Preview: Warriors on brink of elimination as they face Lakers in Game 5

And now it comes down to this folks. After an up-and-down season where the Golden State Warriors scuffled their way through injuries and boredom to win their first round series over the #3 seed Sacramento Kings, they’re now facing elimination.

The Los Angeles Lakers have the defending champs down in a 3-1 hole with the series shifting back to San Francisco where the Warriors’ fans will have to give their best cheers of the year to boost their boys in blue-and-gold.

Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers

May 10th, 2023 | 7:00 PM PT

Watch: TNT | Listen: 95.7 The Game

Wait did I just say 3-1? In a series involving LeBron James and the Warriors? Ruh rohhh. How apropos that Golden State would get the chance to completely right the wrongs that occurred back in the 2016 NBA Finals when James (and Kyrie Irving) brought Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit to secure the only title they’ll ever have in that city.

That’s considered the greatest blemish on the Warriors dynasty’s resume; how fun would it be to get some payback by hawking down King James and his trusty teammates? Don’t forget that this isn’t the first time the Warriors have been down 3-1 in the Western Conference playoffs.

That same year LeBron won the title, the Warriors got to the Finals by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

In order to get that done against these Lakers, the Warriors will have to find a way to find scoring in crunch time. Here’s their shot chart from the fourth quarter of Game 4 when they were outscored 27-17:

Outside of Stephen Curry who had 10 points in the frame, no other Warrior scored more than 3. That’s just not gonna get it done against a team with championship experience like the Lakers.

LET’S GET ACTIVATED DUB NATION, IT’S GO TIME!