OT - Golden State nearing the NBA win record
With seven games left, Golden State is now 68-7, two games ahead of the '95-'96 Bulls' pace at this same point. They just won what seemed like a trap game, playing in the altitude of Salt Lake City on the second of a back-to-back, with yet another fourth-quarter comeback and OT win. A 5-2 finish now will break the NBA win record.
What do you think their final victory total will be? Here's their remaining schedule:
April 1 - vs. Boston (43-31)
April 3 - vs. Portland (39-36)
April 5 - vs. Minnesota (25-50)
April 7 - vs. San Antonio (63-12)
April 9 - at Memphis (41-34)
April 10 - at San Antonio (63-12)
April 13 - vs. Memphis (41-34)
GS is pretty banged up right now and it's still possible Steve Kerr could start resting guys for the playoffs, but at this point I've got to think they're going to try to complete the push and reach 73 wins. They do play San Antonio twice, among others, but the Spurs probably don't have too much incentive at this point.
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Maybe, but I'm not sure the #8 seed is going to put up that much resistance in the first round. If they sweep that series, and the #4-#5 series goes six or seven games, they'll get a lot of rest anyway.
I think they will go 6-1 while they rest players in San Antonio.
March 31st, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
The NBA playoffs aren't like they used to be. There's almost always a day off between games and often times 2-3 days off when travel is involved for teams. Not to mention if you can win a series in 4 or 5 games, they're probably going to have a week or so off before the next series starts.
I remember in the old days teams would play game 7 of a series and the winner would have less than 48 hrs before they had to play Game 1 of the next series.
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March 31st, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^
you get better not from working out but from recovering after working out. This is why swimmers and runners taper and reduce time very effectively at the end of the season and for important events.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:26 AM ^
but with that said the Spurs (and there's lots of numbers to support it also) have shown this is important. I think the biggest thing happening is that most teams seem to be sitting guys in the 2nd of back to back's down the stretch if game isn't important.
It probably started with the Celtics and their "big three" of Garnett, Pierce and Allen. They won the title early on, but seemed to run out of gas the next year. After that, they sacrificed regular season wins for health and energy in the playoffs. It probably kept them relevant an extra year or two.
Pop and the Spurs have embraced this strategy, and IMO it absolutely seems to work for them.
The Spurs have had an amazingly long run of success, and have kept their "big three" together and contributing seemingly forever.
The strategy seems to work especially well with teams featuring aging stars, and serves 2 purposes:
1 - keep veterans' legs fresh for playoffs
2 - extend careers. NBA legs have only so many minutes in them.
Regarding the Warriors, their core is young and they have a deep bench. Gunning for regular season wins probably won't impact their playoff performance too much (though they've looked obviously fatigued late in the season).
IMO, the bigger impact may be on their longevity. Long playoff runs, max effort every night - that may shorten their run of championship-level success. As a small team, they take a physical pounding from bigger guys, and Curry is a skinny dude.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:23 AM ^
From your lips to God's ears.
Signed,
The City of Cleveland
March 31st, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
Good luck making it out of the east. You also don't want to match up with OKC or SA either.
March 31st, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
We really fear the OKC team we've beat the shit out of TWICE this year as wel as the Spurs team we beat by 20 in Cleveland and had a 18 point lead on in San Antonio before losing late. Both are soooooo scary!
The Warriors I dont know if we can get past. The other two - no worries at all.
March 31st, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
Also, the Cavs didn't "kick the shit out of" OKC. 104-100 isn't kicking the shit out of anyone. The second game they did 115-92, but Love hardly ever drops 30 as he did in that game.
Also, it's Cleveland. They just don't win things. Maybe bad things, but not good things.
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March 31st, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
If that's the logic, you should hope the Pistons hold on to the 7 seed and dont fall down into playing the Cavs first round...
I'll take the Cavs against anybody cept the Warriors. And even against them we've got a puncher's chance if Lebron shifts into beast mode.
People forget we were up 2-1 last year and should've been up 3-0 before the team basically collapsed from exhaustion from being so short-handed.
Fuck Kelly Olynick. If that bastard hadnt ripped Love's arm out of the socket we'd have won last year.
March 31st, 2016 at 11:12 AM ^
No way. That team is very young and can handle it. The finals will be a rematch of the Warriors and Cavs.
Regarding the Warriors' remaining games, I see only two potential losses and those are against the Spurs. They will likely win the game in California and lose the game in Texas, giving them only one more loss on the year.
March 31st, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
If Curry doesn't play those last two games, he would still travel with the team.
This team to me is about as likable as the Clippers of 2-3 years ago. The constant antics and whining after every call make them easy to hate.
They have the biggest crybaby in the league berating refs every other minute and its a joke to watch.
I think they should rest guys because I could see teams being extra rough in the last few games.
In the end, I think the Spurs will beat them in the playoffs anyway and make the whole charade pointless.
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He's used to that.
In the end, I think the Spurs will beat them in the playoffs anyway and make the whole charade pointless.
North American sports are weird. You play for months and months, and in the eyes of most fans, it means nothing except for seeding for a playoff tournament at the end. I remember trying to explain this to a guy from overseas and he thought it was completely bizarre.
If Golden State wins 73 games, that's a historic accomplishment, regardless of what they do in the postseason. There is a champion every season, but the win record has lasted 20 years, and will be very difficult to break if GS raises the bar even higher. I think it's cool that they're apparently going all-out for the record.
I feel the same about New England going 16-0 that one year. Yeah, the Pats lost in the Super Bowl, but that was still an amazing season.
Even if they did lose to the Spurs, most NBA fans would remember the 2015-2016 season as the year GS broke the record for wins, not the year SA won another title.
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March 31st, 2016 at 10:22 AM ^
I think that for casual fans of a team or sport, the regular season accomplishment may not lose its shine if that team doesn't win their championship. But for most serious fans of that team, the regular season records would be a bittersweet accomplishment.
When the Red Wings set the NHL record for wins in 1995-96, that was a big thing at the time. But losing in the conference finals to Colorado is what most people remember or think about with that season (that and watching Federov play defenseman as good as Lidstrom and Konstantinov).
Also, 16-0 was a first. So though bittersweet, at least Pats' fans have that. If GS sets the record, they will just be the most recent team to have the wins record. They need the title to go with it or else people will remember them and the record about as much as NHL fans remember the Red Wings record.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^
Yes, but it's very difficult to set the win record, and if they do the Warriors could be the first team ever to finish a season with single-digit losses. That's something I didn't think any team could pull off.
Years from now, that regular-season record will be what stands out, even if they win the title.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^
Not sure if you seen the last time the Warriors played the Spurs few weeks back and Golden State was on the 2nd game of a back to back and playing a road game, missing a starter, in an ugly slow paced game and also with Curry/Thompson shooting 2 of 19 from the three point line.
Despite all of that the Warriors were right there at the end. I came away more impressed with Warriors affter that game than I was before. Either way should be a great series.
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Agree. Ridiculous. Curry is delicious.
Some people just want to watch the world burn (with their hot takes)
As far as NBA superstars go, or any major sport superstar for that matter, Curry is one of the more likable.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:15 AM ^
I hope to see him land somewhere with a nice fat contract and fall on his face. I want him to be thought of as just a product of the GS system.
Curry hasn't done anything wrong IMO. I'm not crazy about all the fawning over him though. As much as I dislike LeBron, I don't think Curry could carry a team like LeBron did, missing two All-Star players and a below average bench. Take Klay, Draymond and Igudola off that team and see what happens.
March 31st, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
Curry is unguardable. Take those guys off the Warriors and he'd still put up huge numbers and play great. He's not just a product of the system or the talent around him; he's the biggest reason why the system works and makes everyone around him better.
It's obviously tough to win without talent, so GS would be worse if they lost the guys you listed. But Curry is the best and most important player on the team. Take him away and I'll bet the effect would be similar to what would happen if you took LeBron from Cleveland.
and be able to do whatever they want in the last 2 games. SA has already aired that they will rest their players down the stretch since they are already locked into the 2 seed. This will be another epic final 4 in the west with a great western conference final and NBA championship. 3 teams can easily come out the West, Cleveland will sleep walk their way to another finals L
I'm as excited for Warriors-Spurs as I've ever been for a potential series not involving one of my teams. It doesn't have bad blood, which would make it more fun, but damn I hope that series is as long and exciting as it seems like it could be.
March 31st, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^
and in the playoffs coaching becomes bigger. Pop is pretty darn good at making adjustments from game to game in the playoffs. It would not only be a fascinating series because the teams are so good but also to see the coaching chess match that would take place over the course of the series.
It took the Warriors two OTs to beat Boston the first time around this season. I'll call my shot and say that Boston ends the home winning streak and puts the overall regular season record in jeopardy. GS also a little fortunate that they play Memphis twice when they have an incredible amount of injuries (No Gasol, Conley; several key bench players hurt).
OTOH, that first Boston game was during an East Coast roadtrip for GS, whereas now they catch Boston coming out west, so I don't know how indicative that first game is.
I do suspect they'll suffer a surprise loss somewhere though.
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March 31st, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
It took the warriors ot to beat the sixers in philly and then they ran them off the court in san fran. Not sure you can use first game result to make a point.
But there's a huge difference between home and away, especially for trans-continental trips. Playing the Celtics at home is not nearly the same challenge as playing in Boston.
Part of the reason the Warriors run is so amazing IMO is the difficulty teams from a coast have on long trips, especially heading west to east. That 3 hour time change is brutal.
With the possible exception of the Spurs (who want to rest their stars), opponents are bringing their A-game against the W's. 5-2 is well within sight, but it's not inevitable.
Only having one more back to back is really going to help them not only get the record, but also rest their players. In additon, the second of that back to back is against a Spurs team that probably will rest 4/5 of their starters.
In the end...it don't mean a thing if you don't get the ring.