Warriors week 17 review/week 18 preview

It’s the final week before the All-Star break, and after a weird stretch the Golden State Warriors are looking to end things on a high note.

They have a chance to take a three-game winning streak into the break and, more importantly, have a chance to get healthy during a stretch in which they have seven off days between games.

And who knows ... maybe during that time they’ll add Goran Dragić? What a funny season ...

With that in our minds, let’s look back on the week that was, and ahead to the week that will be.

Where they stand

Record: 42-15
Standing: 2nd in the West, 4.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns
Offensive rating: 14th (112.3)
Defensive rating: 1st (105.3)
Net rating: 3rd (+7.0)

Team ratings are garbage-time adjusted, courtesy of Cleaning The Glass.

Weekly recap

Monday: Beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-98
Wednesday: Lost to the Utah Jazz 111-85
Thursday: Lost to the New York Knicks 116-114
Saturday: Beat the Los Angeles Lakers 117-115

The downside of the week is that the Dubs went just 2-2 with a pair of frustrating losses, and gave up two games in the standings. The upside of the week is that, if there was one game that the fanbase wanted won, it was Saturday’s contest against the Lakers.

Mission accomplished. Sort of.

Performance of the week

Klay Thompson vs. the Lakers: 33 points, 5 rebounds, 12-for-22 shooting, 5-for-9 threes, 4-for-5 free throws.

Klay has had plenty of incredible moments since returning, but it was his performance against the Lakers that really gave fans a reason to be optimistic that he might be at full strength when the playoffs roll around.

With his minutes restriction nearly gone (he played more than 30 minutes), and the brightest stage available — a Saturday night, nationally-televised game against LeBron James’ Lakers — Klay put on both a show and a clinic.

Honorable mention goes to...

Steph Curry vs. the Thunder: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 6-for-12 shooting, 4-for-10 threes, 2-for-2 free throws.

The triple-double would have been nice, but Curry certainly showed off the whole bag in OKC, picking his spots, breaking down the Thunder’s defense, and helping his teammates find rhythm. It was a masterclass in controlling a game while still being electric.

Highlight of the week

Shoutout to Stephen “MJ” Curry.

This week’s schedule

Monday: @ Los Angeles Clippers (28-30), 7:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday: vs. Denver Nuggets (31-25), 7:00 p.m. PT
Saturday: All-Star Saturday, 5:00 p.m. PT
Sunday: All-Star Game, 5:00 p.m. PT

Two games and two extra-curricular events. The games provide the Dubs an opportunity to carry some momentum into the break, and maintain their small cushion in the standings (they’re only 2.5 games ahead of the third-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who close out this week with games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers).

And then come the fun festivities. Hopefully players like Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, and James Wiseman can use the break to take steps forward in their health, and hopefully Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Juan Toscano-Anderson put on a show in Cleveland.

Easiest game of the week

Monday at the Clippers.

Yes, the Warriors are on the road for this one, but since Paul George’s injury the Clippers have been the definition of mediocrity. They’re below .500 and rank 20th in net rating. They haven’t had a winning streak exceed two games in more than two months, and during that span have gone 12-18.

They still have some players who can quickly change games, and they look a little different after the trade deadline, but this is a highly beatable team.

Hardest game of the week

Wednesday vs. the Nuggets.

This exercise gets a little easier when there are only two teams to choose from, and it gets a lot easier when one of those teams has Nikola Jokić.

Prediction time!

Fans were optimistic during last week’s review/preview, and unfortunately the Warriors did not reward that optimism. Only 4% of fans foresaw the 2-2 record during the week, with 49% expecting a perfect 4-0, and 47% predicting 3-1.

Better luck this week, with far fewer options!