The Warriors will be tired by the end of this week. With four games between today and next Wednesday (five if you want to include next Wednesday’s game), the Warriors are probably glad that they are as healthy as they have been all season. Who are this week’s foes and what do we have to look forward to?
A lot.
For one, today marks the annual “return of Mike Dunleavy Jr.” who’s departure (and annual return) are probably circled on every fan’s calendar. Once compared to Larry Bird for his all-around skills coming out of Duke University, the perennial college basketball powerhouse, Dunleavy Jr. quickly became everyone’s whipping boy for the Warriors failures. He didn’t quite help his situation, rarely taking responsibility for his poor play and often citing that coaches were not using him properly. Well, Dunleavy returns today with the on-and-off Indiana Pacers. This game is worth your time to watch, just so you can get your “boooooo” on! And knowing that Mike Dunleavy Jr. may feel better being in Indy, but injury-prone and still playoff-less, makes me sleep comfortably at night that at least ONE lottery pick chose by the Warriors didn’t necessarily become the player everyone thought they should actually be upon leaving the bay area.
The Sacramento Kings game feels like a winnable game as they’re a team hampered by injuries and immaturity among it’s stars in Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. The Warriors head back down to La-La Land again to face the Los Angeles Clippers, a familiar foe of late. As Avinash has compiled (here and here), this is a can’t-miss-game for Blake Griffin’s amazing dunk attempts. Honestly, who cares if he makes them, Avinash suggests.
Lastly, the Warriors face the San Antonio Spurs next Monday at the Oracle, who are atop everyone’s weekly NBA Power Rankings. The Spurs of late have looked more like the Phoenix Suns with the way they are getting up and down the court. The last few times these two teams have met, the Warriors were unable to prevent the Spurs from getting hot from the perimeter. Stopping Tim Duncan might be a mute point, but stopping Matt Bonner and Gary Neal from going bonkers form deep may be a better strategy at this point.