Warriors' Andrew Wiggins' pending return will be huge for team's title defense

The Dubs are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers at 41-38 and in fifth place in the Western Conference standings with three games left, but the final few contests of the regular season will be the most critical yet. 

As the current No. 6 seed, Golden State would barely avoid the dangerous play-in tournament if the postseason began on Monday, but they are just 1/2 a game ahead of both the seventh-place Los Angeles Lakers (40-38) and the eighth-place New Orleans Pelicans (40-38), two games ahead of the ninth-place Minnesota Timberwolves (39-40) and three games up on the 10th-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Warriors have Monday off, before a huge home game against the Thunder on Tuesday. Golden State will close the regular season with a Friday night road tilt against the Sacramento Kings (47-31) and a Sunday afternoon game on the road against the upset-minded Portland Trail Blazers (33-45).

Wiggins -- who hasn't played since Feb. 13 -- may be the difference-maker in whether coach Steve Kerr's crew is in the play-in tournament or have the luxury of going through a seven-game series.

The 2022 All-Star may get overshadowed by the likes of franchise stalwarts Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but he was huge in the team's run to the championship last year as well. Wiggins averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks across his 22 games (all starts) during the playoff run and had a .469/.333/.646 shooting line.

Along with Green and Thompson, the former No. 1 overall pick is one of Golden State's best defenders and is still one of the best slashers in the NBA.

Depending on when Wiggins officially makes his return, the Warriors could suddenly find themselves in a great position to repeat as champions again and win their fifth title in the last decade.