Warriors eliminated from NBA playoff contention after loss to Clippers

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Forget about the NBA Finals. The Warriors aren't even going to the NBA playoffs.

This isn't earth-shattering news to anyone, but it became official Tuesday night when the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 131-107 at Chase Center.

The Warriors' 50th loss of the season officially eliminated them from playoff contention.

It has been a long, tough nine months for the team that represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals the last five years and won three NBA titles during that span.

During the Finals last June, Kevin Durant ruptured his right Achilles and then Klay Thompson tore his left ACL. A few weeks later, Durant decided to join the Brooklyn Nets.

Then, in the fourth game of the 2019-20 season, Steph Curry broke his left hand and was forced to miss four months. He returned last Thursday against the Toronto Raptors but missed Saturday's game against the Philadelhia 76ers due to the seasonal flu.

Additionally, Draymond Green has played in only 43 of the 65 Warriors games this season, and the D'Angelo Russell experiment lasted a little more than three months before he was traded to Minnesota for former No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins.

All of that has added up to the worst record in the NBA this season.

Instead of securing the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs, the Warriors are in position to have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in June.

[RELATED: Outsider Observations: Warriors could have a great bench]

For a team that got accustomed to winning 60 or more games, and hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, being the first team eliminated from playoff contention will sting.

But coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers are hopeful that better days are ahead. Curry and Thompson will be healthy and ready to go when training camp opens in October, and there will be reinforcements added through the NBA draft and free agency.

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