Last season, the Golden State Warriors followed up an NBA title by breaking the single-season wins record previously held by the mythical 1995-96 Bulls. The Warriors’ 73 wins eclipsed the Bulls’ mark by a single victory, but Steph Curry and company ultimately lost in the NBA Finals despite that unprecedented level of regular-season success.
With the historic record, a devastating loss, and a hyperactive summer behind he and his team, Draymond Green appears to be looking at this upcoming season from a new angle.
Draymond Green: "To be quite frank with you, I don't even want to win 74 games, or 75 games. It's brutal."
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) September 26, 2016
Green talking about the brutality of winning 73 games makes sense, and aligns with the team signaling they’ll be resting players more frequently this upcoming season to stay fresh for the playoffs. However, it’s hard to believe that a team with this many competitors wouldn’t gun for breaking their own record if given the opportunity.
With the addition of Kevin Durant, the team is much better — at least from an offensive standpoint. It might take this group a while to gel defensively without rim-protector extraordinaire Andrew Bogut on the roster, and Durant will be tasked with replicating Harrison Barnes’ underrated role as a player who can guard four positions. But once this team settles into a groove, it’s going to be hard to imagine these guys losing many games even on the nights when they sit a player or two.
If Golden State stays healthy, a new record for wins isn’t totally out of the question – assuming Steve Kerr won’t let his guys intentionally miss out on it.
