20 long years since Chicago Bulls broke the record for most wins in a regular NBA season in 1995-96, Golden State Warriors is almost on the verge of chasing that Big Dream. The closest any team came in all these years was Chicago Bulls themselves, who almost broke their own record in 1996-97 season with 69 wins.
Ever since the team had changed themselves into ‘Golden State Warriors’, they won the championship only twice. Once in 1975 and the other in 2015. Warriors finished their previous season at 67-15 (81.7% win) and this time, they carry the extra burden of expectations to win the league along with that big dream of recording most wins in a single NBA season.
The Best ‘Curry’ ever
They were just outstanding so far. They got one of the best players (or ‘almost’ a modern day legend) in the form of Stephen Curry, who contributed to 30.37% of team points so far. Klay Thompson (21.84%) and Draymond Green’s (13.55%) contribution could not be overlooked at all. Even in the absence of Stephen Curry, who missed out only on three instances or during those rare off days at the office, these two players took that responsibility on themselves.
The Tricky Phase
Even though things look so bright for Warriors to break the record, they are entering into one of the trickiest phases of this season.
They have 19 games left to play and they need to register 16 wins, turns out to be approx. 84% success, a 6% less success rate than they currently stand at.
Of the 19 games that they play, they have 3 games left against San Antonio Spurs, which is the second best team in terms of success % so far this season. Spurs have registered 84.4% success with 54-10. Even though, Warriors have swept them with a huge 30 point difference win last time they played, two games away from home could be a bit tricky. Spurs is the only team that enjoys 100% record at home other than Warriors.
So, the biggest opponent that could hinder Warriors chances is San Antonio Spurs.
Northwest Division was a division that offered Warriors the least happy trips so far. They enjoy only 85% of success rate against these teams, which is second lowest after Central Division. With Central division games done with, Northwest Division would be a division Warriors would be cautious about.
The next game that Warriors play is against Portland Blazers, which is only team that had beaten Warriors in the Second game of duals after Detroit Pistons. Warriors now have a huge burden on their back to come back from a loss.
The Last Game Syndrome
Having won first 24 games in the season, everyone waited eagerly to see where the first loss comes from for Warriors. It finally came after 24 games from Milwaukee Bucks. It didn’t take long for them to recover from the shocker as they returned back the favor in a week days’ time.
But, the last games that Warriors played against the teams had ‘relatively’ poorer performances. This is also one aspect that could make things tricky for them.
First game success percentage recorded was 93% (27-2), but the last game success (so far) stands at only 81.25%.
Maybe, fatigue or may be confidence or may be injuries could play a huge part in deciding these big games for Warriors. Could they achieve the record for most wins? How long can Curry go on in this injury stuck phase?
We can only wait and watch.
Games Remaining (Warriors % Win so far):
3 Games- San Antonio Spurs (100%)
2 Games- Memphis (100%), Dallas (50%), Portland (50%) and Minnesota (100%)
1 Game- Phoenix (100%), Utah (100%), Los Angeles Clippers (100%), New Orleans (100%), Washington (100%), Boston (100%), New York (100%) and Philadelphia (100%)
