Following Wednesday’s games, the standings will be updated

How things appear on Thursday morning.

I posted a Western Conference standings update on Monday so everyone could see where the Golden State Warriors stood with less than two weeks left in the season. It only took a few hours for everything I wrote to change due to the games that night, with the Warriors dropping a spot despite not playing.

The jumped back up a spot following Tuesday’s comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans, and the standings were shaken up again on Wednesday with the majority of the teams jockeying for position playing.

So, following Wednesday’s flurry of games, it’s time to assess where things stand heading into Thursday morning.

The majority of Wednesday’s results went against the Warriors, but one crucial game did: old friend Kevin Durant returned to the court for the Phoenix Suns and helped them defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves. This put the Warriors a full game ahead of the Wolves in the standings, which is critical because Minnesota has the tiebreaker. The Wolves will overtake the Warriors if they finish with the same record. But as long as Golden State performs as well as Minnesota in their final five games, the Dubs will maintain their lead.

You decide whether or not that is likely. The Warriors play the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, and the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, and Portland Trail Blazers on the road. The Wolves have home games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and New Orleans Pelicans, as well as road games against the Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs.

In other news, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, which hurt the Warriors. The Clippers and Warriors would have had the same record if they had lost, but LA has the tiebreaker. Instead, the Clippers moved a full game ahead of the Warriors in the standings, which means the Warriors must win two more games than LAC in the final five games. Not likely, but not impossible, given that the Clippers are without Paul George and have a difficult final stretch that includes another road game against the Grizzlies, as well as road games against the Pelicans and Suns, as well as home games against the Lakers and Blazers. The dream of being a fifth seed isn’t dead yet, but the emphasis is on avoiding the play-in tournament rather than rising in the standings.

The fourth seed’s dream is most likely over. Phoenix’s win over Minnesota was beneficial to Golden State, but it also effectively ended the Dubs’ chances of finishing fourth. The Suns lead the Warriors by 1.5 games, have the tiebreaker, and are finally healthy.

The Lakers won again, this time against the Chicago Bulls, closing the gap on the Warriors to 1.5 games. The Lakers have the tiebreaker, so the Dubs would be wise not to give them an opening.

The Thunder also beat James Wiseman’s Detroit Pistons, but the Warriors shouldn’t be concerned about them. OKC is still two games behind, and the Dubs should take the tiebreaker.

The Utah Jazz won as well, but with the Warriors trailing by 3.5 games and Golden State holding the tiebreaker, there’s really nothing to worry about. Utah is fighting to qualify for the play-in tournament, not to overtake the Warriors.

Finally, the Dallas Mavericks were defeated once more. They’re also not on Golden State’s radar at this point, as the Warriors are three games ahead and hold the tiebreaker. They’re on fans’ radars, however, because Dallas missing the playoffs — they’re currently one game out of the play-in tournament — would be objectively hilarious.

Here’s where things stand heading into Thursday’s games:

If Golden State retains the sixth seed, they will almost certainly face old friends Harrison Barnes and Mike Brown, as well as the rest of the Sacramento Kings, who ended their long playoff drought on Wednesday. Sacramento is back in the playoffs for the first time since Steph Curry’s senior year of high school, and the Warriors have visions of humiliating them in the first round.

If the Dubs finish seventh or eighth, they will enter the play-in tournament. As a reminder, the No. 7 and No. 8 teams face off in the first round of the tournament, with the winner earning the seventh seed and a possible matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. The loser will face the winner of the game between the No. 9 and No. 10 teams, and the winner will receive the eighth and final seed, as well as a likely matchup with the Nuggets.

On Thursday, only one game is relevant, as the Nuggets host the Pelicans. If New Orleans wins, they will close the gap on the Warriors to one game.