6. Golden State Warriors- 50.5 wins
2013-14 Record: 51-31
It’s pretty ridiculous when a team fires a coach that won 51 games and took the team to the playoff two years in a row. It’s even more ridiculous when it’s the Golden State Warriors, a team that hadn’t been to the playoffs since the 2006-07 season. Mark Jackson is out, and Steve Kerr is now in for the Warriors. We’ll see what happens.
Why you should take the Over:
The Warriors have everyone important back from a team that won 51 games last season. The Warriors also added Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush, and Leandro Barbosa to help boost the bench and give the team options that they haven’t had before.
With Kerr as the head coach, I’m expecting the Warriors to be better offensively and actually figure out a way to utilize Harrison Barnes this season. As long as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are still making threes, the Warriors have a chance to win 50-plus games.
Why you should take the Under:
Well, this is pretty simple. Steve Kerr has never coached an NBA game, and now he’s inheriting a team that’s made the playoffs the last two seasons and are used to doing things a certain way. I doubt that Kerr’s style will cause problems, but there’s always a possibility of that happening when teams are used to playing a certain way.
Let’s not pretend the Warriors haven’t had their fair share of injury issues in the past. Curry’s ankle problems have been well documented, but he’s been healthy for a few seasons now. David Lee and Andrew Bogut, on the other hand, seem like they’re injured every other week. Last season, Bogut and Lee missed 28 games combined. If those two guys struggle to play through the entire season, it’s entirely possible they Warriors could win less than 50 games.
Other than injuries and possible chemistry issues, like Thompson’s contract dispute with the Warriors, I don’t foresee the Warriors winning less than 50 games. It is the Western Conference, though.
I’ll take the over for the Warriors, unless there’s injuries.