Warriors-Kings Game 7 keys - How each team can gain an advantage in the series finale - ESPN

How can the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings win the only first-round series to go seven games?

The series has already featured a variety of twists and turns. It opened with the Kings taking their first two playoff games since 2006 before the Warriors survived Game 3 without the suspended Draymond Green and kicked off a three-game winning streak. Then, with Golden State on the brink of advancing, Sacramento rallied to win Friday night at the Chase Center and force Sunday's Game 7.

Based on the outlook from oddsmakers, expect a back-and-forth game like the series itself. The Warriors opened as a rare road favorite in a Game 7 before the odds swung back to the host Kings, who are favored by one point at Caesars Sportsbook as of Saturday night.

So much is at stake for defending champion Golden State — it faces another historic luxury tax bill in 2023-24 if the Warriors keep their core intact.

Let's look at what the Warriors and Kings can do to win Game 7 based on the trends from the first six games of this thrilling matchup.

Warriors: Start Draymond Green

Bringing Green off the bench was a good story when Golden State went on to win its next two games with him in a reserve role and Jordan Poole starting, but those wins came despite that lineup change than because of it.

Remember, much of the optimism about the Warriors' playoff chances was based on how strong their starting lineup had been during the regular season: plus-21.9 in 337 minutes, easily the best net rating of any five-player group with at least 250 minutes, according to NBA Advanced Stats.

It's surprising, then, that Steve Kerr made the decision to move away from that lineup so quickly based on Golden State's Game 3 win without the suspended Green,