© Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The Western Conference has clearly become a two-legged race between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Houston won 110-99 on Wednesday night, extending its winning streak to 17 straight games. Before games Thursday night, the Rockets held a slight one-game lead over the Warriors for the top seed.
For the first time in four seasons, the Warriors face stiff competition to secure the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. But power forward Draymond Green doesn’t seem to care.
“I guess you always want the No. 1 seed, but it is what it is,” Green said. “We are not going to spend the rest of our year trying to fight for the No. 1 seed. If it happens, it happens. Our goal is to get better each and every day. If we are getting better each and every day and we are at the top of our game at the right time, I don’t care where we are playing. We will be just fine. Our goal is just to get better.”
After Thursday morning shootaround, hours before the Warriors take on the visiting San Antonio Spurs, Green reflected on the precarious Western Conference standings, which features eight teams within four games of each other in the standings. He called the playoff race “madness,” fitting for this time of year.
With a little more than one month of regular season play left, the Warriors hold a 11.5-game lead on the third-place Portland Trail Blazers. Golden State will almost certainly earn a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, important in deciding home court advantage in the Western Conference finals.
While the Warriors have had held home court advantage for three straight seasons, Green doesn’t feel that seeding is paramount.
“You always want (the No. 1 seed),” Green said. “But we are not about to kill ourselves trying to get it.”