NBA remaining strength of schedule puts the Warriors in a great spot coming down the stretch

While the stretch following the NBA All-Star break is often referred to as the second half of the season, that's really not accurate, as it's more like the final third of the 82-game slate. But whatever you want to call it, it's undoubtedly crunch time, as the next two months will decide the field for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

For the Golden State Warriors, they've got a little work to do if they want to avoid the Play-In Tournament for the second straight season.

And after the acquisition of Jimmy Butler ahead of the trade deadline, there's undoubtedly a little extra pressure on the Dubs to get themselves into the top six in the Western Conference standings before the regular season concludes. Throw in Draymond Green's championship guarantee, and that pressure mounts even further.

Heading into this final third of the 2024-25 campaign, the Warriors are in 10th place in the conference at 28-27, sitting 1.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns (26-28) for what would be the fourth and final slot in the Play-In Tournament on the West side of the postseason bracket.

But Golden State is also just 3.5 games back of the sixth spot, which is currently held by the Los Angeles Clippers (31-23), 5.5 games back of the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers (32-20), and six games behind the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets (34-21).

The likelihood of Steph Curry & Co. catching the Rockets or even the Lakers seems low at this point. But the Warriors are undoubtedly in a good position to get themselves into that top six, as they have the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule in the West coming down the stretch.

The Warriors have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the Western Conference

Strength of schedule must always be taken with a grain of salt, as just about any team can win a game on any given night.

But from an overall standpoint, the Warriors should feel confident about their 27 upcoming contests, as their remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of only .488.

When taking all 30 NBA teams into account, only eight have an easier slate over the next two months. Six of those, however, are in the Eastern Conference. Taking just the 15 teams in the West into consideration, only the Minnesota Timberwolves have a lighter load, as their remaining foes currently own a combined winning percentage of .474.

Again, strength of schedule isn't always the best metric to use when predicting wins and losses.

But that doesn't change the fact that Golden State has plenty of winnable games remaining on the docket, some of which are against some of the lower-tier teams in the Eastern Conference. And it certainly doesn't hurt that most of the teams the Dubs are chasing in the standings have much more challenging slates.

And speaking of a couple of those teams, the Warriors will get a chance to make up some ground quickly once they resume play, as they face the Sacramento Kings on Friday and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. So, depending on how things play out, Golden State could very well be in the No. 8 slot by the time the weekend is over.

Let the march to the postseason begin.