The game tournament meant a lot for the Golden State Warriors – and for the warmth of Miami.
The Warriors never wanted to be in the game medium, of course, but now that they have crossed the waters, the result is not so bad. They will face the inexperienced Houston Rockets in the first round of the western conference qualifiers, then potentially face the Los Angeles Lakers or the Minnesota Timberwolves – two teams with which they correspond reasonably well.
However, the game tournament could have spent Doom for the Warriors. They were 0-3 in the game when they arrived in Tuesday’s confrontation with the Grizzlies of Memphis, and at points of this hard-disputed instant classic, the possibility of losing largely under their feet. This would have sent them in a spiral to a winner match on Friday evening against another enemy of the West; Losing this match and the Warriors would return home while the playoffs started without them.
The reason they did not lose was that Jimmy Butler III accessed on the occasion, as he does so often, marking 38 points to accompany 37 of Steph Curry to propel the Warriors to a 121-116 victory and in the eliminatory field proper. Without such heroic performance, however, a fascinating scenario “and if” could have been played.
The Warriors could have kept their first round choice
As part of the commercial package for Butler, the Warriors undertook to send to Miami Heat their first round choice in 2025 – if He landed outside the top 10. It may have seemed to be a distinction devoid of meaning, but at the time of the trade, the Warriors were stuck at 0.500 and if they did not turn things could have been a lottery team very well. If Kyrie Irving did not injure himself, the Phoenix Suns did not impose and someone had a race in the East, the Warriors could have entered 10th place.
This obviously did not happen – the Mavericks and Suns disappeared in the section and the Warriors fell to 48 victories. However, even thus, the possibility remained that the Warriors could lose both game games, land in the lottery, then jump into the top 4. The 14th place team in the lottery ranking will have a 2.4% chance in the Top 4 and a 0.5% chance of choice n ° 1. The low, but real chances, that the Warriors could have kept their choice.
Miami will now officially obtain the choice of warriors
By winning and locking their status as a team in the playoffs, their choice is now guaranteed to transmit to Miami Heat this season. The record of the Warriors 48-34 was equal to the Grizzlies of Memphis and the Milwaukee Bucks, which means that a reversal of parts in a few weeks will decide if the choice falls to n ° 18, 19 or 20.
This counts in heat, which obtains the choice this year but lose the good of the choice of being unprotected in 2027. It is important for the Warriors, which are now free to exchange their first -round choices in 2026 and 2028 after the draft of the NBA. And this counts for the handful of teams around them in the order of the draft, because a Warriors Flameout in the game tournament would have pushed everyone below a slit.
Heat still has an intrigue that surrounds them for the draft of the NBA 2025, because their choice is also protected by the lottery and they play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday evening in the gaming final of the Eastern Conference. Win, and they send a first to Oklahoma City Thunder – and will first have to protected to the Charlotte Hornets in 2027. If they lose however, they keep the choice of this year – and their responsibility for the Thunder takes place in next year, pushing the choice they owe to Charlotte, which is not protected in 2028.
The game tournament meant a lot for the Warriors and heat fortune project – and now another piece of Jimmy Butler’s trade has been finalized.
