Warriors 2016-17 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

The Golden State Warriors were going to have lofty expectations in 2016-17 regardless of how things went this summer because that’s the price of winning a championship two years ago, winning 73 games last year during the regular season and finishing one win shy of a second title. 

Full Schedule: NBA.com

Yet the Warriors somehow managed to set the bar even higher for themselves by adding Kevin Durant to a roster that already included reigning two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. 

This is going to be the most scrutinized and criticized team in NBA history because of how impressive the talent looks on paper, but the Warriors still have to go out and show it on the court. 

2016-17 Season Details

Season Opener: Tuesday, October 25 vs. San Antonio Spurs (10:30 p.m. ET)

Championship Odds: 10-13 (via Odds Shark)

Top Matchups

Cleveland Cavaliers

First Matchup: Sunday, December 25 at Cleveland (2:30 p.m. ET)

There’s no better place to start for the Warriors than where everything ended in heartbreak last June. Oracle Arena has been a great home-court advantage for the team, with the Dubs posting a remarkable 78-4 record over the last two years. 

However, last year’s postseason was a different story. The Warriors lost three home games in the playoffs, including their last two against the Cavaliers. It was the first time since January 2014 that they dropped consecutive home games.

Warriors fans will put an asterisk next to one of those losses because Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but the bottom line is they still had three chances to win the series, including twice at home, and didn’t get the job done. 

Kyrie Irving’s game-winning shot over Curry in Game 7 of the NBA Finals may have altered the course of the league for the next five years. If the Warriors had won their second straight title, who knows if they would have pursued Durant as strongly as they did?

All eyes are on the Warriors this season, yet the Cavaliers are the defending NBA champions and still have LeBron James leading the team. Golden State dominated this series during the regular season last year, winning both matchups, including a 132-98 romp on January 18. 

There won’t be any big celebration in Golden State for another …

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