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Stephen Curry on retirement

The time has come for the Golden State Warriors. Do or die. Sink or swim. Win or go home. 

A long and incredibly turbulent 2025-26 regular season has come to an end and the play-in tournament is on tap once again. For the fourth time in six years, the Warriors find themselves in the qualifying round hoping to punch their ticket in the playoffs. 

They’ll take on an equally-hungry Los Angeles Clippers tonight in a single-elimination contest at the Intuit Dome. 

GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 12: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors passes against Darius Garland #10 and John Collins #20 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half of an NBA game at Intuit Dome on April 12, 2026 in Inglewood, California.

Both teams had whacky regular seasons — the Warriors for their injuries and brutally off-kilter stretches, and the Clippers for somehow finishing two games above a .500 record after starting the season 6-21.

Tonight, a pair of 2010s titans will meet again. 

Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard will meet in a postseason game for the first time since Golden State’s ill-fated 2019 NBA Finals loss to Leonard’s Toronto Raptors. 

Win and you go on to play the next play-in game. 

Loose and you go on to plan a summer vacation. 

Let’s see what happens tonight. 

Golden State Warriors Roll Out Tonight’s Starting Five

The Warriors got healthier as the season reached its finale, but their situation is still far from convincing. 

Golden State saw injuries to Curry, who missed 27 consecutive games due to runner’s knee; Kristaps Porzingis, who arrived in the Bay from Atlanta somewhat banged up; and Al Horford, who just recently returned after a long absence due to a soleus strain in his calf. The Warriors are still without Quinten Post, who hasn’t played this month.

Tonight, this is the first five head coach Steve Kerr will deploy:

• (G) Steph Curry
• (G) Brandin Podziemski
• (F) De’Anthony Melton
• (F) Kristaps Porzingis
• (C) Al Horford

Stars Will Still Be Limited to Soft Minutes Restriction

Brutal, yes, but that’s what the Warriors have decided. Porzingis, Horford and, yes, even Curry will all be on some sort of minutes restriction. 

“This is all about health,” Kerr said earlier this week of the decision to pull back the stars’ minutes against the Clippers, “and so you have to be mindful of health as you play these games. You have to be mindful of how many minutes can a guy play and be expected to be effective. So that’s really what we’re facing.”

Understandably, fans won’t be too pleased seeing Curry’s minutes limited in what could be the final game of the season. But the two-time MVP is 38 years old with a million miles on his legs. The Warriors want to ensure he is healthy and available for beyond just this game or this season.

Curry has progressively bumped up his minutes load in the four games he’s played since returning from runner’s knee. In Golden State’s regular season finale, Curry logged 29 minutes. Tonight, he could comfortably cross the 30-minute mark. The Warriors have announced Curry — as well as Porzingis and Horford — will play fewer than 40 minutes.

A Dubs loss tonight would be a bummer, but not entirely unexpected. But a win would only crack open the door for a playoff berth.

The Warriors would still need to triumph again Friday against the Phoenix Suns, whom they’ve beaten in three out of the four regular season contests.

We shall see what these Warriors have in store tonight. 

Tip off from Intuit Dome is set for 7 p.m.