The Golden State Warriors are in the midst of a brutal part of their schedule. They visit the Denver Nuggets tonight in their fourth road game during a stretch of 10 road games in 12 contests. So for they’re
0-3 on those road games (and 1-4 overall on the road this year), so they’ll be hoping to break that streak.
Not only are they on the road, and not only are they facing a great Nuggets team, but they’re without Steph Curry, who will miss his second consecutive game due to illness.
And to make matters worse? It’s an NBA Cup game. The Warriors landed in the dreaded “Group of Death” this year, as they’re stuck in the most difficult group in the NBA. In addition to visiting the Nuggets tonight, their other in-season tournament games include a trip to the San Antonio Spurs in a week (their third of six consecutive road games), and a home game against the Houston Rockets on November 26. Their lone “easy” group stage game comes on November 21, when they host a Portland Trail Blazers team that has already beaten Golden State once this year.
NBA teams take the NBA Cup more seriously than I feared they would when the in-season tournament first commenced a few years ago. You might recall the emotions last year, when the Warriors lost a one-point game against the Rockets in the first round of the NBA Cup after a very controversial call against Jonathan Kuminga. Steve Kerr was rightfully incensed, and the team rued their opportunity to go further in the tournament.
But it will take a lot more than just the whistle going their way this year. It’s a brutal schedule even without Curry missing the first game, and it’s clear that the team’s priority this season will be to stay healthy and bank wins wherever they can, in-season tournament be damned.
It certainly adds a little extra tension to tonight’s game, though…
