The 2015-16 NBA regular season is rapidly drawing to a close, and with 12 games left, the Golden State Warriors have a great chance to surpass the 1995-95 Chicago Bulls and win 73 games.
The 2015-16 NBA season has been one to remember and we haven’t even reached the playoffs yet. As the thrilling weeks and months have gradually unfolded, we’ve seen the reigning champion Golden State Warriors soar to even greater heights. Stephen Curry is arguably having the best season in history and has the highest PER (31.9) of all time, and Draymond Green has become a point-forward, triple-double machine. Now, at 63-7 with 12 games left, they have a shot to achieve the best record ever.
Endless 1995-96 Chicago Bulls jokes have flooded Facebook comments for months now, adding an almost humorous side to the fact that the Warriors have a genuinely strong chance to break their 72-10 record and reach the mark of 73 that has always been deemed impossible. In fact, according to new projections, they now have a 53 percent chance to win 73 games, with a safe 80 percent estimate to match 72.
A look at @warriors' chances for 73 wins entering tonight's game vs LAC (10:30 ET, ESPN): https://t.co/zzqZ3usU70 pic.twitter.com/wswYh7kG6n
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 23, 2016
Well, even after that suffocating 87-79 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors are heading towards 73 with purpose.
They had more trouble than you’d expect against the Minnesota Timberwolves as they crept past 109-104 on Monday and Curry is just 10-of-35 from the floor in the last two games, but they have a chance to gain some more momentum with a win over the struggling Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Clips have suffered embarrassing back-to-back losses to Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans teams lacking multiple starters, so the Warriors could easily pick up win 64 soon.
Here’s a look at their remaining schedule:
- March 23 vs. Clippers
- March 25 vs. Mavericks
- March 27 vs. 76ers
- March 29 vs. Wizards
- March 30 @ Jazz
- April 1 vs. Celtics
- April 3 vs. Trail Blazers
- April 5 vs. Timberwolves
- April 7 vs. Spurs
- April 9 @ Grizzlies
- April 10 @ Spurs
- April 13 vs. Grizzlies
With the leeway to lose nine total games and still break the record, the Warriors need to go 10-2 over this stretch. It’s been easy to choose them as the favorite for practically every game this season thanks to their dominating offense, smothering defense and versatility across the board, and they are easily the favorite for most of these games, too.
They have several fairly easy matchups against the Mavs, 76ers, Wizards, Jazz, and Timberwolves (if they avoid a repeat of Monday night), and may even reach their next game against the Spurs without losing. This is where things get interesting, though, as even if the Warriors lose both their games to the Spurs (which they certainly shouldn’t if they want to enter the playoffs appropriately, and one game is at home), they can still close out this final stretch and win 73 games.
Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut should also be back soon as well, which significantly helps the champs even further. Plus, the fact that the Warriors only have three away games is another promising factor for fans to hold onto, as the other nine contests will be in the deafening Oracle Arena, where they boast a perfect 32-0 record this season.
They aren’t quite there yet, but 73 wins is a very real possibility.
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