Warriors’ Draymond Green directly contradicts LeBron James’ Play-in Tournament stance

The tenth-seeded Warriors will face the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings on the road Tuesday night, with each team fighting for survival. Whoever loses won’t end up making it to the playoffs, and whoever wins will face the loser of the Lakers-New Orleans Pelicans game to determine the Western Conference’s eighth seed.

However, this isn’t Green and Golden State’s first rodeo. In 2021, they finished as the eighth-seed, facing the Lakers in the tournament’s first round. After losing 103-100, they had one last chance to save their season. However, they still couldn’t get it done, falling 117-112 in an overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Considering this history, it’s easy to see why Green “hates the Play-In as a player.” It’s particularly annoying to miss the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed, given the fact that those teams used to automatically qualify. However, the four-time champion does have a point. Given the fact that lower seeds rarely make it to the Finals anyway, it makes sense to incentivize teams to work harder to earn the sixth seed or higher in order to avoid the Play-In entirely.

Furthermore, with his Warriors being the tenth seed this time around, Green has plenty of reasons to be thankful for the new competition. Prior to the 2020-21 season, any team that finished ninth or lower was sent packing right after the regular season ended. Now, ninth and tenth-seeded teams at least get an extra chance to salvage their seasons.

However, there is validity to James’ argument as well. To this point, no ninth or tenth-seeded squads have ever gone on to win a Conference Quarterfinal series. Until that happens, the Play-In may seem pointless, as those teams’ lack of success shows that they may not really belong on the big stage anyway.

It’ll certainly be a tall order for Golden State to be the first one to do it. Beating the Kings on the road won’t be easy, as Sac-Town sports a dynamic duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Fox averaged 26.6 points, 5.6 assists, and a league-leading two steals per game during the regular season. Beyond that, the Kings are also seventh in the league in assists, with Sabonis leading the team with 8.2 per game, despite being a big man.

If the Warriors can pull off the win, they’ll then need to tangle with either the Lakers or Pelicans, neither of whom will be an easy foe. If they pull off another win and earn the eighth seed, they’ll then be tasked with facing the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

While the Play-In Tournament may not have a large effect on the grand scheme of the playoffs, there’s no doubt that it adds some extra intrigue before the Conference Quarterfinals begin. Will the next couple games give Green even more reason to love the competition?