Golden State Warriors: Previewing the Final 30 Games of the Season

March 9-March 16: The Dog Days

This five-game stretch of the schedule will feature a few lottery teams with little hope of sneaking in to the playoffs. However, these could become trap games for the Warriors as we have seen with their two losses against the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons, respectively. Just because the Warriors should beat these teams doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing.

Game 11: Utah Jazz
The Warriors will continue their homestand when the Utah Jazz come to town. The Jazz and Warriors have already played one competitive game this season which took some Curry heroics down the stretch to maintain their perfect record out of the gates. However, the Jazz’s one trip to Oracle this season ended with them losing by almost 20 points. Don’t expect much different in this game.

Game 12: Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard will have his homecoming in Oakland this night, and will likely receive large amounts of cheers from the Oracle crowd. That is before the game starts, however. Once that ball is in the air, only Curry threes and Andre Iguodala dunks will get that crowd going. The Blazers, who are currently seventh in the West at 27-27, are fighting to stay in the playoffs, and down the stretch every game counts. However, the Warriors should take care of this one at home.

Game 13: Phoenix Suns
The Warriors will wrap up their season series against the Suns who they have beaten three times already. Now with Markieff Morris gone, and a new head coach, the Suns have become a rebuilding team. They say that on any given night any NBA team can win, but on this night, look for that team to be the Warriors.

Game 14: New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans will come to town for the second time this season after being the first W in the win column on ring night in October. Alvin Gentry will be back to face the team he helped coach to a title a year ago, and he is trying to get this team on the track that everyone thought they would be on this season. After hopes of improving on their eighth seed they got last year, the Pelicans have slipped to 11th in the West with little hopes of rebounding. Unfortunately for them, this night probably won’t help their record.

Game 15: New York Knicks
The Knicks will make their one and only stop in Oakland, after falling to the Warriors in New York 116-95 in January. This time around, a new head coach will be at the helm, and we all know Knicks executive Phil Jackson will be eyeing Luke Walton to run that team next year. The Knicks, after starting the season with a legitimate shot at the playoffs, have fallen off, losing 10 of their last 11 games before the All-Star break. This late in the season, much is not likely to change.

Next: Western Conference Stretch