Now that the Warriors have caught and passed Michael Jordan and his 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the first team to win 73 games in the regular season — and don’t say Sheridan Hoops didn’t warn ya a long time ago, not once, but twice — let the debate about their place in history begin. Because, you know, that’s what fans and media do when a team pulls off the darn near impossible, the utterly unthinkable in this age of metrics and quantitative
HOUSTON — From the moment the Houston Rockets broke training camp in late September, one of the primary goals had been to earn a playoff rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. So, mission accomplished? Not quite. Undoubtedly, the Rockets envisioned themselves closer to the team they were in 2014-15 (56-26 overall, No. 2 seed) than the mediocre, 41-41 squad that had to win its final three games this week just to qualify for the playoffs as the eighth
When I read about the issue of resting players in preparation for the playoffs, it reminded me that I miss Wilt Chamberlain, who certainly would wonder what blockhead came up with the notion that players need rest. Rest has been a regular story line for the Golden State Warriors during their pursuit of the best regular season record in NBA history. At 72-9, they need only a victory Wednesday over a struggling, injured Memphis team – which has lost nine of
The Golden State Warriors are 72-9 on the season and are one win away from being immortals in the history books. That hasn’t stopped Charles Barkley from believing that the Warriors would be booted out of the playoffs in the second round if they run into the Los Angeles Clippers, a team the Warriors went 4-0 against this season. His primary reason: Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan would maul the Warriors. In fact, Barkley went as far as to say that he
While the Golden State Warriors chase their 73rd win and fans and pundits around the NBA fantasize about a possible Western Conference finals matchup against San Antonio or Oklahoma City, there’s only really one Eastern Conference finals matchup people are looking forward to: Cleveland vs. Toronto. After being swept by Washington in last year’s first round and having not won a playoff series in 15 years, most Raptors players had little to no interest in discussing a potential clash with the
The Golden State Warriors are about to complete the best regular season in NBA history. The Warriors are going to win 73 games, one more than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Even Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a reserve on that Bulls squad and one of the great winners in league annals, is blown away by his team’s accomplishment. “I never imagined when I was with the Bulls anyone would ever come close,” he said. “We’re close.” [Read more…]
It’s that time again. We’ve come to the end of another unforgettable season of the Most Improved Player Rankings, and like John Kasich, I’ve already made a pact with myself that I’m not going to cry, no matter what happens. It’s been a great season in this column space. We’ve written classic poetry, made fun of Kobe Bryant, checked in with presidential candidates, wondered if Steph Curry is really just an elaborate Old Spice commercial, kicked LeBron while he’s down, and quietly made
The last time the Golden State Warriors faced the San Antonio Spurs back in March, they had their worst scoring output in the Steve Kerr era with 79 total points. Thursday proved to be a different story, as they got past the Spurs at home 112-101 with relative ease. With the victory, the Warriors became just the second team in NBA history to reach 70 wins. Not surprisingly, Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 27 points, five rebounds, nine