The Golden State Warriors have slipped all the way to the 10th seed in the Western Conference after they fell in the TD Garden to the Celtics on Thursday, 120-99. With all the players they still have on the shelf due to injury — Steph Curry, Moses Moody, Al Horford, and more — landing in the 8-seed has become the new goal for a Warriors team that was previously fighting for a top-6 seed for much of the season.

As they strive to improve their health, the Warriors must also remain competitive and stay afloat in the pursuit of the 8th spot. They are currently half a game behind both the Clippers and the Trail Blazers, who are tied for the 8th seed, but they're just 2-8 in their last 10 games, while both adversaries are a much more respectable 5-5. 

After the Celtics loss, Pat Spencer reflected on Steve Kerr's words that the Warriors need to be "prepared for the play-in" and revealed what the Warriors' mentality needs to be for the rest of the season."

"It's just building an identity. Obviously, we're a completely different ball club when we have Steph out there, Moses is another shooter, defender, point of attack guy. For us, it's just about being competitive, and we haven't been, truthfully. We've dropped a few games here that we really should have won. On paper, probably not, but up 20+ in the Garden, gave the Bulls a free game there. We've been competitive for the most part. I think the thing that was frustrating about this one was we let it get away early and never gave ourselves a real shot."

"It's about building that identity and having something that's really tangible and something we can lean on when we get 30 and a couple other guys back."

Spencer has gotten way more run than anyone may have expected this season due to all of the injuries, but he's done a very solid job acting as a backup point guard or as a spot starter in Kerr's various lineups.

Against the Celtics, Spencer recorded a team-high 14 points, shooting 5-11 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arc. That was his second-straight game in double figures after he had 10 points and 4 assists in the Warriors' victory over the Wizards on Monday.

This season, Spencer has been impressive when asked to take on a larger role. In his 24 games this year playing at least 20 minutes, Spencer is averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 assists per game while shooting about 45% from the field and 42.4% from three-point range.

Considering he only recently got his contract converted from a two-way and never played more than 21 minutes in an NBA game before this season, it's been an impressive leap from the former lacrosse superstar at a time when the Warriors desperately needed his availability.