The Golden State Warriors have been trending in the wrong direction pretty much ever since Jimmy Butler went down with a season-ending injury. They have now dropped to the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference which may be a death knell for the season.
While it would be almost impossible for the Warriors to drop out of the Play-In, it's very different if you make it as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed versus the No. 9 or No. 10. If a team is the seventh or eighth seed, it only needs to win one game to secure a playoff series, and losing the first game still gives them another chance by playing the winner of the other game.