** First, the hard news: Rookie forward Brandan Wright may not be available Thursday. He’s being termed “day-to-day” by the team because of a strained left groin he suffered in the Warriors’ 140-132 win over Sacramento on Tuesday.

Wright couldn’t say when exactly the injury occurred, but he didn’t notice it until he started cooling down after his 6-minute stint in the second quarter.

“It’s probably like a day-to-day thing. Nothing serious, though,” said Wright, who suffered a similar injury during his high school career. “It can linger if you don’t get on top of it, but I’m definitely going to be on it three or four times a day, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Warriors coach Don Nelson said Wright’s absence makes it “triply good” that Mickael Pietrus has returned from his own bout with a strained groin.

** Nelson said that he would be making changes from the game plan that led to a 119-112 defeat in Denver two weeks ago, but his team didn’t meet very long for its shootaround (they won’t be holding one tomorrow because of the early 5 p.m. start time dictated by TNT). So it’s doesn’t seem like there was that much new material to go over.

** The Warriors’ locker room is filled with good guys who are even better quotes, but Pietrus can be on a level all his own sometimes. Take this exchange from today’s Q&A:

How does this run compare with last year’s? Is it more intense? Are there more expectations?
It’s more intense because in the West, there’s no games for free right now, because I think everybody’s going to play until the end. We’ll see. I really want to go to the playoffs. Trust me, I really want to go. It’s fun. Did you come last year in the playoffs?

Oh, yeah.
Did you wear that “We Believe” shirt?

I grabbed one, yeah.
You have to wear it, not grab it. You have to wear it, right? [Here, MP turns to Warriors PR official Raymond Ridder.] Hey, tomorrow we need like 23,000 “We Believe” shirts! [Replies Ridder: "And, we need everybody there at 5 o’clock."] A 5 o’clock game tomorrow. I want to talk to all the fans to get their drink on, get their T-shirt on and let’s ready to war. That’s it. Be there at 5, because it’s going to be a fun party tomorrow. Trust me.

– Geoff

There was a certain buzz in the Warriors locker room. You can tell it’s that time of year when the TV people come out.
“Now they want to talk to us,” Harrington said through a laugh.

* Surprisingly, the Tennessee-Stanford women’s game was on, not another NBA telecast. And some of the players were watching, too. Monta got a kick out of the way one of the Cardinal shot free throws.
“That’s how I’mma start shooting my free throws,” he said, mimmicking the two-hand toss.
Al said he thought Tennessee would win the national title, but “Wiggins is cold-blooded, though.”

*Mickael Pietrus is playing. He had his game shorts on. When asked if he was going to make it, he pointed to the jersey hanging in his locker room. He didn’t sound too sure about how he would feel out there, having missed nine games.

*Nelson’s pre-game was dominated by the topic of Monta Ellis’ defense. Here’s the rundown of that Q&A.

What can you do about Monta’s defense?
“Do more drills, defensive drills. We’ll do some more slides tomorrow. I don’t think in a practice situation you’re going to make people better at what they do. They can concentrate harder, they can get a little better. But you’re going to have to give Monta help throughout his NBA career. That’s what coaching’s all about.”

He gets screened a lot. Will his getting stronger help?
“Well, he’s small and he’s skinny. … The other guys in his stature haven’t improved all that much in guarading the screen and roll. It kind of is an area that is effective against small guards, the screen and roll.”

Can you switch then instead of having Monta fight through the screen?
“Well, he’s not a very good defender in the box. With Baron, you can get away with it. Jack certainly is a pretty good defender in the box. There’s more of a size factor the closer you get to the basket.”

Doesn’t Phoenix switch with Steve Nash?
“Nash is not a good defender. He has a same problem.”

Does he want to be a good defender?
He wants to be a great player. That’s part of it. Players always see offense first and defense second. I think he really wants to be a great player.

Does Monta leak out too much?
“That’s not a defensive problem. He’s quick enough to do that anyway and still guard his guy. The problem that we have is that our guard are penetrators. That’s the way our offense is geared, and often times when they penetrate, somebody makes a mistake and doesn’t come back on the defensive rotations. So we’re vulnerable some from people running against us. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just an individual thing. They’ve got to know when they’re back and know who’s position it is. But, I don’t know, Monta is a small two guard at this point, and there are problems defensively with small two guards in this league.”

The morning practice was fairly eventful. Here were the highlights:

*Nelson walked from the court to the hallway to talk to the media. But before he said a word, he walked back toward the court to shout something to his rookie.
“Belinelli,” he screamed to Marco, “$100 fine for your friend sleeping in shootaround!”
There were several laughs as all the attention pointed to Marco’s peeps, posted in the stands sporting sweats, a red long-sleeve shirt and some aviator sunglasses. He was shocked.
“Bull#@&%!” he retorted in jest through a thick accent. “Bull#@&%!”
Marco’s friend said he wasn’t sleep, he was just relaxing behind his shades.

*Nelson said Mickael Pietrus was playing tonight, his first time since the first Lakers game. Of course, Pietrus wasn’t so sure.
“I feel all right,” MP2 said. “I’mma see tonight.”
When I told Pietrus that Nellie said he was playing, he looked a bit surprised.
“He said that?”
“Yes, he did. Is it not official yet?”
“It’s official when you see my name on the list (lineup).”

*A jewel of honesty from from Nellie on Stephen Jackson’s play of late:
“He’s been awful. He has not been playing well. … We’re looking for him to come out of it. … He’s our emotional leader. No question. … He’s got to rise above that and he understands that as a leader and a captain.”

*The Warriors seemed light and carefree despite what is on the line. As a group of them filed toward the locker room, Al Harrington was playfully interviewing Andris Biedrins.
“Andris,” Harrington said through a grin, mimicking the media types, “How does it feel to get 15 rebounds?” then passed the invisible mic to Biedrins’ lips.
“Andris, how does it feel to be 7 feet and be a good free throw shooter now.”

I’m thinking the Denver Nuggets have two losses left in them, so the Warriors need to go 4-1 to make the playoffs. That looks feasible based on the schedule.
Of the Warriors five remaining games, four are at home (Sacramento, Denver, Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle).
There was a time that you could guarantee four victories left for the Ws. The league’s elite couldn’t win at Oracle. The Kings, Nuggets, league’s scrubs didn’t stand a chance.
At this point last season, the Kings, Clippers and Sonics — three of the remaining visitors — would’ve have stood a chance at the Oracle. Now, it’s hard to say. After home losses to Minnesota, Chicago and Atlanta, and near losses to visiting New Jersey, New York and Indiana, how confident are you the Warriors will get it done? Or will they slip up and suffer one last potentially fatal missed opportunity?

So, the No. 7 seed is out. Dallas will make the playoffs, and rightfully so. They’ve earned it with Sunday’s huge road win, something the Warriors could not pull off.
It’s not official, but the Warriors trail Mavs by two games with five to play. If the Warriors went 4-1, Dallas would have to go 1-4 for the Warriors to have a better record. The Mavericks close vs. Seattle and Utah, then at Portland and Seattle before closing vs. New Orleans.
So that leaves the Warriors vying with Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot. And though Golden State isn’t getting it done on its own, as it did late last season, the Nuggets are proving to be even more un-clutch.
Losing to Sac at home and at Seattle shows that Denver doesn’t have it. Their defense is atrocious. At least the Warriors force turnovers here and there. The Nuggets don’t even do that.
The Warriors last remaining tasks: win at home. They host the Kings, Nuggets, Clippers and Sonics. Win these games and the worst they can do is go 4-1 over these last five. That should be enough, because it would force the Nuggets to go 4-1 to finish tied with the Warriors. Denver has three more road games (At Clippers, Warriors and Jazz) before closing at home against Houston and Memphis.
The way they’ve played the last two games, it doesn’t look good for Denver fans.

In the two biggest games of the year, at San Antonio and Dallas, Jackson was no where to be found.
Not only did he not produce his usual production, but he was awful – on both ends of the court. He was a hindrance with his jump shooting habit, and he failed to make up for his offensive woes in other areas.
True, several Warriors played poorly. Ellis was terrible in San Antonio. He was a little bit better in Dallas, but his trigger-happy ways hurt the Warriors. Al Harrington has been off, but he has his sprained thumb as a cover.
The one guy who did show up, who – say what you will about him – always shows up, was Baron Davis. While everyone else was chucking jumpers, he was forcing himself to the basket 1-on-2 and 1-on-3. (Let that be a lesson for those who say let BD walk and give the team to Monta. He’s doing so well because he’s playing next to Baron.)
The Warriors can afford bad games from Ellis, because they have Kelenna Azubuike (who is ballin’ lately). They can afford bad games from Harrington because they can go with Biedrins or Barnes or Pietrus when he’s healthy.
The Warriors CANNOT afford awful performances from Jackson when the stakes are so high. Maybe he can play a less-than-steller game, or a below-the-averages game. But he can’t be a downright liability on both ends of the court. Not with the playoffs hanging in the balance.
Jackson has to find a way to produce even on bad nights. If his jumper isn’t falling, if he’s not getting the calls, if he’s not feeling well, he still has to find a way to produce. He has to.
The fact that he disappeared is a huge concern, and exposes perhaps the flaw that will keep the Warriors out of the postseason: this team is not as good when Stephen Jackson is the second-best player. Forget his temper, which he’s controlled. Forget his lack of rebounding, or his propensityf or turnovers. Can the Warriors rely on a player who literally lives and dies by the jumper?
Maybe I’m overreacting. I like Jackson, as a person and a player. I think he’s really good. But I think these last two games exposed him.

Sure, if the Warriors lose to the Mavericks and run the table, they’re in.
But the reality is, they DESPERATELY need this game tonight. Losing it would not only drop them a game behind Denver and two games behind Dallas, it would be a total buzz kill. This group hasn’t lost back-to-back games since the first week of January. To suffer a losing streak now would probably zap the zeal right out of the Warriors, especially coming off the spanking they got from San Antonio.
This is more than just about getting even in the standings. This is more than just securing a tie-breaker option. This is a statement game. This game lets Dallas and Denver know that they’re fighting for one spot, because the Warriors are in. It’s going to be hard to believe they have it in them if they can’t pull this game out.