3 ways the Warriors could lose this weekend

The 23-0 Golden State Warriors roll into Boston on Friday for a date with the Celtics. A win would put the Warriors in second place all-time for consecutive regular-season victories with 28 (four dating back to last year).

If they keep winning, in an almost breathtaking piece of symmetry, they could tie the all-time record of 33 (set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers) with a Christmas Day victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cart, horse thing, though.

Some feel Friday's tilt against the Celts is losable for the machine-like Warriors. After Boston, the Dubs fly to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. In short, this weekend is a tough a test as it gets for Golden State before Christmas. Games against the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz beckon as well, but neither come on a back-to-back.

Here's three ways Golden State could see their streak end this weekend:

1. They're caught off guard

Sure, it's a cliche, but what else can you say when trying to figure out how an undefeated team playing on a totally different stratum than their opponents would lose? Klay Thompson is a game-time decision with a sprained ankle suffered Tuesday. He sounded confident he'll play, but admitted the ankle isn't 100 percent. Harrison Barnes remains out as well, an absence that likely helped the Indiana Pacers climb back into Tuesday's game.

Thompson scored 39 points (including 10 treys) in Tuesday's win, picking up the slack from an incredibly rare off night from downtown by Stephen Curry (3-for-10). To put into perspective what an "off night" is for Curry, he's only shot under 33 percent from deep in four of 23 games this season.

So phrased more adequately, could Steph have another human game with Thompson dinged up?

2. The Celts perfectly capitalize on matchups and depth

Boston believes they match up well with the Warriors. "I think Steph would be the first to admit, Isaiah (Thomas), when he was with Sacramento, with his quickness, he was always a tough matchup for Steph," C's forward - and former Warrior - David Lee told Taylor C. Snow from Celtics.com. "Isaiah's quickness gives a lot of guards trouble in the league, and his ability to not only be quick, but to make shots as well ... he's going to be a tough matchup going the other way."

Coach Brad Stevens' system of rotations and substitutions takes full advantage of the Celtics' depth. Eight players scored in double digits Wednesday in Boston's win over the Chicago Bulls, their fourth victory in five games. The Celtics' point differential of 5.4 is fourth-best in the NBA (far behind Golden State's league-leading 14.6), the same rank as their defensive rating (97 points allowed per 100 possessions). Factor in what should be a raucous TD Garden crowd hungry for an upset, and Boston has a puncher's chance.

Then again:

3. The SEGABABA

This is why players hate back-to-backs. The Warriors won't be hitting the pillow at their hotel in Milwaukee until about 3:30 a.m. local time Saturday, with tipoff against the Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center 14 hours later.

Not that it's mattered to the undefeated Warriors this season. They've played five back-to-backs, winning the second leg by an average of 13.4 points. Good news for the Bucks though: the trip between Massachusetts and Wisconsin represents the longest flight the Warriors will have taken between games on consecutive nights, narrowly edging the flying time from Memphis to Minneapolis.

It's just too bad the Bucks are on a back-to-back as well and will be flying back from a meeting with the Toronto Raptors at around the same time.

In terms of the Bucks themselves, they've been coming around defensively of late even though they're still struggling. After finishing second in the NBA last season in defensive rating, Milwaukee has dropped to 26th this season - but are seventh in that category through five December games. On paper at least, the Bucks' athletic defenders - who showed so much potential last season - could at least have a chance of disrupting the Dubs.