Everything has gone right for the Golden State Warriors since that rough 0-3 opening, and the reward has been an eight-game winning streak that has the group rolling and clearly enjoying itself. But the soft part of the schedule is over. Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets starts a run that should show whether this team is actually built to last.
Houston brings its own weight into the matchup at 8-3, with All-Star level players in Alperun Sengun and former Warrior Kevin Durant. Golden State has handled Houston well over the years, especially in the playoffs, so a win here would carry real meaning. If the Warriors can keep that edge going, it would be a strong sign this start is more than a hot spell.
The next stop is even more revealing. The Warriors then meet the reigning Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs, where Victor Wembanyama looms as an absolutely dominant force. Still, Stephen Curry showed last year that he can get the better of the Spurs when he catches fire, which makes Friday’s game one of the most compelling on the slate.
From there, Golden State gets a short breather against the New Orleans Pelicans, the same team it just blasted by nearly 50 points on Monday night. That said, this one comes on the road, and the Pelicans could have Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III back in the mix, so it won’t look anything like the easy night the Warriors just had.
Then comes the tricky part: a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. That stretch could also tell us plenty about Steve Kerr’s confidence in the roster.
If he feels uneasy about a rebuilding Memphis team, he might choose to rest Curry, Draymond Green and other veterans for the Dallas game. If he believes the Warriors can handle the Grizzlies, maybe the stars stay in against the Mavericks.
That road trip wraps up before another heavyweight test arrives at home against the Boston Celtics. Boston remains one of the league’s high-end teams year after year, and after crushing the Philadelphia 76ers, they’ve made a strong case that they’re ready to climb back to the top of the East after last season’s early playoff exit.
All told, these six games should say plenty about Golden State. A 3-3 mark, or anything better, would go a long way toward proving the Warriors are for real. If the road starts to bite back, though, the questions will come fast.
In Other News...
Warriors Face A Draymond Green Question They Never Expected
Draymond Greens name surfacing in trade chatter is the kind of development the Warriors never really expected to be managing this time of year. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sacramento Kings have interest in Green ahead of the February mid-season deadline, which immediately turns a familiar Golden State cornerstone into an unexpected talking point as the market starts to take shape.
A deal between the Warriors and Kings would come with plenty of hurdles, from fit to contract considerations, and the idea still feels more like a difficult possibility than a clear path forward. Still, the fact that Green is being discussed at all says plenty about how quickly the deadline can force even the most established teams into uncomfortable territory, and there has been no official trade confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Injury Situation Just Made This Rockets Test Feel Different
The Warriors are heading into the first stop of a five-game road trip in Houston with plenty of momentum, but also a little more uncertainty than usual. Both Golden State and the Rockets are 8-3, and the matchup already had the feel of an early measuring-stick game before the injury report started to pile up for both sides. The Warriors have won eight straight, while Houston is coming off a win over the Denver Nuggets, so this one arrives with real weight even before the ball goes up.
Will Richard is among the names to watch after being listed as questionable with a left thumb UCL tear, and he is part of a broader list of players on both teams dealing with availability concerns. For Golden State, that adds another layer to a road test that was already going to say plenty about where this group stands early in the season. A strong start has given the Warriors some breathing room, but the kind of game they get in Houston could hinge as much on who is available as on who is playing best. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Backcourt Plans Could Suddenly Revive A Familiar Reunion Talk
The Warriors eight-game surge has only sharpened the sense that this group is back in the kind of position where bigger roster ideas start to surface. After the win over New Orleans, Golden State is once again being mentioned in the same breath as high-end names such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which tells you how quickly the conversation can shift when a team starts stacking victories and looking ahead to the next offseason.
Jordan Poole has also re-entered the picture in a way that would have sounded unlikely not long ago, with the former Warrior saying he would be open to a return as a free agent. If Golden State does end up with more salary cap flexibility next offseason, the front office may have more room to explore familiar paths as well as splashier ones, and that is the kind of backdrop that keeps reunion talk alive even when the roster is already rolling. [Read more 🡒]