Dub Hub: Where will the Warriors finish in the Western Conference standings?

Rounding up all the Warriors and NBA news from around the web. 

Good Morning Dub Nation,

With a record of 42-38, the Golden State Warriors currently hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference standings as the regular season comes to its dramatic conclusion. Golden State can get to as high as the fifth seed by winning their final two games. Meanwhile, losing both games can have them falling to as low as the ninth seed. With plenty of possibilities in between, here is a breakdown of the potential Warriors’ seeding scenarios.

Based on this, the Warriors are most likely to end up as the sixth seed, making Friday night’s game a potential playoff preview in Sacramento. That being said, Golden State can theoretically play any one of the top four teams in the West depending on how everything unfolds.

Here is the current order of the top teams in the West:

1. Denver Nuggets (52-28)

2. Memphis Grizzlies (50-30)

3. Sacramento Kings (48-32)

4. Phoenix Suns (45-35)

Here is the current order of every other team jockeying for position:

5. Los Angeles Clippers (42-38)

6. Golden State Warriors (42-38)

7. Los Angeles Lakers (41-39)

8. New Orleans Pelicans (41-39)

9. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-40)

10. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-42)

11. Dallas Mavericks (38-42)

The compact nature of the bottom half of the standings means this weekend should be one of the crazier finishes to the regular season in recent history. So, we ask the question: Where do you think the Warriors will finish in the Western Conference standings?

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Mavericks embarrassing protest of loss to Warriors denied by NBA
• Thursday standings update
• Andrew Wiggins will not play in final two games
• Draymond Green criticizes ‘ridiculous’ new changes to the CBA
• Lester Quinones wins Most Improved Player

Other Warriors News:

• Warriors playoff scenarios: From No. 5 to 9, a look at how this could play out (The Athletic)
• Why the Warriors, with Andrew Wiggins’ looming return, are still a threat to win it all again (The Athletic)
• Warriors’ ticket to NBA playoffs requires luggage frequently left behind (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Andrew Wiggins feeling ‘pretty good’ after Warriors scrimmage (Mercury News)
• “NOBODY SAW IT COMING” | Richard Jefferson On Playing With Young Steph and Klay (Old Man and the Three)

NBA News:

• Domantas Sabonis’s N.B.A. Stardom Is Fueled by Family Legacy (New York Times)
• Zion Williamson’s return from hamstring injury still up in air (ESPN)
• In Memphis, Ja Morant’s summer of trouble went unchecked by authorities (Washington Post)
• Why NBA MVP “Voter Fatigue” Is (Mostly) a Myth (GQ Sports)
• Why Gregg Popovich likely won’t retire after this season (SB Nation)

A tweet to end the week:

The biggest news of the week for the Warriors was the return of Andrew Wiggins from a lengthy personal absence. Although he will not play in the final two games of the regular season, Golden State hopes they can ramp him up and have him ready to go for the start of the playoffs. Welcome back Wiggs and have a good weekend Dub Nation!