Goin' For The Record...

[Lord Jim]

Ready for the record, Golden State Warriors go after 73 wins in finale

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry never figured the Chicago Bulls' 72-win mark could be matched or eclipsed.

Twenty years later, the reigning MVP and his defending champion Golden State Warriors are on the brink of doing just that and making yet more history this season.

"I knew what it was but you never really thought about it in perspective of anybody chasing it. It was kind of that number that was out there that seemed invincible," Curry said after practice Tuesday. "Even at the beginning of this year, even when we started 24-0, it was kind of: 'Well, maybe we can do it. We're going to keep playing every night with the intention of winning as many games as possible,' but it just sounded kind of ludicrous, 72-10, how much good play has to go into it. We're there now, 72-9, and we've got one more chance to beat it."

That comes Wednesday, when the Memphis Grizzlies visit Oracle Arena as Golden State goes for win No. 73 to best the 1995-96 Bulls.

And to think of all the scrutiny the Warriors got last June when they captured their first championship in 40 years.

Like that Golden State's title was no way legit because it didn't go through the San Antonio Spurs. Oh, and the opponents the Warriors did beat were all hurt.

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_29 ... ins-finale

Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

When: 10:30 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN

[Gob]

Basketball?

[Joe Guy]

Yup! One of those t-shirts should be real valuable right about now...

[Long Run]

They are a fun team to watch, to be sure. Hope they get the win record.

[Lord Jim]

I was wondering about that late start time...

7:30 PT is standard tip-off time for Warrior home games, but you'd think that with a game of this kind of historic significance, ESPN would want a start time of maybe 6 or 6:30 PT to get the biggest possible national audience...

But then, when they set the season schedule, who would have thought that the Golden State Warriors would be going for the all time winning record in the last game of the season against the "Memphis Grizzlies"...(42-39...just out of curiosity how many Grizzly bears do you suppose live in Tennessee? That's like naming a team The Kansas City Orcas...but I digress...)

And you have to have some sympathy for the San Antonio Spurs...

They're 66-15 with a winning PCT of .815....

When was the last time a team finished with a winning PCT over .800, in any major pro sport, (NBA, NFL, MLB...hell, I'll even throw in the NHL...)

and didn't win their division?

I don't think I have to look that one up...

I'm pretty sure the answer to that question is "never"....

[Long Run]

Don't make me say OMG

But then, when they set the season schedule, who would have thought that the Golden State Warriors would be going for the all time winning record in the last game of the season against the "Memphis Grizzlies"...(42-39...just out of curiosity how many Grizzly bears do you suppose live in Tennessee? That's like naming a team The Kansas City Orcas...but I digress...) [It was the Kansas City Kings -- an alliterative alternative to the prior Cincinnati Royals -- before they loaded the vans for Sacratomato, where they foolishly kept the same mascot name, just like Memphis when it moved from Vancouver, BC.. ]

And you have to have some sympathy for the San Antonio Spurs...

They're 66-15 with a winning PCT of .815....

When was the last time a team finished with a winning PCT over .800, in any major pro sport, (NBA, NFL, MLB...hell, I'll even throw in the NHL...)

and didn't win their division? [They are not in the same "division", they are in the same "conference". It has happened in the NFL. Heck, think back to 1980/early 90s football when the AFC was pathetic, and the D.C. team, the 49ers, Cowboys, Bears and Giants, spent time beating up on each other and having the four best teams in the same conference on a regular basis..]

I don't think I have to look that one up...

I'm pretty sure the answer to that question is "never" [I think this is a first for the NBA that two teams finished over 80% wins, but it has happened in the NFL in the same conference. Winning 100 games in the MLB is pretty close to 80% for the other two major sports, and your adopted SF Giants missed the 1993 MLB playoff even though they won 103 games, losing out to Atlanta (in the West, yes geography challenged, folks, Atlanta was a western team) before the Wild Card format for baseball)] ....

[Lord Jim]

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...

Yes, you are quite right...

The Warriors and the Spurs are in the same Conference, (Western) not the same Division (Pacific versus Southwest)...

just like Memphis when it moved from Vancouver, BC..

Or the LA Lakers (when they moved from Minneapolis...not a whole lot of lakes in Los Angeles...)

Or the worst one of all...

The Utah Jazz...(keeping the name after they moved from New Orleans...if there's one thing one doesn't think of when when one thinks of "Utah" it's great jazz music... )

ETA:

In any event, unless the Warriors completely lay down tonight, they're going into the record books...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorne would have killed these rules-protected, five-stepping prima donnas

[Lord Jim]

Steph Curry and Warriors dominate Grizzlies, earn NBA-record 73rd win

The Golden State Warriors started the season by winning their first 24 games, a new NBA record. They will end the season by winning 73 games, a new NBA record.

Defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104 on Wednesday, the Warriors broke the single-season wins record held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Golden State was led by Stephen Curry who hit 10 three-pointers and finished with 46 points, four rebounds and six assists. Curry wound up with 402 successful 3-point attempts, by far the most ever in a single season.

Golden State also got solid performances from Klay Thompson (16 points) and Draymond Green (11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists).

This game turned into a blowout rather quickly. In the first quarter, Curry hit six 3s and the Warriors scored 37 points and led by 14. In the second quarter, the Warriors added 33 points. And after building up a 20-point lead after the third, Curry and Green were able to sit out for the entire fourth quarter, getting in some extra rest before they take on the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... h-73rd-win



And congrats go out also to the Cleveland LeBrons who squeaked out a one game division win, finishing just shy of .700 at 57-25...

[Long Run]

Congrats to the Warriors. At the start of the season there were people thinking Cleveland with its several stars who would win a slug of games against the relative mediocrity of the Eastern Conference. The reason the Western Conference seems to be down this year in terms of the number of teams with competitive or winning records is because Golden State and San Antonio sucked up so many wins.

[Long Run]

Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorne would have killed these rules-protected, five-stepping prima donnas

Thank goodness the NBA finally woke up and got rid of the ugliness those Detroit teams foisted on sport. The guiding philosophy appeared to be -- let's foul every player on every possession, hold, hit, hack, hammer them, and the refs won't have the guts to make all the calls. And they were right, ushering in the ugly era. Now, those two goons would both be fouled out within a few minutes since the league has gone back to officiating the game the way it was meant to be played (of course, those two were good enough and smart enough, they would adapt their play).

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh, fish-fiddle-de-dee. Those were the great days of basketball and played according to the rules then - there's nothing like a Pistons vs. Celtics game from back then to heat up the evening. All we get these days is shooting practice and travelling (follow da money)

[Long Run]

All we get these days is shooting practice and travelling (follow da money)

Yeah, who wants to see players making baskets? I am with you on traveling, though, which was basically ignored because the ugly, grab and hold defenses made getting to the hoop almost impossible. They need to go back and learn that call, as it would help even out the advantage to the offense. (Probably said this before, but with HD slo-mo, you can go back and confirm your belief that a traveling violation just occurred, like about every time down the floor).

[Lord Jim]

MSNBC's Steve Kornacki really pissed me off...

I had his show on in the background a little while ago and he intro'd a story with, "History was made in the NBA last night..."

So naturally I'm expecting a story about the Warriors blow out victory to set the all time NBA season winning record...

But noooo ...

He goes into a report about Kobe Bryant's last game...

Not one word about the Warriors historic achievement...

Friggin' SoCal media bias...

If it happened on the West Coast and it didn't happen in Los Angeles, it didn't happen...

[MajGenl.Meade]

The game was a sham - Kobe sinks 60 and the Worriers win 73.... yeah, right.

[Long Run]

MSNBC's Steve Kornacki really pissed me off...

I had his show on in the background a little while ago and he intro'd a story with, "History was made in the NBA last night..."

So naturally I'm expecting a story about the Warriors blow out victory to set the all time NBA season winning record...

But noooo ...

He goes into a report about Kobe Bryant's last game...

Not one word about the Warriors historic achievement...

Friggin' SoCal media bias...

If it happened on the West Coast and it didn't happen in Los Angeles, it didn't happen...

It is the main thing being talked about by all the yapping heads in sports. In the real world, all I have heard is talk about the Warriors and their historical status. I have yet to hear one person talk about Kobe's "game", though I suspect Laker fans thought that "essence of Kobe" ball-hogging performance was just great as they suffer through the end of perhaps the worst season in franchise history (mostly thanks to said Bryant).

[rubato]

Good for them. And good for Steph Curry hitting 402 3-pointers for the season breaking his own record of 286 (-ish). They have made a fundamental change in how the game is going to be played in the future; a group of smaller and more agile players who can shoot outside utterly dominated all of the teams built around taller players.



Re: the change in 'traveling' calls. The game evolved, some fans were unable to.


yrs,
rubato

[Econoline]

I spent all last night on a long drive, listening to the BBC on various NPR stations' overnight feeds, and the Beeb repeatedly gave equal billing to the Warriors' record season and Kobe's last game (and most of the broadcasts also mentioned Steph Curry's new record).

[rubato]

Kobe Bryant is in the top 20 players of all time (usu 12th or 13th) and the 2nd rated shooting guard OAT after Michael Jordan. His last game is news even if they didn't give him a going away present and let him score 60 pts.

Get over it.


yrs,
rubato