Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors have locked up the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, but Stephen Curry and Draymond Green want to play for 73.
By defeating the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night, the 70-win 2015-16 Golden State Warriors have officially locked up the No. 1 seed in the 2016 Western Conference Playoffs.
While head coach Steve Kerr would like to begin resting his starters as preparation for another deep playoff run, Golden State’s top two players point guard Stephen Curry and power forward Draymond Green want to keep playing in the Warriors’ final three games to hopefully beat the regular season record set by Kerr’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls of 72 wins.
Not since the 1995-96 Bulls led by head coach Phil Jackson and Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman has an NBA team had a realistic shot at setting an NBA record for most wins in a regular season. Though winning back-to-back NBA Championships is obviously more important that a regular season record, if Golden State should win out, they will eclipse the Bulls’ record of 72 wins with 73 of their own.
Kerr did say after his Warriors’ 70th win of the season Thursday night that he and his players would discuss the issue Friday stating, via CBS, “We are going to talk about it tomorrow…I’m inclined to give some guys rest if they need it, but I’ve sort of made a pact with the guys that if they are not banged up and they are not tired and if they want to go for the record…”
Green added, “So to get this far and just kind of tank and say, ‘Aw, never mind.’…Let’s face it, we’ll probably never get to this point again…I think most of the guys in the locker room are all in.” Curry stated, “With three games left and 73 still there, it’s obviously a lot to play for.”
Given that no team has gotten close to the Bulls’ record in 20 seasons and with it still being mathematically on the table, it probably is in the Warriors’ best interest to go for the record of boasting a 73-9 regular season mark this year. Who knows when another team will be able to sniff at what was once deemed an unbreakable regular season win record?
The best course of action for both Kerr and the Warriors is to blow their three remaining opponents out early so that Kerr can in a way get his wish of resting players: in the third and fourth quarters of the final NBA regular season games of 2015-16. Golden State’s opportunity to break this coveted record is for the taking. Seize the opportunity and get to 73!
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