By: Eric He
The Golden State Warriors wrapped up the regular season on Tuesday night at the Vivint Smart Home Arena with a 119-79 loss to the Utah Jazz and will head into the postseason looking to rekindle the magic that they had through most of their 58-24 season.
They will do so without Stephen Curry for a bit, and they have missed him these past few games while their offense has looked average and their defense poor. Against the Jazz, the Warriors allowed 33 points in the first quarter and 62 in the first half. They trailed by 17 at the end of one and by 21 at halftime, by which the game had essentially been decided.
The Warriors have no doubled coasted into the postseason, locked into the second seed with no hope of catching the Rockets. But their recent struggles have opened up vulnerabilities as they await their first round opponent, which will be known by the end of Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, the Jazz ended the season on an absolute tear, winning 29 of their final 34 games. Donovan Mitchell finished with 22 points as he looked to put an exclamation mark on his campaign for the Rookie of the Year award.
Perhaps the one saving grace of the blowout loss was that there is no way the Warriors will face the Jazz in the first round. Utah could have slipped to the seventh spot with a loss — but now they will be among the top four. And that is a huge blessing in disguise.
Sports Radio Service 