NBA Basketball
2026-04-17 - Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball Play In Tournament
Friday 17th April 2026 - Scheduled 10pm EST
3am (British Time)
Preview
They may not be the Golden State Warriors that your older brother watched dominate the NBA and change the landscape of the League, but there is still some fight left in the veterans that lead this team. Draymond Green, Al Horford and Steph Curry came up big in the Fourth Quarter of the Play In Tournament elimination game at the LA Clippers on Wednesday and they overturned a big deficit to find a way through to have one more shot to make the post-season.
Let's be honest for a minute- if the Warriors are able to get through, they are very likely to be given a chasing by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the First Round of the Playoffs.
However, those veteran names mentioned have all won NBA Championships and they would love to have one more shot at trying to knock off the new kids on the block in the Western Conference.
To do that, the Warriors are going to have to dig in and beat the Phoenix Suns who lost the opening Play In Tournament game to the Portland Trail Blazers. That was a defeat suffered at home, but the Phoenix Suns are back in front of the fans and they will have taken note of how well those who have lost the first Play In Tournament game have been able to bounce back in the second when involved in an elimination setting.
Neither team was playing particularly well down the stretch in the regular season and so the Golden State Warriors will be feeling good about having a win under their belt.
The Warriors also won three of the four regular season games between these teams, but the last of those was played before the All Star Break and Golden State have had injuries hurt the roster since then. They had struggled for three quarters of the Play In Tournament game against the LA Clippers and Golden State are going to have to play with more intensity from the off, although the key names may still be on some form of minutes restriction.
The outcome of this game really feels like it comes down to whether the Golden State Warriors veterans can find a way to dig deep and produce as they did in the Fourth Quarter on Wednesday. If they can do that for a longer period, the Warriors have every chance of earning the upset, but we have not seen that too often in recent weeks as injuries have slowed down the likes of Steph Curry.
Add in the fact that this younger Phoenix Suns team have the Defensive intensity to match up pretty well with Golden State and there is lean with the home team here.
However, it is the other side of the court where Phoenix can really take control of this elimination game with the Warriors still struggling to make enough stops. They showed plenty of character and determination to fight back and upset the LA Clippers, but a lot needed to go right and the Golden State Warriors may come up short against this Phoenix team.
Home teams have been very good in these final elimination games in the Play In Tournament and the Suns look another that can be backed.
Prediction
Going against the Golden State Warriors that still have Steph Curry and Draymond Green on the roster feels difficult.
But those players are not what they once were and especially not when battling through knocks and issues that affect older players.
Credit has to be given the Warriors for showing tremendous grit to come through the first elimination game they have played in this post-season, but the Phoenix Suns may be too fresh on both sides of the court and that can see them move through to a First Round Series with the top Seed in the Western Conference.
The Pick :
Phoenix Suns 110-104 Golden State Warriors
