4 NBA storylines that will come to an apex in final stretch

3. Are the Golden State Warriors going to miss the playoffs?

Klay Thompson’s Achilles tear might’ve sapped away whatever chances the Golden State Warriors had at competing for a championship. But the return of Stephen Curry along with the addition of James Wiseman and Kelly Oubre Jr. was supposed to push them back into the playoffs following a one-year absence.

With less than 20 games remaining, not even the league’s expanded play-in tournament offers Golden State any guarantees. The Dubs are only 1.5 games ahead of the Pelicans for the final play-in spot.

Curry has been as good as advertised with numbers comparable to his unanimous MVP season. The problem lies in his time spent on the bench, where the Warriors’ offense plummets to a level that would rank among the worst in the league.

Once the pinnacle of perimeter excellence, Golden State is desperately lacking in players who can knock down an outside shot. They’re sixth in 3-point attempts per game but are 14th in efficiency. That weakness has only exacerbated the shooting woes of Draymond Green, whose unwillingness  — and ineffective — to launch from beyond the arc has defenses giving him the Ben Simmons treatment.

The play-in tournament seems all but guaranteed for the Warriors one way or another, but they still have time to make it easier on themselves. They’re only one game out of ninth and three games behind the eighth-seeded Grizzlies with one of the easier schedules remaining in the league.

But with the surging Pelicans leaving little margin for error — Sacramento is also only three games back — a Warriors team that’s had to deal with injuries — Wiseman’s knee being the latest — and inconsistencies can’t afford much else to derail its hopes.