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The Warriors have won 3 of the last 4 NBA championships and made it to each of the last 4 Finals series. Ever since Steve Kerr has taken over the reins of the team from Mark Jackson, the Dubs have been soaring sky-high, to the point that their 2017-18 record of 58-24 is by far their worst regular season campaign of the last 4. They won 67, 73 and 67 games respectively in the '14-15, '15-16, and '16-17 seasons.
They added DeMarcus Cousins to their roster on the second day of the 2018 free agency window, and now sport a more dominant look than ever -- they could legitimately field an All-Star starting five the moment Boogie makes his comeback from the Achilles injury, which ruled him out of the latter half of last season.
Other teams, however, have not slouched off. The Celtics brought essentially their Conference Finals team back, while the Lakers added LeBron James to vault themselves into title contention. The following matchups, among others, serve to add spice to the regular season schedule this season:
#5 Warriors host the Thunder, 16th October 2018
Russell Westbrook is probably the one player smarting the most following Kevin Durant's decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors in July 2016. The move essentially saw KD move from Brody's side to a team whose point guard is as fluent on the ball as he himself is fierce on his drives.
While both Westbrook and KD are grown men and seem to have buried the hatchet (the All Star Weekends in 2017 and 2018 tend to drive this notion home), they would still be seeing each other 4 times a season. The Oklahoma City crowd will thus once more be hyped to cheer against a player, who was once their favourite son in their last matchup of the regular season.
While the Warriors are clearly the better team, it is this dynamic that makes this matchup worth awaiting.
Note: The Warriors will also be hosting the Thunder on 21st November, who will play host to the Warriors at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on 16th March.
#4 Warriors visit the Raptors, 29th November 2018
The Toronto Raptors replaced an elite mid-range scorer in DeMar DeRozan with an even more elite shooter and isolation player, who adds DPOY-level defense on the other end in Kawhi Leonard. They finished with 59 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season, so there's a realistic chance that they improve on their win total and make leeway in the playoffs now that LeBron James has moved to the Western Conference.
Raptors-Warriors games have been entertaining over the last 4 seasons -- closely contested, high-scoring thrillers -- even though the Warriors hold a sizeable head-to-head advantage. That might just change with The Klaw now playing for a team which has a raptor's claw for a franchise logo.
Note: The Warriors host the Raptors at the Oracle Arena on 12th December.
#3 Warriors host Lakers, 25th December 2018
With the addition of LeBron James to a Lakers roster that had already run them close in each of their matchups last season, expect this West Coast rivalry to reach a level of heat never attained by a Warriors-Lakers game from the past.
3 of the past 4 contests between the greatest player on the planet and the greatest team of all time, produced unforgettable moments and fostered a whole new level of popularity for the NBA that it previously never had.
It will be fascinating to see how the Lakers measure up against the team they hope to topple, even if the Warriors are more heavily stacked against the rest of the league than ever. A team with LeBron on it will always stand a chance in any basketball game.
Note: The Lakers also play the Warriors on 21st January and 4th April at the Staples Center, while the Warriors will host the Lakers on 2nd February at the Oracle Arena.
#2 Warriors visit the Rockets, 15th November 2018
The 2018 Western Conference Finals had all the makings of an upset after the Rockets took Game 4 on the road and followed that up with a win and the 3-2 lead at the Toyota Center in Game 5. However, Chris Paul's injury problems let him down one more time, as his hamstring gave way at the end of Game 5, leaving the Rockets severely undermanned for the last 2 games of the series won by the Warriors.
Even without Paul, though, the Rockets could have won the game if they hadn't set an NBA record for most consecutively missed 3-pointers in a game at 27 (they started off hot from the 3-point line but ended the night with figures of 7-of-44). They will be smarting at the botched chance to land a first NBA title for H-Town in 23 years.
Having been weakened defensively by the departures of Trevor Ariza and Luc M'bah a Moute, the Rockets may not be as dominant this season as they were last year around. They will still be an incredibly good regular season team, however, and will be vying with the Warriors for the top seed in the West once more. This contest is going to bring nothing but entertainment for basketball fans.
Note: The Warriors also visit the Toyota Center on the 13th of March, while they play host to the Rockets at the Oracle Arena on 3rd January and 23rd February next year.
#1 Warriors visit the Celtics, 26th January 2019
Even last season, the Celtics emerged early on in their campaign as one of the most dangerous teams in the Association. Part of that reasoning was the way they'd fought back from a double-digit deficit in the 3rd quarter against the reigning champions in their first faceoff of the season to secure a 92-88 win.
They also managed to hang with the Warriors in the return game at the Oracle Arena, which saw Steph and Kyrie Irving put on an absolute show for the fans to savour.
Now that the Warriors are back to full strength and have a chance to land 4 of the All Star spots in the Eastern Conference (if not more), the Celtics pose the biggest and most well-rounded threat that the Warriors will face yet, should they make it to their first Finals in 9 years next summer.
Note: The Warriors host the Celtics at the Oracle Arena in the return game on 5th March.
