Warriors slipping and schedule doesn't get easier

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The Warriors took Sunday off, after losing a pair ofback-to-back road games. One was a blowout120-87 to the Oklahoma CityThunder; the other a closing-second loss to the Memphis Grizzlies104-103.On Monday morning the Warriors will hold shoot-around andthen play the LA Clippers at Oracle that night.After Monday nights game, youre not going to see theWarriors for a while, not at home anyway.The Warriors wont play again at home until March 7aftersix consecutive road games.

In other words, this is a critical time for the Warriors,currently on a three-game losing streak. As they approach the halfway point ofthis abbreviated season, they are 11-17 and quickly losing contact with .500.And they dont do well on the roadjust 3-8 so far this year.Their opponents arent a piece of cake, either. After theClippers (third in Western Conference) the Warriors play on the road againstPhoenix (where theyve lost 13 in a row), Indiana (19-12), Atlanta (19-12),Philadelphia (20-11), Toronto and Washington.Once the Warriors come out of that they come home and playthe defending champion Mavericks and then Memphis again. But lets not getahead of ourselves.If the Warriors only get one or two wins on that road trip,the fans are likely to turn their attention away from the playoffs (the oneswho havent already) and towards this summers NBA draft.After all, by that point theyd be nine or 10 games under.500 with more than half the season over. In addition, theyd still have moreroad games remaining than home games. In other words, a tough environment inwhich to go on any kind of extended winning streak.Of course, there will still be interest in how the Warriorsfinish upbecause it will affect their draft positionand whether they evenhave a first-round pick at all.The Utah Jazz will get the Warriors first-round pick if itfalls outside of the top-7. Before Sundays games, the Warriors were tied withCleveland for the ninth-worst record in the NBA.

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