The Golden State Warriors enter the halfway point of the season on a two-game skid as a result of marvelous single-game performances by Kevin Durant and the anomalous Nate Robinson. If the season were to end today, the Warriors would be the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 25-16 record.
Barring any significant injuries, the Warriors are currently on pace to reach the 50-win threshold, which they haven’t accomplished since the 1993-1994 season. However, 50 wins has always been an expectation for of this Warriors squad. Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reported back in September :
“The Warriors have a number posterized in the exclusive areas of the their practice facility. It’s a goal for number of wins this season. It’s being kept on the low, but the starting point guard already revealed it begins with a ‘5.’”
The Warriors have positioned themselves to realize their preseason aspirations through mid-January thanks to a timely 10-game winning streak that included six road victories.
The last 41 games will dictate whether or not the Warriors are a true title contender, the plausibility of their 50-win goal and, most importantly, playoff seeding.
The All-Star Break is still about a month away, but here’s a look ahead at what Golden State faces in the *true* second half of the season:
- 23 games against the West
- 20 games against teams above .500
- 24 home games
- 10 games against Lottery-bound Teams (Jazz, Bucks, etc.)
- 5 games against Title-contenders (Spurs, Heat, and Pacers)
- Longest home-stand: 5 games (2, Jan. 20-31 & Mar. 18-30)
- Longest road-trip: 6 games (Feb. 24-Mar. 5)
- Number of back-to-backs: 7
- Longest break: 6 days (Feb. 13-18)
- Games against opponents playing second game of a back-to-back: 12 (including the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Portland Trailblazers)
