Warriors 2016-17 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions
The Golden State Warriors were going to have lofty expectations in 2016-17 regardless of how things went this summer because that's the price of winning a championship two years ago, winning 73 games last year during the regular season and finishing one win shy of a second title.
Full Schedule: NBA.com
Yet the Warriors somehow managed to set the bar even higher for themselves by adding Kevin Durant to a roster that already included reigning two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.
This is going to be the most scrutinized and criticized team in NBA history because of how impressive the talent looks on paper, but the Warriors still have to go out and show it on the court.
2016-17 Season Details
Season Opener: Tuesday, October 25 vs. San Antonio Spurs (10:30 p.m. ET)
Championship Odds: 10-13 (via Odds Shark)
Top Matchups
First Matchup: Sunday, December 25 at Cleveland (2:30 p.m. ET)
There's no better place to start for the Warriors than where everything ended in heartbreak last June. Oracle Arena has been a great home-court advantage for the team, with the Dubs posting a remarkable 78-4 record over the last two years.
However, last year's postseason was a different story. The Warriors lost three home games in the playoffs, including their last two against the Cavaliers. It was the first time since January 2014 that they dropped consecutive home games.
Warriors fans will put an asterisk next to one of those losses because Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but the bottom line is they still had three chances to win the series, including twice at home, and didn't get the job done.
Kyrie Irving's game-winning shot over Curry in Game 7 of the NBA Finals may have altered the course of the league for the next five years. If the Warriors had won their second straight title, who knows if they would have pursued Durant as strongly as they did?
All eyes are on the Warriors this season, yet the Cavaliers are the defending NBA champions and still have LeBron James leading the team. Golden State dominated this series during the regular season last year, winning both matchups, including a 132-98 romp on January 18.
There won't be any big celebration in Golden State for another regular-season win over the Cavaliers, but an emphatic message can be sent in a battle between two teams expecting to make deep playoff runs once again.
First Road Matchup: Saturday, February 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Let's be honest: The matchup everyone cares about involving the Warriors is their first trip to play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The reaction in Oklahoma City to Durant's decision to sign with Golden State was received about as well as could be expected:
Durant certainly didn't relish in the fact that so many fans in Oklahoma City were angered by his decision.
Speaking to reporters during a Team USA camp in July, Durant admitted he was afraid of what might happen if he left the house (via ESPN.com):
"For a few days after, I didn't leave my bed, because I was like, 'If I walk outside somebody might just hit me with their car, or say anything negative to me.' Like I said, I never had this reputation, and so many people who don't even watch basketball are telling me congratulations and good luck going forward. It's crazy how big I got and how big this got ...
"
Durant was eventually able to make piece with the decision, but the vitriol that has been saved up from Thunder fans after burning his jerseys is going to be the next step in the process.
There's also the dynamic between Durant and Russell Westbrook, who decided to re-sign with the Thunder instead of testing free agency next summer. The former MVP explained to China's Sina Sports (via Sports Illustrated) his relationship with the All-Star point guard will forever be changed by his decision to join Golden State.
Westbrook is a player who did his best to carry the Thunder two years ago when Durant played just 27 games due to foot problems. He averaged 28.1 points, 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game and finished second to Anthony Davis in ESPN's player efficiency rating.
It's never easy when a beloved athlete changes teams. It's even worse when that athlete is still very much in his prime, but the Thunder know they have to keep moving forward.
The first matchup between the Warriors and Thunder will be a chance for the fans in Oklahoma City to get all of their hurt and pain out in the open by vociferously booing Durant. It will be an amazing spectacle to behold.
Record Prediction
The Warriors went 73-9 last year and managed to get better in the offseason. It'd be simple to just assume that adding Durant will allow them to surpass that mark in 2016-17.
Ray Ratto of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area offered this summation of the Warriors next season:
For everyone who remembers the Saturday Night Live skit from the 1990s with the superfans when they had Michael Jordan on and talked about a "minimum eight-peat," it wouldn't be wrong to apply that mindset to the Warriors.
However, let's play devil's advocate here.
Curry is brilliant, but he does have an extensive history with ankle problems that popped up again during the playoffs. Green has a knack for racking up technical and flagrant fouls, which can lead to suspensions. Iguodala's production has declined each of the last two years, going from 5.8 win shares in 2013-14 to 4.4 last year, per Basketball-Reference.com.
In the event things go completely off the rails with all three of those players, the Warriors will be in trouble. Yet even in that unlikely scenario, how bad would they really be with Durant and Thompson still out there?
This is the best NBA team on paper I have ever seen. Their combination of star power and depth is tremendous, with no clear challenger to their throne in the Western Conference. It's also important not to forget the job head coach Steve Kerr has done with this team and balancing so many unique personalities.
The San Antonio Spurs are the only team in the West capable of finishing within 10 games of the Warriors this season, but even that might be a stretch.
Prediction: 71-11
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