Warriors schedule week 13: Durant, Curry and Co. meet Cavs, Harden, Westbrook
Three monster matchups on tap this week for Golden State
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4 min read
The Golden State Warriors are on a four-game losing streak to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Have you heard that they blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals? Well, they also blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead against the Cavaliers on Christmas Day. Dang.
To most people, it doesn't matter that Golden State was outscored by just four points in Game 7, four points in the entire Finals and one point on Christmas. Nor does it matter that the Warriors have gone 7-1 since Christmas while the Cavaliers have gone 6-4. Despite the fact that Golden State has been better than Cleveland offensively, defensively and on the glass this season, the burden is on Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Co. to show that they can deliver in big moments against this particular opponent. Monday's meeting will be the last one until they potentially see each other in June, and the world will be watching to see whether or not the Warriors respond.
Oh, and they will face MVP candidates Russell Westbrook and James Harden this week, too. Pretty big week!
WARRIORS CHECK-IN
Record: 34-6
Scoring leader: Kevin Durant (26.0)
Assists leader: Draymond Green (7.7)
Rebounding leader: Kevin Durant (8.6)
Last week: Defeated Heat, Pistons (2-0)
GAMES THIS WEEK
Monday, 8 p.m. ET: Cleveland Cavaliers
Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California
TV: TNT
Streaming: WatchTNT
Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET: Oklahoma City Thunder
Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, California
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Friday, 8 p.m. ET: Houston Rockets
Where: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Sunday, 12 p.m. ET: Orlando Magic
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan
TV: TNT
Streaming: WatchTNT
KEEP AN EYE ON ...
Revenge against the champs?
The Warriors have spent the last few days downplaying the significance of the Cavs rematch. After the victory against Detroit on Friday, Draymond Green said that it's more important to play well than to win, and, no matter the result, "nobody's throwing in the towel or panicking, saying, 'We need to make a trade now,'" via the San Jose Mercury News' Anthony Slater. That may be true, but do not believe anybody on either side who describes this as anything resembling a normal game.
Klay Thompson acknowledged that Golden State might "need to play with more of an edge next time," and called Cleveland's Halloween party shenanigans (you know, 3-1 lead references, tombstone cookies, etc.) "obviously not respectful." Even if there wasn't any bad blood, this would be a rivalry based simply on the fact that these two teams met in the Finals two years in a row. Three weeks ago, it felt like a playoff game, and there's no reason to expect this to be different.
Fourth-quarter execution
This continues to be something to watch anytime Golden State is in a close game, but it is particularly relevant against the Cavs. In the final nine and a half minutes of the Christmas nightmare, the Warriors turned the ball over six times and lost any semblance of offensive rhythm. When Kyrie Irving made a series of clutch shots, it gave some credence to the idea that Cleveland has a mental edge over Golden State.
A word of caution: If Irving hadn't a) hustled to steal a pass from Andre Iguodala to Durant and b) made an incredibly difficult jumper over Thompson, no one would be talking about a mental edge. If the Warriors had held on, rather than being criticized for letting the Cavs back in, they might have been praised for doing what they needed to do in crunch time. Irving did make those plays, though, and Golden State couldn't hold on. The meltdown against Memphis didn't help matters, either.
Team defense
They Warriors are third in defensive rating and just one percentage point behind the second-place Grizzlies. The idea that they are weak on that side of the court has been thoroughly disproven. This week, though, presents legitimate challenges for Golden State's defense, and I'm not just talking about the Cleveland game. The Houston Rockets are right behind the Warriors in offensive rating this year, and they won the first meeting, a double-overtime thriller on Dec. 1., on the strength of Harden's 29-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double.
Golden State is better than it was at the beginning of December, but so is Houston. The same is true for the Thunder, who haven't seen the Warriors since the second week of the season. Oklahoma City's attack still revolves around Westbrook, but Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo and Enes Kanter also need to be accounted for.
BIGGEST ONE-ON-ONE MATCHUP
Curry vs. Irving. In Curry's last four games against the Cavs, he has averaged 21.8 points, with 15 total turnovers and 10 total assists, shooting 36.6 percent. Irving, meanwhile, has averaged 28.8 points on 49.9 percent shooting, with 20 assists and 10 turnovers, plus a few unforgettable clutch shots.
It's worth noting that Curry has been much more aggressive lately, and Golden State coach Steve Kerr has directly said that the team needs to do a better job of getting him involved. He has been on the losing end of this matchup recently, but he's going in on a high.
