The Warriors elected not to make any high-profile acquisitions during the NBA trade deadline, doubling down on their current roster that has shown recent promise. Their offensive and defensive efficiency has improved dramatically since Draymond Green returned to action last month. Stephen Curry has delivered some historical performances, Jonathan Kuminga has played the best prolonged stretch of his young career and the team has discovered even more depth with the recent contributions from Lester Quinones and Gui Santos. The Dubs have won five straight games and seven of their last eight.
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. Indiana Pacers
Now a game over .500 (26-25) and 10th place in the West, the Dubs will look to keep that momentum rolling with a key stretch of games ahead. The top six teams at the end of the season earn a playoff spot while the seventh through 10th place teams compete in the play-in tournament for the final two postseason berths.
The Warriors are currently in a stretch of home games, filled with starpower as the top four career scoring leaders among active players – in terms of total points scored – visit or have visited Chase Center in a two-week span: LeBron James (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Suns), James Harden (Clippers) and Russell Westbrook (Clippers). Fifth among active players in career scoring is Stephen Curry and all five players have eclipsed 23,000 career points.
Curry Hits 11 3s in Win Over the Pacers
The Suns were first to visit the Bay, playing their fourth and final regular season matchup against the Warriors on Saturday. The Suns have won the first three head-to-head meetings, including on Opening Night, but the Dubs took the final meeting 113-112 on Stephen Curry's 10th career game winner.
Next up are the Los Angeles Clippers on Valentine's Day, as NBA fans will love to see Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook in a showcase of three members of the NBA's 75th-anniversary team. On Tuesday, the Clippers owned the best record in the Western Conference and they remain near the top of the conference. The Warriors and Clippers have split their first two meetings, with the Dubs taking the Chase Center contest on Nov. 30 — the game's date (11/30/23) coinciding with their four-time championship trio of Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green's jersey numbers.
Finally, in the first game after the All-Star break, James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in town on Feb. 22. The Warriors and Lakers played a double-overtime thriller in their first meeting on Jan. 27, in which Curry (46) and James (36) combined for 82 points. Alongside James is Anthony Davis — one of the league's premier defenders — having averaged at least two blocks per game in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
The task is tall for the Dubs, but having been one of the league's best teams on both ends of the floor since Jan. 15, they’ll likely need to sustain a high level of play to improve upon their standing in this tough upcoming stretch.