The Golden State Warriors have been rolling this season, sporting the best record in the NBA at 43-9. Last night, they started their “second half” of the season on the right note by outplaying their nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs, 110-99. The Warriors will not see their home court until March as they embark on a tough six game road trip starting Sunday.
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The road trip starts in Indiana when they will take on the Pacers on Sunday night. The Pacers have struggled with injuries including losing their best player before the season even started, Paul George. George suffered a gruesome knee injury in a USA scrimmage, leading up to the World Cup. The Pacers also lost their starting point guard, George Hill for the the first month and has only played 16 games. The Warriors will have to stop Hill and Warriors’ killer, David West in order to get the victory. The Warriors have already beat Indiana at Oracle Arena, 117-102.
After Indiana, the Warriors will shift their focus to the national’s capital, Washington D.C. where they will take on the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Wizards are a playoff team and may give the Warriors some problems with their huge front line. Their front line is comprised of two seven footers, Marcin Gortat and Nene. The Wizards are also led by one of the best dynamic point guards in the game, John Wall. Look for the Warriors to show him different looks starting with Stephen Curry and switching to Klay Thompson later in the game. This will be the Warriors first meeting with the Wizards.
On Thursday night, the Warriors will face their toughest road test of the season when they meet the Cleveland Cavaliers. This may be a NBA Finals preview with the two best players in the league playing against one another on TNT. The Warriors will have to contain LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in order to get a huge road victory. These teams met in early January at Oracle Arena where the Warriors blew out the Cavaliers, 112-94. James did not play in this game so look for him to be ready on Thursday night. Iman Shumpert also did not play in the first matchup, who has a key contributor off the Cavs’ bench.
The next night, the Warriors will travel to Toronto on the toughest back-to-back of the trip. The Raptors have the second best record in the Eastern Conference and will look to get revenge on the Warriors on their home court. After a close game in the first half, the Warriors laid a 23-5 run to put the game away in the third quarter. The Warriors will have to deal with DeMar DeRozan, who did not play in Oakland, who is one of the best young two guards in the NBA. The Warriors will need to stop him and his running mate, Kyle Lowry if they want to get victory north of the border.
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After playing three consecutive playoff teams, the Warriors schedule gets a little easier as they take on the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are battling for the final playoff spot in the East and could be a trap game for the Warriors. The Celtics are one of the most hardest working teams and if the Warriors do not bring their “A” game, they may struggle against the Celtics. Newly acquired Isaiah Thomas is another Warriors killer and he will need to be stopped in order to get the win.
The Warriors trip concludes in New York against the Brooklyn Nets. This game will also be tough to get up for because it is the last game of the trip and is also the second night of a back-to-back. Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez lead the way for the disappointing Nets after a postseason appearance last season. It will also be a return for Curry, who won the Three Point Shootout at Barclays Center. If he gets that hot again, the Warriors will have a great chance to end the road trip with a win.
After this road trip, the Warriors should be primed for the stretch run that contains lots of home games coming up. Look for the Warriors to go 4-2 on this road trip, losing one game on both back-to-back stretches and coming home with a 47-11 record. The Warriors could very well go 6-0 on this road trip but a winning record during this stretch will show the league how good this team really is.