The Golden State Warriors have not played a game since Jan. 15 when they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies at home. The Warriors’ next two contests against the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks were postponed by the NBA following the death of assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.
The entire team was in a Salt Lake City restaurant for dinner when Milojevic suffered a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at the hospital on the day of the Warriors’ game against the Jazz on Jan. 17. That’s when the league decided to postpone the matchup and moved it to a later date.
Golden State’s game versus the Mavericks two days later was also rescheduled later in the season. The two postponed games gave the Warriors enough time to grieve Milojevic, who was only 46 years old at the time of his death. They will be back in action on Wednesday at the Chase Center against the Atlanta Hawks.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, almost the entire Golden State Warriors squad and staff witnessed Dejan Milojevic suffer a heart attack. It was a traumatic experience for everyone, so the Warriors understandably made counseling available if needed.
“It’s just the saddest thing I’ve ever been a part of in the NBA where we lose someone who’s so close to us and then, more importantly, seeing his family suffer,” Kerr told reporters on Monday during the team’s first practice after Milojevic’s death. “So this last week has been, the last five days, I guess, has been full of all of the above. The shock, the emotion, the extreme outpouring of love from all over the world.”
Steve Kerr explained the “heartbreaking” and “devastating” past week since assistant coach Dejan Milojević’s death pic.twitter.com/kVXUnA60Hj
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 22, 2024
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Golden State Warriors schedule for 2023-24 season, key matchups and more
Golden State Warriors schedule for 2023-24 season
The Golden State Warriors have 42 games remaining on their 2023-24 season schedule. The Warriors have the ninth easiest schedule in the entire NBA based on Tankathon’s Remaining Schedule Strength. They still have a chance to make up for the bad losses they suffered earlier in the season.
However, Steve Kerr will need to figure out a more consistent rotation he can use for the rest of the campaign. Some of their toughest opponents remaining are the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers twice, the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers.
Golden State also has some easy matchups against teams such as the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs thrice, Charlotte Hornets twice, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, and Memphis Grizzlies twice.
