Dub Hub: Warriors regain control of their playoff fate with Grizzlies’ loss vs. Timberwolves

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Friday, April 11th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Warriors need two wins to clinch a top six seed after Timberwolves defeated the Grizzlies on Thursday night, 141-125.
• Steve Kerr admits that Jonathan Kuminga “doesn’t fit” in lineups with Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, during an interview with 95.7 The Game.
• Current NBA Playoff Picture has the Warriors facing off against the Lakers in the first round.

The Golden State Warriors are back in control of their playoff destiny after the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, 141-125. By winning their final two games of the regular season—Friday on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers and a Sunday home finale against the Los Angeles Clippers—Golden State can guarantee a top-six seed.

Head coach Steve Kerr, in an interview with 95.7 The Game, acknowledged the importance of staying out of the Play-In Tournament. He says not only would it give them an extra week of rest before the postseason, but it would also give them a break from all of the high-stake games they have been playing during this last stretch of the regular season.

With everything on the line, the Warriors now hold their fate in their own hands—and a top-six finish to the season is once again within reach.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Friday, April 10th:

Warriors News:

How Warriors’ NBA playoff seeding impacted by Timberwolves’ win over Grizzlies | NBC Sports Bay Area

If the Warriors take care of business in their final two regular-season games against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night and the Clippers on Sunday afternoon, they will secure the No. 6 seed.

Should Golden State win both remaining games and get some help, they could move up to the No. 4 seed or No. 5 seed.

But one stumble against the Blazers or Clippers likely means the Warriors are headed for a play-in game Tuesday night.

Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond, Jimmy Butler don’t fit together, Steve Kerr admits | NBC Sports Bay Area

“Every game is different and I think Jimmy’s arrival took away a lot of Jonathan’s minutes at the four,” Kerr told Willard and Dibley.”There’s no doubt that as soon as Jimmy arrived and we started winning, we leaned into the lineup combinations that enhanced Jimmy because we were winning and Jonathan was out for that whole stretch.

“We went like 17 and 3 or something, so we’re going to keep doing what’s been winning. But the lineup with Jimmy, Jonathan and Draymond doesn’t fit real well, frankly. It just doesn’t. We need more spacing. We’ve found other lineups that have clicked, and this is just part of the deal, being in the NBA, and you’ve got to adapt to whatever’s happening with the team.

NBA Awards Watch: What should and will happen with MVP, All-NBA and other honors | The Athletic

How I think it should go: Mobley. The Cavs big man has the most complete season of all the candidates, he’s been great guarding one through five, and he’s no longer dependent on having Jarrett Allen next to him.

How I think it will go: Green. Feels like the media campaign plus the Warriors’ surge at the right time could swoop in for the award.

Injury updates for the Warriors’ matchup against the Trail Blazers on Friday

Warriors regular season finale against the Clippers will now be nationally televised on ESPN

NBA News:

NBA playoffs intel: Examining Lakers, Warriors, West contenders | ESPN

“I think they’re really good,” an executive said. “Zubac is so underrated. People haven’t talked about how good he’s been, and they have two players who can win games in a playoff series in Kawhi [Leonard] and James [Harden].”

As great as Zubac and Harden have been, the real question about the Clippers’ ceiling once again is the health of Leonard. Since March 1, Leonard has been averaging over 25 points on over 50% shooting overall and 40% from 3 — something only MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Durant have been doing over the same span.

Inside Nuggets’ ‘cold war’ that led to firing both Michael Malone, Calvin Booth | The Athletic

It was Monday afternoon in Denver, and the Nuggets general manager had reached his breaking point with the franchise’s longtime coach, whose team was on a four-game slide. The locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important players, including three-time league MVP Nikola Jokić, had grown frustrated and fatigued by Malone’s fiery ways.

Current NBA Playoff picture after Thursday’s games

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Player grades: Warriors vs. Spurs

Jonathan Kuminga

18 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-10 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 55.1% TS, -2

Kuminga made some good things happen by attacking the rim, both with and without the ball. But he struggled to have much of an impact. It wasn’t a good defensive game for him and he didn’t always keep the ball moving.

Grade: C

A tweet to end the week:

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.