Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have been on the struggle bus for pretty much the entirety of the 2023-24 season. Golden State had to scratch and claw its way just to secure the number ten seed in the Western Conference this season, meaning Curry and his teammates will have to win not one but two road elimination games in order to secure a spot in the NBA playoffs, first beginning with a date with the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday evening.

All of the struggles that the Warriors have endured this season have had some fans dreaming of the team’s dynastic run in the mid-2010’s extending up until 2022, in which the team won four championships over that span. One of the key members of that 2010’s Warriors team was center Festus Ezeli, who made an appearance at the Warriors’ regular season finale on Sunday vs the Utah Jazz, which the team won.

During a timeout, Ezeli participated in a dance number with Warriors cheerleaders, and Curry’s amazed reaction from the sidelines quickly went viral.

Can the Warriors make a postseason push?

The Warriors and Kings will be facing off in an NBA postseason setting for the second time in as many years when they face off on Tuesday, the only difference being this time it’s in the Play-In round and not the playoffs themselves. The matchup signals a fall from grace for two teams who were among the conference’s elite a season ago but who are now both viewed as having virtually no chance of making a real playoff push, even if they do win two games to backdoor their way in.

Curry of course is still good enough to strike fear into the hearts of potential playoff opponents, but the steep decline of Klay Thompson, combined with the somehow increased propensity of Draymond Green to give into his impulses, has left the Warriors this season looking like a shell of their former selves.

In any case, the Warriors and Kings are slated to tip things off at 10:00 PM ET on Tuesday evening from Sacramento. The game will be carried by TNT.