3 Things the Golden State Warriors Must Do After the All-Star Break

After a week off for the NBA All-Star break, the Golden State Warriors return to the floor when they host the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center on Thursday night.

The Warriors' hopes of beating their pacific rival received a boost on Wednesday with confirmation Lakers' superstar LeBron James would be out with an ankle injury. But while they may enter Thursday's game as favorites, Golden State's season hangs on so much more over the coming months.

What do the Golden State Warriors need to do after the All-Star break to ensure a playoff position in the Western Conference?

The Warriors have breathed life into their struggling season with an 8-2 record in 10 games before the break. That could have easily been 10-0 with their two defeats coming in overtime against the Atlanta Hawks, and after leading by 15 in the second-half against the LA Clippers.

Golden State is fourth in offense, sixth in defense, and fourth in overall net rating across their last 10 games. Those numbers also urged them to stand pat at the trade deadline, with the franchise choosing to retain their core players despite much prior speculation.

Armed with recent good form, a fairly clear injury list, and the sixth-easiest schedule in the league, the Warriors appear well placed to continue their momentum and make a run up the standings over the latter end of the season.

Yet despite the optimism, there's still plenty of issues. Golden State remain with a number of rotation questions, and are still 10th in the West and with a host of teams they need to leapfrog in order to secure a playoff spot. So, how exactly do they go about doing that? Let's look at three things the Warriors need to do after the All-Star break: