The Golden State Warriors have their 2023-24 season coming up very soon. So let’s take a look at the team’s schedule, key dates as well as some predictions about the team’s season coming up.
Golden State Warriors 2023-24 Schedule/Key Dates:
- October 7th: First Preseason game vs LA Lakers
- October 25th: Opening game of the season vs Phoenix Suns at Home
- October 28th: Opening away game of the season vs Sacramento Kings
- November 3rd: First game of the In-Season Tournament at Oklahoma City Thunder
- December 9th: In-Season Tournament Final in Las Vegas
- December 25th: Warriors face reigning champion Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day in Denver
- January 15th: Warriors face Memphis Grizzlies on MLK day
- January 25th: Warriors face Sacramento Kings in NBA Rivals Week
- January 28th: Warriors face Lakers for the first time since the 2023 NBA Playoffs
- February 16th-21st: NBA All-Star break
- April 14th: Final game of the regular season vs Utah Jazz
- April 16th-19th: Play-In Tournament
- April 20th: NBA Playoffs begin
- June 6th: NBA Finals begin
Analysis of the Warriors Last Season
Last season was a slightly strange one for the Golden State Warriors. They headed into the season as reigning champions, with pretty much the same squad that lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2022. Throughout the season, Golden State stayed relatively healthy, although they lost Andrew Wiggins for large parts of the season.
But things off the court started hitting the headlines. Before the start of the season, Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole in the face hit the headlines and from that point on, the team’s chemistry just seemed to be a bit off. Despite the punch, Poole was rewarded with a massive new contract.
Throughout the season his role varied massively and it led to the Warriors struggling in the stacked Western Conference. There was not really any impressive runs in the Warrior’s season as they hovered just above 500. On the road, a record of 11-30 was pretty terrible.
That average regular season meant that the Warriors were just the sixth seed in the playoffs and faced off against the Sacramento Kings. Despite being down 2-0, the Warriors came back and won the series in seven games, with Stephs’ 50-point performance in game 7 securing the first-round victory.
But things were not as easy in the second round. The Warriors struggled to stop the physicality and inside scoring of Lebron James and Anthony Davis, while not being able to produce enough offence themselves. The Lakers took the series in six games and it was a disappointing title defence for the Warriors.
Analysis of the Warrior’s Offseason
This offseason was a massive one for the Golden State Warriors. There were a lot of big decisions for the team to make heading into the season. The first was that it was pretty clear that big decisions had to be made around Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.
Green headed into the offseason as a free agent and there seemed to be some interest from other teams after he had opted out of his $27.6 million contract for 2023-24. But it was a long-term deal with the Warriors which followed, worth around $100 million across four years for Green.
It is a massive deal that sees Green earn more per year than guys like Nikola Vucevic, Brook Lopez, Rui Hachimura and Max Strus. Considering Green is going to be 38 years old when the contract expires, it is certainly a risk for the Warriors. The more interesting decision game with Jordan Poole.
Despite giving him a massive new deal at the start of the season, the Warriors decided to put Poole on the market. They eventually agreed a deal with the Washington Wizards to send Poole to DC along with Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr and a couple of picks, In exchange for Chris Paul.
When CP3 was traded by the Suns to the Wizards, I don’t think there were many people believing that he was going to be playing alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. It is going to be very interesting to see how Paul fits into this team and whether he becomes a bench option for them.
The team also lost their sixth-leading scorer in the offseason with Donte DiVincenzo heading to New York. But Cory Joseph is a solid replacement for DiVincenzo. Dario Saric is the team’s other addition, who when healthy is a good rotation option in the team’s forwards.
The draft saw the Warriors pick up a player who seems perfect for their system. Brandin Podziemski is coming off the back of an excellent season at Santa Clara where he averaged around 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals per game while shooting 44% from the three-point line.
While it is hard to tell what sort of role Podziemski is going to play in this Warriors team, he could be an interesting addition moving forward.
Predictions for the Warriors Season
It is quite difficult to say how this Warriors team are going to play because the offseason has left some big questions unanswered. How Chris Paul fits into this team is going to be very interesting as you would be shocked to see Paul starting considering Steph and Klay should be healthy for the season to start.
While Andrew Wiggins will be back healthy, the Warriors are still lacking a lot of size in the paint. Trading James Wiseman was a massive move by the Warriors as they gave up on a player they selected second in the draft.
It also put even more pressure on Kevon Looney and Draymond Green to be the physical presences in the paint. I think not sorting this issue out is going to be a problem for the Warriors and they are not quite going to be able to compete with the top teams in the east.
I still see the Warriors making the playoffs, but anything further than the second round would be a massive achievement for this team.
FAQS
The Warriors will play their opening game of the season against the Phoenix Suns at home on 25th October.
They entered the previous season as reigning champions but struggled with team chemistry and finished as the sixth seed in the playoffs. They reached the second round but were defeated by the Lakers.
The Warriors signed Draymond Green to a long-term deal and traded Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul. Additionally, Donte DiVincenzo left for New York, and they added Cory Joseph and Dario Saric.
Brandin Podziemski is their notable draft pick, having had an excellent season at Santa Clara, averaging around 20 points, 8 rebounds, and shooting 44% from the three-point line.
The team’s composition brings some uncertainties, especially with how Chris Paul will fit in. Although they are expected to make the playoffs, advancing beyond the second round would be a significant achievement for the team.
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