Warriors would be better off staying as the No. 10 seed in the West

When the Warriors lost to the Indiana Pacers Friday night, their home record dropped to 18-19. That's more home losses than they've had the last two seasons combined, and a far cry from their 2014-17 run, where they lost only nine games at home combined.

They've had a number of stinkers at home at the Chase Center, dropping games to the 23-48 Toronto Raptors, the 34-37 Chicago Bulls and the 15-56 Spurs, who were playing without Victor Wembanyama. 

In November, they lost five straight home games, including consecutive pairs of games to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Some of the home losses have been brutal, like when the Warriors blew an 18-point fourth quarter lead to the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic hit a game-winner from 40 feet at the buzzer.

They lost one home game in overtime, another in double OT and one where DeMar DeRozan hit a game-winning and-one for the Bulls' first win in the Bay Area since 2015.

All of that means that playing on the road for the 9-10 play-in game, and then the subsequent game for the No. 8 seed might not be the worst outcome for the Warriors. For whatever reason, they play harder on the road.

Last year in the playoffs, Golden State lost by 19 points at home in Game 6 of the first round before beating the Sacramento Kings on the road. 

In the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors won two games in Boston, the same as their two wins at home. With Golden State 4.5 games out of eighth place, it's time to embrace the "Road Warriors" mentality.

Especially with the Houston Rockets hot on their heels. The Warriors are about to start a five-game road trip beginning with three games against playoff teams. 

They better get used to playing on the road, because that's their only path to the playoffs. Or even the play-in.