The NBA season is into the home stretch. The Golden State Warriors have just 13 games left. The good news is that 9 of them are against weaker opponents, though several are away games. The Dubs are on a roll, having lost only 3 of their last 18 games. The bad news is that the teams closest to them in the standings, vying for that #6 spot that gets them into the playoffs, are also winning. Nobody is comfortable.
In fact, the #6 seed could come down to the final game of the regular season, when the Warriors host the LA Clippers on April 13. The Warriors are currently in the 6 position, but the Clippers are breathing down their neck, and they've been winning against quality opponents recently.
The other quality teams the Warriors will face in these final games are the Lakers (in LA), Denver and high-flying Houston. They also have a game in Phoenix, which on any given night can be trouble. And of course, any team is capable of winning on any given night.
Right now the Warriors are at full strength. In this they are both fortunate and exceptional. Injuries in addition to the normal fatigue at the end of the season are plaguing a lot of teams. Staying healthy will be a huge advantage, not just to end the season but in post-season play.
Update: Spoke too soon--Steph Curry's injury has taken him out of one road game--a loss to Atlanta--and is likely to keep him out of an unknown number of others on the current crucial road trip. This potentially throws everything into doubt.
The new Warriors are learning to play with each other, Coach Kerr is finding effective combinations and lineups, and especially after they dominated the Bucks without Steph in the lineup, they are confident. There are troubling signs as well: still turnover prone, still subject to mood swings. But all in all, Warrior fans can look forward to some fun basketball and probably some thrills and chills even before the playoffs.
In the NFL, while the Niners appear in rebuild mode, the Pittsburgh Steelers--as of this moment--still don't have a quarterback. It's becoming silly, as is the two dubious choices: last year's loser Russell Wilson and the aged asshole Aaron Rodgers. If this goes on any longer they could lose both of them, which might be all for the best. The Steelers have made some nice moves in the off season but I don't see anybody being thrilled about either of these guys, or the team as a whole, at least at the moment.
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