Warriors continue to look like a juggernaut

Kelley L. Cox/USA TODAY Sports

The NBA season is winding down, and the Golden State Warriors have a comfortable 7½-game lead in the Western Conference standings. But while the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks are scuffling out East, the Warriors just keep getting better and better, showing why they’re the current favorite to come out of the West and reach the NBA Finals.

Golden State has 8/5 odds to win the West, according to Bovada, and 11/4 odds to win the NBA title. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team with better odds to win the title at 2/1, although it would be tough to bet against the Warriors at this point, even with the Cavaliers rounding into form over the last few months.

Not only do the Warriors have the best offense in the league, but they have the best defense as well. Golden State has outscored opponents by 12.0 points per 100 possessions this season, a net rating that’s 6.2 points per 100 possessions better than the next best team, per NBA.com. That kind of domination is historic.

It’s even more insane when you look at how the Warriors have performed at Oracle Arena. In the comfort of its home building, Golden State has outscored opponents by a whopping 17.2 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. The next closest team is the Portland Trail Blazers, who have outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions at home. The Warriors have only lost two games at home all season, and they’re 25-10-1 against the spread at Oracle on the year, per VegasInsider.com.

That home domination was on full display Monday night. In a battle against the scuffling Wizards, the game was actually close at halftime. But as they’re wont to do, the Warriors exploded in the third quarter, taking over the game on both sides of the ball and running away from Washington. The Wizards had just one measly field goal in the quarter and scored just eight points total. Meanwhile, Golden State scored 29 third-quarter points and cruised to a 107-76 victory.

The victory capped off a six-game home stand, which were all wins. All but one were by double-digits (the one that wasn’t was surprisingly against the Los Angeles Lakers), and that included a romp of the Hawks. Also, Klay Thompson didn’t play in three of the games because of an ankle injury, but it made little difference. Thompson is back now and ready for the stretch run.

The Warriors will finally go on the road again Tuesday, facing off against Portland. While this would normally be a tough matchup, the Blazers will likely be without LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Chris Kaman because of injuries. Because of that, Golden State is a seven-point favorite according to several sports books after opening as a 5½-point favorite.