Golden State Warriors Must Take Care of Business Against Inferior Teams
The Warriors cannot afford to lose anymore of these games against inferior talent because even though, they are having their best season in years, the postseason is not guaranteed. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors are having their best season in 20 years.
They are 16 games over .500 at 42-26, 6th in the Western Conference and many fans think they should have an even better record. Golden State has been up and down this season, beating the best teams in the NBA, including Indiana, Miami and Oklahoma City but it has also lost to some of the inferior teams like Cleveland, Charlotte (twice) and Washington.
David Lee proclaimed at the All-Star break that the Warriors were going to treat every game like a playoff game and their goal was not to lose another game at home. While the Warriors are one of the hottest teams since the All-Star break with a record of 11-4, they are 5-1 at home, losing to the Cavaliers on Friday night. Klay Thompson did not play because he was in the Bahamas for his grandfather’s funeral so maybe we can chalk that defeat to not having Thompson to guard Kyrie Irving.
The Warriors will start another homestand starting on Tuesday night against the woeful Orlando Magic, who have a 19-48 record and are looking forward to another lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft. But the Magic do have some decent talent in Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson, who are clearly capable of playing well already beating the Clippers, Thunder and Pacers. The Warriros cannot lose focus at the task at hand or afford another debacle like Friday night against Cleveland. They should roll the Magic if they play up to their potential and the starters should not sniff the fourth quarter.
On Thursday night, they play an even worse team in the Milwaukee Bucks, who are literally the worst team in the entire NBA. Milwaukee is so bad that the Philadelphia 76ers have lost 20 games in a row, and Milwaukee is still in the cellar in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors should destroy the Bucks just like the Magic and not look past Milwaukee with the West-leading San Antonio Spurs coming to town on Saturday night.
The Warriors cannot afford to lose anymore of these games against inferior talent because even though they are having their best season in years, the postseason is not guaranteed. The Mavericks, Grizzlies and Suns are all within three games or less of Golden State and for the most part, are playing the same competition as the Warriors. There is also the possibility that the Warriors can move up in the standings to fifth, being only 1.5 games back of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Warriors’ new goal should be to play at a consistently high level and not lose another home game. This is a very attainable goal with only playoff-bound team being the San Antonio Spurs. At a minimum, the Warriors should finish with a 8-1 record in their final nine games at home.
That would give Golden State 50 wins, a goal they have strived for since the beginning of the season and with the team playing so well on the road, that win total should just increase. The stretch run starts tomorrow night against inferior competition, something the Warriors need to take advantage of if they want to reach all of their goals.