Five predictions for remainder of Warriors' season after dismal start

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By all accounts, this season has been a disaster for the Warriors. One year ago the Dubs were ramping up for the start of 2019 and an eventual shot at the NBA championship, and now they are fast-tracking for a shot at the first overall pick.

But will they actually get it?

Here are some predictions for the rest of the 2019-20 season.

Warriors finish with the fifth-worst record in the NBA

Currently, the Warriors have the second-worst record in the league. But as the team has grown healthier, they are starting to play their best basketball of the season and should only get better as the young squad gains more experience.

The probable return of Steph Curry also should propel the team to a few more victories, and if Klay Thompson is able to play for a couple of weeks at the end of the season, more Ws could be on the way.

On the flip side, the Warriors likely will trade some key players soon, that should set them back a bit and perhaps sink them even lower. And yet, other bottom-feeder teams likely will trade pieces away as well, sinking their win totals lower.

Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III are traded

If the season were headed in any direction other than a complete meltdown, Burks and GR3 would assuredly be part of the rotation for the rest of the season. In fact, there would be a good chance the Warriors would try to re-sign both players for next year, as well.

However, the reality of the situation is the Warriors are not good, both Burks and Robinson are free agents once the season ends and the two wings have played so well this season that they both should demand more money than the Warriors can probably afford in the offseason (unless they use the taxpayer mid-level exception on either of them, which the front office most likely will try to use for a player that is even more impactful).

It is unclear what the Warriors could get back for either player, but at the very least, it would open up roster spots for Damion Lee and Ky Bowman to continue their development in the NBA.

Draymond finishes with best 3-point percentage since 2015-16

The bar is set pretty low for Green to beat his 3-point percentage from his last four seasons. He has not shot better than 30.8 percent since he shot nearly 39 percent during the 2015-16 campaign.

He started very poorly from deep this season but has made multiple triples in four consecutive games, shooting 40 percent in those contests and raising his overall long-range percentage to 29.7 overall. He is a streaky shooter and undoubtedly will go through cold spells again. But if he can maintain even a modest consistency from deep the rest of the way, he should push his 3-point percentage at least one point higher than it currently stands.

Jordan Poole returns to NBA, shoots over 33 percent from deep

The first-round draft pick was having a rough season shooting the ball before being sent down to the G League. Poole made only 24.2 percent of his 3-point shots and struggled mightily to find his stroke.

The Warriors sent Poole down to Santa Cruz to help him find his confidence again, and he already has shown signs of finding his groove. He eventually will return to the big squad, and when he does, he should be more selective with his shot attempts and fire away with his regrown confidence. Shooting 33 percent from deep the rest of the way is not anything to write home about, but it is a clear improvement from his poor start.

Eric Paschall lands on the All-Rookie First-team

It has been a rough last month for Paschall. Dealing with multiple injuries and perhaps some expected fatigue, the second-round draft pick has shot 39 percent from the field and has scored just six points per game over a span of eight contests dating back to Dec. 6.

Once Paschall is able to get healthy again, trades of Burks and Robinson should free up more scoring opportunities and a probable reinsertion back into the starting lineup. If he can maintain his current scoring average of about 14 points per game, while raising his overall shooting percentage back above 50 percent, then an All-Rookie First-Team honor should be lined up for Paschall.

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