The Golden State Warriors will enter the 2023 NBA playoffs as defending champions with high expectations to make another deep run, but the Warriors won’t have home-court advantage after a slightly disappointing regular season in a brutally difficult Western Conference.
Golden State’s biggest issue all season long has been finding success away from the Chase Center. At home, the Warriors have 33 total wins, the second-most of any team in the league. On the road, however, Golden State has been one of the NBA’s worst, with a shocking 9-30 record.
Can the Warriors turn things around in high-leverage moments on the road in these playoffs? When asked how confident he was in the Warriors’ ability to make a run to the NBA Finals, ESPN’s Max Kellerman said he was fully on board with Curry and company, and explained why the team’s road record isn’t causing him concern.
“Their record is deceptive. They don’t win on the road because as an aging, veteran team, who has had some pieces missing, they are saving their best for the home games. They understand when they have to give that little extra, they’re doing it at home.
That tells me that in the playoffs when there’s no ‘second [night] of back-to-back,’ when there’s not the same kind of fatigue because of that, and when they know ‘yo, this game on the road right here’ – because they’re going to have to win some road games – it’s a must win. They will be able to flip the switch. I think I am to the max on the Warriors [making a Finals run].”
