SBN Reacts: Will the Warriors finish as the two-seed in the West?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in Golden State Warriors fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.

With 15 games remaining in the regular season, the Golden State Warriors are fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. For a majority of the season, the team held the 2^nd seed in the West with many Warriors fans arguing that the team should have been in contention for the one-seed and possibly for the title of best team in the league.

Forward to the present day, and the Warriors are currently tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the two-seed. As both teams fluctuate between 2^nd and 3^rd, the minute separation between them in the standings makes the race for second place an exciting one to watch as the season unfolds. This leads to the latest SBN Reacts survey which has a little more than half of Warriors fans believing they will finish with the two-seed in the West.

Earlier in the season, this number may have been higher, but confidence has swayed since then. The combination of a Warriors mid-season slump — which saw them go 2-8 during a 10-game stretch – and the Memphis Grizzlies going 9-1 caused Golden State to drop to the 3^rd seed. Injuries played a big role in the Warriors dropping these games, specifically the injury to All-Star power forward Draymond Green. With his expected return on March 14^th, could the Dubs make a run and take back control of the two-seed?

Looking ahead, Golden State has the 12^th toughest remaining schedule while Memphis comes in at 20^th on this list according to tankathon.com. With Green in the lineup, the Warriors are 28-6, but without him, they are 17-16. Despite the tough schedule, it’s clear that Golden State is a very different team with Green in the lineup. His high basketball IQ allows him to seamlessly put his teammates in the right positions defensively, while his ability as a playmaker gives Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson the opportunities to score off-ball. Even though it may take a couple of games to get his conditioning up to par, his return could very well spark a run that gives them control of the two-seed.

Being the 2^nd seed in the West isn’t the most critical factor for the Warriors’ postseason success, but it does make the path to a championship a little more ideal. Golden State is a much better team at home with a record of 27-7 (79.4%), while their record on the road is 18-15 (54.5%). The seeding looks even more appealing after factoring in that the two-seed gets a first round matchup with one of the play-in teams as opposed to potential matchups with the Denver Nuggets or Dallas Mavericks.

What do you think? Will Golden State win the two-seed in the West? Do they even need the two-seed in the West? Let us know down below.

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