Not so long ago, the Golden State Warriors were the team to beat not only in the Western Conference but also in the entire NBA. Featuring 4 All-Stars in their starting lineup and a Finals MVP as their sixth man, they were the most overpowered team in the league.

Fast-forward to today and that's no longer the case. The Warriors still have two of the best players in the league in Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and a solid coach in Steve Kerr but they're far from the dominant team they once were.

Right now, they're sitting at the 8th spot in the Western Conference with a 19-16 record, a place they're not used to being in since Kerr took over. Gladly for them, there's still another half of the season.

Stephen Curry Says The Warriors Must Avoid The Play-In Tournament

That's why Stephen Curry still believes in his team's chances to clinch a top-four seed, which would be the best-case-scenario for them. However, their biggest priority would be to avoid the play-in tournament for the 7-10 seeds:

 

“We just want to not be in the play-in situation, that’d be helpful. Probably best case scenario, with where we are right now, if we could sneak into the fourth seed, that’d be amazing," Curry said, as quoted by Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

It's been a tale of two teams with the Warriors this season. They've either blown out their rivals, regardless of how good their competition is, or they haven't been able to keep up with them.

Curry has been on a tear since the start of the year and posting the same numbers he had during his unanimous MVP campaign but the rest of the supporting cast has underperformed more often than not.

 

Then again, it's clear that once Klay Thompson is ready to come back next season, the Warriors will once again be one of the biggest powerhouses in the Association, so it's still early to say the dynasty is over.