Golden State Warriors: 7 Biggest Games Left on the Warriors' 2012 Schedule

It’s been a disappointing year for Golden State, with the team finding itself in familiar place amongst the Western Conference’s worst. Warriors fans are finding themselves again without playoff basketball to look forward to in the Bay Area, with the Dubs failing to qualify for the fifth straight season.

And while fans might have sealed away their playoff hopes a while ago when the Warriors dealt long-time star shooting guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee in exchange for an injured Andrew Bogut just before the trade deadline, their still are a few notable dates left on the teams schedule to look forward to.

The Warriors may not be making a push for the playoffs to close their 2012 campaign, but there should be a handful or games for fans to be excited about. Here are five of the biggest games remaining on Golden State’s schedule.

Memphis Grizzlies, April 7

The Grizzlies were last season’s Cinderella of the playoffs, becoming the first No. 8 seed to beat the top-seeded team in the postseason since the 2007 Warriors by taking down the Spurs in the first round last summer.

Fast-forward to this season, and the Grizz look like they're ready to make another deep postseason run. Golden state played two one-point games with Memphis this season (losing both) and will get one last chance to steal a win on the road.

All-Star center Marc Gasol will likely take David Lee out of the game offensively, so the Warriors will need to get hot on the perimeter if they want to come out on top against the Grizz. Sharpshooters Brandon Rush and Klay Thompson will be crucial to the Warriors' gameplan.

Dallas Mavericks, April 12 (home) and April 20 (away)

Golden State played arguably one of their best games of the season March by taking down the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks at home in convincing fashion in a lopsided 111-87 win.

The Warriors won that game in spite of losing their budding young point guard Stephen Curry, who went down with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since, midway through the contest. So don’t be too quick to write of the Dubs' thin roster in this game, as their reserves have proven to be capable to play at a high level.

However, it may be hard for to duplicate that effort without leading scorer Monta Ellis, who put up 20 points and eight assists that game, and without former starting center Ekpe Udoh, who blanketed Dirk Nowitzki and held him to 22 points.

Denver Nuggets, April 7 (home) and April 9 (away)

Denver is an upstart bubble playoff team that the Warriors managed to best earlier this season on the road, grabbing a 109-101 win in early February at the Pepsi Center.

Though Denver possesses superior talent to the Warriors up and down the roster, the Nuggets are wildly inconsistent and Golden State could find themselves stealing a win from George Karl’s squad.

David Lee will likely need to carry the load against Denver, and will probably draw the newly acquired JaVale McGee as his defender. Lee has the post moves and basketball IQ to be effective against the athletic shot-blocker McGee, and could find himself propelling the Warriors to an upset win.

At Los Angeles Clippers, April 14

NorCal-SoCal rivalries are a big deal on the Golden Coast, and the Warriors hold a slight advantage over the Lob City this season with a 2-1 series record in 2012.

However, Ellis was key in those games with the Clippers, averaging 25.5 points in the Warriors' two wins. Without Ellis, the warriors might lack the offensive firepower to keep pace with the explosive Clippers.

Los Angeles Lakers, April 18

It’s always a big deal when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers make the trip from Los Angeles to Northern California.

In what might be the last sellout crowd of the season for Golden State, Bryant will look to ravage the Warriors one more time this season, as he’s averaged 36.3 points in three contests with the Dubs this season.

And while the Warriors are 0-3 against the Lake Show this season, don’t completely write them off. Los Angeles has not won this season by a margin greater than 10 points, and big crowds at Oracle always give the Warriors a little underdog advantage, like we saw in 2007 with the Mavericks.