The Golden State Warriors finished with 46 wins last season and ended up on the outside of the NBA Playoffs looking in as they were dispatched by the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament.
The tough season ending appeared to fuel Stephen Curry, who went off on Team France with a late barrage of three-pointers staking Team USA to yet another gold medal in Summer Olympics competition.
Curry's Olympic barrage has given Warriors fans, coaches and players hope heading into the 2024-2025 season. Golden State's recently released 2024-2025 season schedule tips off with a road matchup against Coach Chauncey Billups' Portland Trail Blazers on October 23 bookended by the team's final regular season game on April 13 against the Los Angeles Clippers at home.
Now, it's time to predict the Warriors' 2024-2025 final regular season record, with Opening Night exactly two months away.
Warriors hit the road in the early-going
The Warriors will be forced to become road warriors early in the season as they play the Trail Blazers, Jazz, Rockets, and Wizards in their first four road contests followed by the big one vs. the defending champion Celtics in Beantown.
This game will certainly be circled on the Warriors' coaching staff's calendars as they will have the opportunity to pit their team against the squad they beat for the 2022 NBA Title.
The Warriors and Celtics both have many of the same players from those two teams. This will be a great litmus test to see if Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and the rest of the Warriors still have what it takes to go basket-for-basket, assist-for-assist and rebound-for-rebound with the reigning champs.
The Warriors will then take on the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Cup starting November 12. By this time, expect the Warriors to be about 3 to 5 games over the .500 mark.
Schedule continues into winter
Steve Kerr and the Dubs' winter schedule is highlighted by three games against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves during a 15-game period in December.
If Golden State can win two of those contests, it will show fans how serious they are about competing for another championship, or at least a deep playoff run. By this point in time the Dubs will be fully used to life without Klay Thompson and hopeful that Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield can fill the gaping hole left by the second Splash Brother, who is now in Dallas.
How well the Warriors fare this season likely will come down to Brandin Podziemski, Tracye Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga's performances. All three guys have All-Star potential although Podziemski and Kuminga are the closest to fulfilling it.
That's a best-case scenario.
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In reality, Steve Kerr and the Warriors will find it tough sledding mid-season against younger teams. They will be stuck in a Catch-22 situation needing the best of Stephen Curry to outduel these teams while simultaneously needing to provide him with plenty of rest after his Olympic showing.
Spring and final Warriors record prediction
The Warriors will finish the season with 45 wins, one off of last season's pace.
Podziemski will do his best Thompson impersonation while Buddy Hield will fit in nicely as a sniper off the bench. For the Warriors to finish better than this mark they will need Draymond Green to play like his best self, a high unlikely development based on recent seasons, and for Kuminga to take the leap to borderline All-Star. The Warriors are simply too small in the front court and lacking in firepower unless Brandin Podziemski surprises the outside world and becomes an All-Star himself. Coach Steve Kerr has already seemed to wave the white flag by saying the Warriors' dynasty is just about finished this offseason, even if he may be 100 percent correct.
Another deep playoff run doesn't seem quite likely this season, but it will be an exciting one with the Warriors trying new lineups all season long.
