The Warriors Have A Favorable Path To The 6th Seed In The West

Hope has returned to the Golden State Warriors organization since the acquisition of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. They’ve been dominant in their last couple of games since the All-Star break, and are 5-1 with him in the lineup. They are slowly crawling up the standings in the Western Conference, and a favorable schedule could help elevate them into the top-6.

Warriors Have New Life With Jimmy Butler

The rollercoaster season continues for the Warriors. They jumped out to a 12-3 record and were once in first place in the mighty West, but fell on hard times in December and January. They have bounced around the .500 mark for most of the last three months, but are feeling a tide turn in their favor with just 25 games left in the regular season.

The Warriors are 5-1 in the Jimmy Butler era 🔥

(Via @realapp_ ) pic.twitter.com/3ixWvxa1fS

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 23, 2025

Both vibes and numbers are up across the board for the Warriors. Draymond Green predicted that Golden State would win the championship this year, and the sportsbooks are giving them the 7th shortest odds (+2000) of any team in the NBA to do just that. The heavy burden of leading the team has been taken off the shoulders of Steph Curry, as Butler has changed how they operate on both sides of the ball.

Golden State Has A Light Remaining Schedule

Can they continue their upward trajectory? Their remaining schedule suggests that they’ll have a great shot of catching the Clippers, who are occupying the 6th seed. Before Monday’s action around the league, the Warriors were just one game behind each of the Clippers, Timberwolves, and Mavericks, and just 1.5 games back of Los Angeles overall.

While the Clippers are projected to have the 6th-toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, the Warriors are ranked all the way back at 23. Golden State still has to play against the Nuggets twice and has games against the Lakers and Grizzlies, but the combined winning percentage of their remaining opponents is .483.

They still have two games against the Hornets, and one each against the Pelicans, Raptors, 76ers, and Nets.

Nearly every team that the Warriors are battling with for playoff position has a tougher remaining road. Phoenix is number one and Denver is number two, and Sacramento, Memphis, and OKC are all in the top-ten as well. The only Western Conference team with an easier schedule than Golden State is Minnesota at no. 28.