Win Record On The Line

There are two ridiculous things going on in the NBA. One is that the Golden State Warriors are 69-9 and close to breaking the league record of 72 victories in a season. Another is that they are only 3 ½ games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs. And another is that the Spurs are 65-12 and still 3 ½ games behind the Warriors.

The two meet on Thursday night in Oakland, where the Warriors are 37-2, though they have lost two of their last three at home. If they are to break the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins set in 1995-96, they must beat the Spurs in this one, win on the road over the weekend at the Memphis Grizzlies and the Spurs (who are 39-0 at home) and then beat the Grizzlies again.

The Warriors, the defending league champions, raised the bar by winning their first 24 games. Now a little bit of fatigue and the weight of expectations has settled on them like a gloomy cloak.

“I think we’re mature enough and have enough of an edge to get it done,” says guard Steph Curry. “We just have to figure it out.”

The record is all anyone wants to talk about, even though the team’s bigger goal is to repeat. Arguments about whether they could have beaten Michael Jordan’s Bulls mean nothing – it’s an imaginary competition. The real world is what matters and the Warriors like to say that means the playoffs count more than the win mark.

“The record is great,” center Andrew Bogut said. “We’ll obviously have balloons and celebrate for a good five-minute period if we get it. Then you have a playoff series to win and a championship to try to win. In the grand scheme of things it’s small potatoes.”
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman