> What will the Warriors’ record be when they return to Oracle Arena on Dec. 16? If you have them down for losses, tell us who they’re losing to and why. If they will still be perfect, explain why.
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: Golden State will be 24-1 by the time it gets back home. I see two possible land-mine games on its schedule: Dec. 8 at Indiana and Dec. 12 at Milwaukee. The former pits the Warriors against a Pacers team playing a variation of the Golden State game, in a building that can be tough, with its own Kia MVP candidate (Paul George) at the peak of his powers. The latter is the tail end of a back-to-back that starts in Boston, at the end of the Warriors’ long trip. The Bucks beat Cleveland at home last month and have the ability, under coach Jason Kidd, to get riled up on special occasions. (It’s the day-to-day that has been Milwaukee’s problem.) The Warriors might be thinking about getting home by then, too, although now that I type that, their focus on finishing the trip strong probably will be the thing that gets them past the Bucks.
Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: 24-1. Somebody’s got to beat them and a 7-0 road trip is just asking too much.I’m picking Indiana as the place the unbeaten season ends. Dee-fense!
Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: 24-1 after losing to the Pacers to break the streak, the only way a 6-1 trip can be disappointing. The Raptors on Saturday would be another strong possibility, but the Warriors will be playing for the second time in five days, compared to the third time in four days for the Raptors. So much for home-court advantage. Why the Pacers? Because they’re good, Golden State will be five games into the trip, and I’m positive the Warriors will lose at some point this season. Or at least pretty sure.
Shaun Powell, NBA.com: It ends Saturday in Toronto. Just a gut feeling more than anything. Raptors will bring players that can score in bunches, which is the only way to beat the Warriors. And explain this to me, schedule-makers — why is it that the Warriors and Spurs don’t meet until 2025?
John Schuhmann, NBA.com: 24-1. This is a tough trip, which has already given them one scare. They’re playing five good teams (Utah, Charlotte, Toronto, Indiana and Boston), and the other two games are the second night of a back-to-back. They’ve had some close calls already and Harrison Barnes‘ injury hurts.So my guess is that they pick up a loss in Indiana, and I would have added a loss in Toronto if Jonas Valanciunas wasn’t out.
Sekou Smith, NBA.com: As much I love a good historical chase, I’ll be stunned if the Warriors make it home without at least one loss. This road swing they are on right now is treacherous, even for a team that has been playing in another galaxy this season. The Raptors and Pacers will give them fits. And if they don’t fall in Toronto Saturday, the Pacers will catch a fatigued crew at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Dec. 8 and put that first blemish on the Warriors’ record. As spectacular as they have played thus far, sooner or later the schedule will catch up to them.
Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: They’re going to be 24-1. There will be no shame in their upcoming loss at Indiana. I’m not saying the Pacers are the better team. But the Warriors will be five games into a seven-game trip, and in Paul George and George Hill the hot Pacers will have defenders capable of getting into the Warriors shooters. Now, do I feel confident in this prediction? Not really.
Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: Here’s the thing: The games I would be most worried about them losing are the second halves of back-to-back matchups, when they don’t have a night off coming into the game and would be more tired than they would otherwise. On this road trip they have two back-to-backs, and their opponents on those nights are: the Nets (5-13) and the Bucks (7-11)! So, not exactly the NBA’s elite. So I think they return to “Roarcle” at 25-0, and that much closer to 33 wins.
