With the NBA regular season quickly approaching, The Golden State Warriors are beginning to work themselves into game shape in hopes of another title run. But before we start talking about titles, let’s check out what the beginning stage of the season looks like for them.

The Western Conference is home to some of the league's best talents. Specifically, The city of Angels, which has two NBA teams bolstering all-star rosters. The Warriors will have to figure out quickly how to navigate the first quarter of their schedule, but even more so the first two games of their season, as their first pair of games will be instant litmus tests to see if this new look, but also old look, Golden State team has what it takes to contend this year. The Lakers and the Clippers will give the Warriors their first action of the year. The Dubs don’t necessarily need to win both of those games, but they will need to show that they are very competitive with them, if they want to prove themselves out of the gate,

After their first two games, things definitely settle a bit as they will look forward to some very winnable games.

A quick breakdown.

In the first 20 games of the season the Warriors play the Hornets twice, Clippers twice, Thunder twice, and The Suns twice. Obviously, the Suns will give them a fight, and they will have to travel to Brooklyn on November 16 to play the Nets who are poised for a great season as well, even without Kyrie Irving.

I think the first quarter of the season is actually very favorable for Golden State as they will get a few chances to play some top-tier teams to test where they’re at, and then they’ll have a bunch of games they theoretically should win. This should help build confidence and morale for the squad heading into their next leg of the season. Something the younger guys on the team will benefit from.

It’s hard for any team to beat the same team twice. But within these matchups, there is a lot to unpack that may favor the bay's favorite NBA team.

At first glance of the schedule, my eyes were drawn to the matchups with The OKC thunder as well as the Charlotte Hornets. Why? Because I feel that the Warriors are much better even on their worst nights than both of these teams and the analytics back this notion up.

Last year, the Hornets were 26th in defensive rebounding. This is a monster stat that favors the Warriors because they are extremely effective at scoring off second-chance points. They scored 12.3 ppg last year alone off second-chance efforts. If the Hornets lack in the defensive rebounding department, look for tons of wide-open looks for the dubs off misses and offensive boards.

Looking at their two matchups with the Thunder, I simply think they are just a rebuilding team that won’t give the Warriors much of a run. Last year the Thunder had a stretch where they dropped 21 games out of 22... Not great. While OKC does have strong guard play in the form of Lu Dort and Shae Gildeous-Alexander, I don’t see either of them doing enough to slow down the 2-time MVP and company.

In addition to the games mentioned above, some matchups cause more concern for the Dubs as they embark on the 21-22’ season. The key games for me in the first quarter of the year will be their matchups with the Nets, Lakers, and Clippers, as I mentioned earlier. All three of these teams have championship aspirations and are well equipped to achieve said goals. They will be the ones to circle on your calendar if you’re a Warriors fan.

I see them winning at least two of these matchups. This team looks to be firing on all cylinders right now and I don’t see their productivity dropping off anytime soon. With Poole beginning to come into his own and guys like OPJ and Bjelicia acting as the quintessential role players that they certainly already look to be at the very least. I like the dubs to take a major leap forward this year in re-establishing their dominance as an NBA superpower.

I am not usually one for lofty predictions, however, after looking over their first twenty games or so I feel strongly about how this team will be able to start the season. If all goes well and provided everyone stays healthy, they can win at least 12-15 games out of their first 20. This will put them in a good position to make a solid push at a top-five spot in the west as they begin the second quarter of the season. A time when we will hopefully see the return of the future Hall of Famer and national treasure, Klay Thompson.

If you’re a Warriors fan you have a lot to look forward to this season. With the return of James Wiseman and Klay Thompson, to the emergence of Jordan Poole, Curry’s continued dominance, the core of Curry, Draymond Green, Thompson, and Andre Iguodala being back together again in Warriors threads, this season has a special feeling to it.

We’re only about a out from the regular-season opener so we won’t have to wait long to enjoy some Warriors hoops.

(Photo credit: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)