Forget the NBA Finals… Steve Kerr is only focused on getting the Warriors to the Playoffs
From the time that Jimmy Butler arrived in Golden State following the Warriors’ trade deadline deal for the six-time All-Star, they’ve been treated like and playing like an NBA Title contender. That is until Saturday night, when the short-handed 76ers beat the Dubs by the score of 126-119. That upset loss aside, the trio of Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green — who guaranteed that the Warriors would win the NBA Title over NBA All-Star Weekend — combined with the rest of Golden State’s well-established infrastructure, will be enough to keep the Warriors in the title conversation.
But the reality of the situation is that the Warriors are a modest 32-28 and still a half game out of both the 6-seed and the 10-seed in the Western Conference. If the season were to end today, in order to make the NBA Finals, the Warriors would first need to qualify for the Playoffs via the NBA Play-In Tournament in the first place. But don’t expect the current standings to deter anyone from including the Warriors in this conversation.
Well, almost everyone. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, seemingly doing his best to remix Jim Mora’s iconic ‘Playoffs’ outburst, provided a colorful response on Saturday night when he was prompted with a question that imagined the Warriors in the NBA Finals for the seventh time in the last 11 years.
Steve Kerr asked if his bench would be enough in the Finals
“We would like to make the playoffs. The playoffs. You’re talking about the Finals? We just want to make the playoffs. Let’s not talk about the Finals.” pic.twitter.com/WXYgwcy7yM
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 2, 2025
At the very least, assuming the Warriors do manage to play their way in the NBA Playoff field, they’ll be a difficult out for anyone they play, even the teams at the top of the Western Conference like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. Would any team be thrilled about having to deal with Steph, Draymond, Jimmy Buckets and Steve Kerr in a best of seven series?
I don’t think so. So sure, why don’t we keep talking about the Playoffs and the Finals.