The Warriors are currently in the midst of yet another short offseason, and with the announcement of the 2016-17 schedule, the Dubs can now set their sights on the road ahead of them as they attempt to get back to the Finals for the third consecutive year.
The Warriors are currently in the midst of yet another short offseason, and with the announcement of the 2016-17 schedule today, the Dubs can now set their sights on the road ahead of them as they attempt to get back to the Finals for the third consecutive year. With that in mind, here are a few observations and notes on the Warriors’ 2016-17 slate:
- Golden State will make 28 national TV appearances in 2016-17, the maximum number of games a team can be scheduled on ABC (5 games), ESPN (13) and TNT (10)… In addition, the Warriors will make nine (9) appearances on NBA TV and have eight (8) games broadcast on ESPN Radio.
- The Warriors are opening at home for the 13th time in the last 15 years (the exceptions are 2012-13 and 2014-15)… Golden State will open against San Antonio for the first time since 2002, when the Warriors tipped off the season with a 106-98 home win.
- The Warriors and Cavaliers will meet in NBA Finals rematches on Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the second consecutive year. The teams will play in Cleveland on Christmas and in Oakland on MLK Jr. Day, the inverse of the schedule last season.
- Golden State will make its fourth-straight Christmas appearance, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that the Warriors will play on Dec. 25… The Warriors are 11-14 all-time on Christmas, including an 89-83 win over Cleveland in 2015… The game in Cleveland will be Golden State’s first Christmas Day game outside of the State of California since 1984 (Portland, OR) and its first Christmas game played in the Eastern Time Zone since 1971 (at New York).
- The Warriors are playing their 16th Martin Luther King Jr. Day game in the last 17 years (the exception was 2012) in another holiday rematch of the NBA Finals… The Warriors are 15-9 all-time on MLK Jr. Day since the holiday was first observed in 1986, including a 132-98 win at Cleveland on MLK Day in 2016.
- The Warriors have a pair of five-game homestands, from Nov. 26-Dec. 5 and Dec. 28-Jan. 6, and a pair of five-game road trips, from Dec. 7-13 and Feb. 27-March 6… This marks the first time since 2007-08 that the Warriors have not had a road trip of longer than five games during the campaign.
- The Warriors will play two games against all Eastern Conference teams and four games against all Western Conference foes with the exception of four teams that they’ll meet only three times: Dallas (two at home, one away), Utah (two at home, one away), Denver (one at home, two away) and San Antonio (one at home, two away).
- Throughout the course of the season, the Warriors will travel a total distance of 54,436 miles.
- Golden State will play 17 games on a back-to-back, down from a league-high 20 in 2015-16, and will have one instance of four games in five nights from Dec. 7-11 as part of a five-game road trip.
- Golden State will meet Luke Walton’s L.A. Lakers three times in the month of November… As interim head coach last season, Walton helped the Warriors to a perfect 16-0 record in November, earning him Coach of the Month honors… Overall, the Warriors have won 25-straight games in the month of November.
- The Warriors will close the season with six of their last seven games at home.
- Golden State will close the season at home against the Lakers, their first season finale against the Lakers since 2003 (a 111-117 home loss).
- Games by day of the week: Monday – 12, Tuesday – 10, Wednesday – 15, Thursday – 11, Friday – 12, Saturday – 12, Sunday – 10
- Games by month: October – 3, November – 15, December – 16, January – 14, February – 12, March – 16, April – 6