10 of the standings. With only six games left in the regular season, the Warriors are now four games ahead of the Rockets, and with the season tiebreaker in their favor, it’s essentially a five-game lead.
“[Securing the top 10] allows you to now focus on what you can do to move up,” Green said. “When you’re just trying to solidify, you take everything step by step. The first step is to solidify ourselves a chance, give ourselves a chance. Once you get yourself a chance, it’s like what’s next? What’s the best chance we can give ourselves?”
While the Rockets are not officially eliminated from the play-in tournament, their chances are slim. They would need to win five of their remaining six games and have the Warriors lose out, or win all six games and have Golden State drop at least five. But with the Warriors playing some of their best basketball of the season, it’s unlikely that they will fall off that much.
The Warriors’ offense was on full display in their win over the Rockets, with Thompson and Stephen Curry both scoring 29 points. Rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis also had a career-high 20 points, showcasing the team’s depth and versatility.
With this win, the Warriors are now only 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers in ninth place, two games behind the Sacramento Kings in eighth, and three games behind the New Orleans Pelicans in seventh. While they hope for some losses from the teams above them, the Warriors know that they also have to take care of business themselves, especially with tough matchups against the Dallas Mavericks and Lakers coming up.
“Whatever the motivation has been for each win individually — whether you are looking below or looking up — keep looking there,” Curry said. “It’s a matter of us maintaining this momentum because more than likely, it’s going to be you have to play one game to stay alive. I don’t care what anybody is looking at, but just keep looking at it, keep our focus on what we’ve been doing because the results have been able to show we’re locked in and motivated.”
In the end, the Warriors’ win over the Rockets not only secured their spot in the top 10, but it also showed their determination and drive to continue climbing up the standings. With their sights set on a higher seed, the Warriors are ready to take on any challenge that comes their way.
