The Golden State Warriors are regarded as the favorites to advance to the quarterfinals from their group in the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament.
Drawn in Group C alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors experience and championship mettle are seen as major factors that could prove the difference over their round-robin rivals.
With a winning recent record over their four opponents, the Golden State Warriors are favored to top Western Conference Group C.
The In-Season Tournament schedule was released on Tuesday with the Warriors set to begin their campaign against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder at Paycom Center on November 3.
Golden State’s other round-robin games include home outings at Chase Center against the Timberwolves and Spurs on November 14 and 24, before completing the group stage against the Kings at Golden 1 Center on November 28.
In a preview of Group C, NBA.com’s Brian Martin has the Warriors as favorites to reach the Quarterfinals where a shot for a Semifinal berth in Las Vegas will be up for grabs.
“It’s difficult to pick against the Warriors here as they have the championship pedigree and posted the best record in head-to-head matchups against the other teams in this group last season, winning three of the season series and splitting the other”, Martin wrote.
The Warriors have an imposing recent record against at least three of their group rivals. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games against the Thunder, eight of their last nine against the Kings, and their last four against the Spurs.
Golden State’s recent record against Minnesota is quite bizarre, with no team having won back-to-back games since 2020-21. Since then nine games have been played with an alternate winner on each occasion. However, Warrior superstar Stephen Curry does have a very one-sided 30-9 record over the Timberwolves in his career.
Quarterfinals for the NBA Cup are scheduled for December 4 and 5, before the semifinalists head to Las Vegas for games on December 7. That’s followed by the final with inaugural champions to be crowned on December 9.