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
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 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…]
By now, the Golden State Warriors should be accustomed to the scrutiny produced by their championship last season and their pursuit of 73 victories this season. Everything they do is magnified, which was evident again on Sunday. Their bizarre loss to the woeful Los Angeles Lakers generated great debate throughout the sports world. On ABC, it was announced that no NBA team with 55 victories had ever lost to a team with 51 losses. So that is the biggest regular season upset
After as astoundingly entertaining slam dunk contest on All-Star Saturday, the NBA was again reminded that sometimes the best response to criticism is to ignore it. After the performances of Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon, it is doubtful anyone will suggest the contest should be eliminated, or even slightly altered. But that could change as soon as next year. LaVine and Gordon established a standard that seems impossibly high to top. So if the next slam dunk is not as good as
It’s time to get serious about the Golden State Warriors and their pursuit of 73 wins. Even before the advent of the 24-hour news cycle required media members to have an ironclad opinion 10 minutes after something happened, I have always been a more patient sort. Yes, a record 24 straight wins to start the season got my attention. But that is less than one-third of an NBA campaign. Over the course of 5 1/2 months and 82 games, teams slump. Teams
Golden State’s star forward Draymond Green was understandably emotional when he heard the news late this week that he was selected to the Western Conference All-Star team for the first time in his career. [Read more…]
We are back with a long-overdue edition of the Three-Man Weave, taking a look at the NBA All-Star Game starters. What did the fans get right? What did they get wrong? Should Kobe Bryant be part of the All-Star Game? And what does John Malkovich have to do with all of this? Let’s get right to it. 1. Which Eastern Conference player should have been an All-Star starter? [Read more…]