A Busy Week Ahead for the Golden State Warriors
By Dale Johnson
It will be a very interesting week for the Golden State Warriors, who play two sets of back-to-back games against some of the league’s best and worst competition.
TUESDAY: WARRIORS at SACRAMENTO 7PM
The slate of four games in five nights starts tomorrow when the Warriors make the short trip to Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings (17-29). Last time these two teams faced each other, Klay Thompson beat the Kings 126-101., which is only a slight exaggeration. While no road game is a gimme, if the Warriors have true title aspirations, they need to beat the bottom half of the West whenever they get the chance, and that other Northern California team shouldn’t pose too much of a threat Tuesday night.
WEDNESDAY: DALLAS vs. WARRIORS 7:30PM
The Warriors will be back home Wednesday night taking on the Dallas Mavericks (32-17). This would have been the first time the Dubs faced the Mavs with Rajon Rondo at the point, but Rondo suffered reported nasal and orbital fractures when he was kneed in the face by teammate Richard Jefferson. It’s rumored Rondo will miss the next three games, ruling him out for the game Wednesday against the Warriors.
Rondo or not, the Mavs are a formidable team with Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis leading the way. They’re second in the league in scoring (the Warriors are first) so expect a barn burner Wednesday night at Oracle. It would be nice to see Steph Curry get back to his hyper-efficient ways of shooting over 50% from the field and attacking the basket.
Dec 13, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (5) defends against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Warriors defeated the Mavericks 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
FRIDAY: WARRIORS at ATLANTA 4:30PM
A day off Thursday, and then the game that fans of the NBA have seemingly had circled for weeks: the Warriors at Atlanta taking on the Hawks, who are playing unfathomably well right now. They own an incredible 19-game winning streak at time of publication, and could very easily push it to 21 by the time the Warriors touch down in Hotlanta. Simply put, these are the two best teams in the NBA and it should make for a great night of hoops.
Atlanta is a stifling defensive unit (third best in the league) while still averaging 103.4 points-per-game (good for sixth best). They have a very balanced scoring attack with all of their starters averaging double figures, but none averaging more than 17 a game. They don’t really have one star to key on, but Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Al Horford are a devastating trio with Kyle Korver connecting from 3-point range at an absurd 53.7% (that’s 10% higher than his still really solid career average).
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So how do the Warriors win? They’ll need big games from Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut clogging the paint and controlling the glass. Atlanta is 26th in the league at rebounding and can be exploited on the boards. Multiple looks at the basket usually spells success for the Warriors and they will need those extra shots to counteract the tough defense the Hawks play.
I think the Warriors are ready for a tough road challenge and will need their entire team to play at a high level to end the Hawks winning streak on the road.
Jan 3, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
SATURDAY: WARRIORS at NEW YORK 4:30PM
Golden State will wrap up the road trip by heading to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks who on Sunday reached double-digit wins! The Knicks (10-38) are all kinds of bad, and that is with them actually playing better as of late (5-2 in their last seven games). Steve Kerr must thank his lucky stars every day that he decided to take the Warriors job over the Knicks, because wow is that team a dumpster fire.
All that said, they still have Carmelo Anthony, an elite player in this league and the Warriors can’t expect teams to just lay down for them. Coach Kerr has done a pretty good job this year of not allowing the Warriors to play down to their competition, a serious problem that Golden State faced under Mark Jackson. Even in the second game of a back-to-back, the only acceptable outcome here is a GSW rout and a happy flight back to the Bay Area.