10 Key Remaining Games for Golden State

The Golden State Warriors have the best record in NBA history through 52 games at 48–4. They resume their pursuit of the 72–10 Bulls and their place in history at Portland on Friday night. The Warriors are currently one game up on those Bulls. If Golden State can win at Portland and then at the Clippers Saturday night on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors would be two games up on the Bulls pace. Remarkably, Miami beat the 1995–96 Bulls in their 54th game despite the Heat playing with only 8 players on the roster because they had made three trades at the trade deadline the previous day.

Friday’s game is the start of a six-games-in-nine-nights road trip for the Golden State. Other particularly challenging games on the road trip include playing in Atlanta on Monday, Miami on Wednesday, and finally in Oklahoma City on Saturday in Primetime. It should be a good week to watch the Dubs if you live on the East Coast as I do.

As I noted last week, the Warriors schedule increases in difficulty after the All-Star Break. They’ve completed 63% (52 of 82 games) of their season so far, but have played only 47% (9 of 19) of the games scheduled against the other top 4 seeds in both conferences. Focusing on San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland, they’ve only played 44% (4 of 9) of the games scheduled against their three primary rivals. Of course, they’ve won all 12 of their games this season against teams seeded 5th or higher.

Which games are likely to pose the biggest challenge for the Warriors in their remaining 30 games?

• They have two road games against the Spurs remaining. Both nights the Warriors play on the second game of a back-to-back while San Antonio enjoys will be coming off a day of rest. If San Antonio plays at full strength, these should be a tough matchup.
• The road game at Oklahoma City on February 27th to close out their trip will be particularly challenging. While the Warriors may be energized to play on national television, keep in mind their loss to Milwaukee came at the end of a seven game road trip. They had played the night before in Boston, losing in double overtime, but they were still undefeated and trying to extend their record start to an NBA season. They definitely had motivation that night.
• Saturday’s game in Los Angeles against the Clippers also figures to be a tough test given it is the second night of a back-to-back.
• The road games against Atlanta and Miami may be the Warriors’ toughest challenges on paper remaining in the Eastern Conference
• Golden State has two other road games on the second night of a back-to-back. On March 30th they play at Utah after hosting Washington the prior evening. Additionally, on their current trip they play at Orlando Thursday the 25th after facing Miami the previous night. Amazingly, neither game is on national television (ESPN Wednesday or TNT Thursday) in two of their last chances to play a full game during primetime on the East Coast.

That is a total of eight key games remaining. Throw in the remaining games hosting San Antonio and Oklahoma City and there are 10 games that look to be a serious threat on Golden State’s remaining schedule. Win just half of the 10 and sweep the other 20 games and the Warriors will finish 73–9 with the best regular season record in NBA history. Health will certainly play a role, but February’s gauntlet to end the month could be the defining games on Golden State’s march to history.