The Warriors already have played 59 games this season. What's so significant about that? It ties a franchise record previously held by the 1950-51 Philadelphia Warriors for the most games played before the NBA All-Star Game.
Yeah, this team needed a break.
Golden State lost four of its final five games going into the break. Then, Steph Curry put on an historic show in the All-Star Game, scoring 50 points for Team LeBron. Warriors teammate Andrew Wiggins started for Team Durant and scored 10 points, and Draymond Green -- the Warriors' third All-Star -- was in a suit doing duties for TNT's broadcast as he recovers from a back injury.
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So far, the Warriors already have exceeded expectations with a 42-17 record that is good for second in the Western Conference and in all of basketball. It has been even more impressive when you take into account the injuries this team has dealt with. But let's put excuses to the side.
If the Warriors want to make a statement in the final 23 games of the regular season and roll into the playoffs with momentum, these will be key factors in them doing so.
It all starts with who they play, where and when.
The Schedule
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After an eight-day break, the Warriors are back in game action on Thursday night in Portland against the No. 10-seeded Trail Blazers, whom they already have beaten twice this season. Overall, the Warriors remaining opponents' win percentage is 51.7 percent, which would be the equivalent of the No. 8 seed right now in the West.
The Warriors have gone 23-12 this season against these teams -- a 65.7 win percentage -- which would be equivalent to the No. 4 seed in the West and the No. 1 seed in the East.
They also play 14 games on the road, compared to nine at home. The Warriors are 26-6 this season at home and 16-11 on the road. With the added play-in tournament giving more teams something to play for, the Warriors will be getting their best from everyone, possibly even including late-season opponents in the Kings, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
All-Star Steph
As previously mentioned, Curry had a pretty, pretty, pretty good All-Star Game. He set a record with 16 3-pointers, nearly doubling the previous record of nine. He also scored 50 points, two off the all-time record.
In the past, a big showing in the All-Star Game has meant good news for Curry and the Warriors. Last season, he scored a then career-high 28 points in the game and made eight 3-pointers, also a career-best. All he did after was average 34.9 points in the Warriors' final 28 games, willing them to the play-in tournament. Curry scored 26 points in the 2016 All-Star Game and averaged 30.6 points while shooting 45.4 percent from deep for 29 games following the break.
This could be exactly what Steph and the Warriors needed, which brings us to ...
The Splash Brothers
Since Klay Thompson returned from his two-and-a-half-year absence to two season-ending leg injuries, Curry and Thompson have played 15 games together. The Warriors have gone 9-6 in those games -- good but not great for the best shooting backcourt of all time.
Curry has averaged 23.9 points in 19 games since Klay returned on Jan. 9. He has scored over 30 points four times with Thompson on the floor, and also has shot just 35.7 percent on 3-pointers.
Thompson has scored over 30 points once and at least 20 points five times. Like his fellow Splash Brother, he hasn't exactly been lighting it up from the field and from 3-point range. Through his first 16 games back, Thompson is averaging 17.1 points per game and has a 41.8 field goal percentage and has made 37.4 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Is the break exactly what Thompson needed? Can Curry carry his All-Star Game performance to these final 23 games? Are we about to see a shooting explosion from these two? We're about to find out.
Third-Quarter Warriors
When the Warriors recently lost 119-104 to the LA Clippers, Marcus Morris Sr. made it a point to remind his teammates during halftime how often Golden State has caught fire in the third quarter. Not on that night. They scored only 19 points in the third, which has fit a recent trend.
Losing four of their last five games, here's how the Warriors have fared in the third quarter over their previous five games: 16 points, 20 points, 30 points, 19 points and 23 points. Not surprisingly, the 30 points is the only win in that stretch, when they held off the Los Angeles Lakers. They have averaged 21.6 points over their last five third quarters. That isn't exactly dominant by any means.
The Warriors have the highest plus-minus for the third quarter in the NBA at plus-2.9. That's the highest of any quarter this season, and their plus-5.1 for the second half of games leads the NBA as well. However, in their last five games, they have been outscored 144-78 in the third third quarter, good for 66 points and an average of 13.2 points.
Not great. The Third-Quarter Warriors need to return, and in the very near future.
Rising Star
At this point, it's no surprise the Warriors have longed to be like the Spurs of the past, competing for championships while building a sustained future at the same time. The selection of James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft was Example A. Even with Curry and Green, and the eventual return of Thompson, the front office saw a future star in the young center.
One year later, they've seen 19-year-old Jonathan Kuminga grow into a star and key player as a rookie while they wait for the injured Wiseman. Kuminga was named to the Rising Stars Game as a replacement after players like Thompson called it a "travesty" he wasn't original named to the roster. He already has scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first game against LeBron James, and coach Steve Kerr told everyone that game was to get his rookie a taste of the playoffs.
Since Green went down to injury, Kuminga has played 19 games and started five. Over that span, he has averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while averaging 21.5 minutes and shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range. This month, he really has taken off, averaging 15.3 points in eight games and three starts.
Watching how Kerr uses Kuminga, especially down the stretch of games and the regular season, will be fascinating. That's especially true for when the Warriors get some key pieces back.
Odd Men Out
As players like Kuminga have earned a larger role, others have taken more of a back seat. Teams are attacking Nemanja Bjelica when the Warriors are on defense, Juan Toscano-Anderson is seeing fewer minutes and Damion Lee can be a mixed bag on any given night.
Oh yeah, and the Warriors are about to get back three pretty key players in Green, Wiseman and Andre Iguodala. This is Golden State's deepest team is years. That's nothing but a good thing, except when it comes to making some tough decisions.
The Defense
Speaking of what needs to return, the Warriors' defense has looked a lot less dominant in recent weeks. It's no surprise that coincides with Green's absence.
The Warriors' 104.8 defensive rating still tops the NBA. Kerr, though, has made it clear his team has not been the best defense in the league as of late, even calling them a bad defense right now. They now rank fourth in points allowed per game at 103.7, and in the 21 straight games that Green has missed, the Warriors have allowed 107.8 points. That's probably better than they could have expected, and they pulled off a nine-game win streak.
But where Green helps in so many ways has been obvious with the Warriors' defensive lapses. They have been lacking in communication, hustle and pressure, have been killed on back cuts and have lacked rim protection. Can he solve all of this? Draymond always has been the glue to fill in the Warriors' cracks, and their defense is full of them right now.
He also isn't coming back right out of the break.
Health
Let's end with the most obvious. The Warriors will go as far as their health allows.
The season thus far has to be a success when you figure in the fact that the Green has missed 26 games, Wiseman still hasn't played a single game this season and Andre Iguodala has been held to only 26 games. Iguodala has almost become the forgotten injured player, but the Warriors have gone 17-9 in games he plays and he remains a key figure for more than his play.
Curry, Thompson and Green have played seven seconds together. The Warriors have gone 15-11 without Draymond and are 27-6 with him. Without him, they aren't whole offensively or defensively. He hopes to be back in the next three to four weeks, and that doesn't give him a ton of time to gel before the playoffs. Everything has been positive with Wiseman recently, but it still is unknown when he'll be ready for games. Iguodala hasn't played since Feb. 7 and the Warriors hope he's ready to return from a back injury shortly after the break.
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Injuries around the league already have affected other teams like the Phoenix Suns with Chris Paul missing the next six to eight weeks, and Lakers star Anthony Davis out at least four weeks. Thompson's comeback has been completed, though the Warriors still are far from full strength.
Until then, we won't know who the true Warriors are, just as the rest of the league fears that reality.