Was 73-9 worth it?

[oarabbus]

73-9 is worthless if we don't win the title. I don't want to be the 2007 patriots...

[deja vu]

It's possible that chasing the record increased Curry's chances of getting injured, and that's what happened in the Rockets series.

Can't blame them for going for the record though.

[Draz]

obviously not

[ScalsFan21]

73-9 is historic but in an era where so many teams water themselves down in the RS... it's just not as important as a championship. If they don't win, from now until the end of time we will hear about rest that Kerr could've doled out if "making history" was not a factor. That they "would've won" had they played the RS more smartly.

How much truth there is to that is debatable, but I've been saying all season that if GSW breaks the record and does not win a title, they will go down as the poster child of lessons for future teams in this league. It will cultivate a never before seen level of disinterest in regular season games from elite teams and even some mid-tier playoff teams, especially in the East.

"Remember the Warriors in 2016?" I can hear it now. Owners and GMs making sure to prioritize rest and not pushing guys when they aren't 100% even more than usual. I can't blame them, that's how the smartest teams handle things already. But for those fans who are disgusted with how meaningless the regular season has become, I don't think a GSW loss would spell good news for those people looking ahead in this league.

Could be wrong, and they certainly haven't lost yet, but it's not a good look and doesn't reflect well on setting records that do not directly coincide with getting that ring.

[nashwade]

let be honest, people will remember an NBA historic record for a longer time rather than a team who won back to back titles

[ScalsFan21]

let be honest, people will remember an NBA historic record for a longer time rather than a team who won back to back titles

100% true, but that's precisely what makes this so bad (if they lost). It won't just be "the Warriors this one year won 73 games, damn". It'll be "the Warriors this one year won 73 games and didn't win the championship, DAMN".

And for all the talk from their team this year about being further motivated by people criticizing their path last season. Well, if they lose Game 5 tonight... there will plenty more criticism coming their way to chew on for "motivation".

[sportjames23]

let be honest, people will remember an NBA historic record for a longer time rather than a team who won back to back titles

They won't remember it in a good way if GSW don't win it all. The Patriots are a footnote now instead of being remembered as the GOAT team. That's what will happen to the Warriors if they don't win this year.

[DCL]

Biggest Choke job in NBA History.

actually, NO. sonics losing to the nuggets in the first round in the 90s was the biggest choke job in nba history. NOBODY was expecting the weak ass nuggets with mutombo to beat that powerhouse fully loaded team. NOBODY. it was 8th seed knocking down 1st seed. it shook the minds of everyone. some may also recall 1st-seed mavs vs. 8th-seed warriors a while ago too, but that matchup was all in don nelson's favor and he knew all the buttons to press on dirk.

this golden state team are currently down 1-3 now. people are kinda surprised by it, but nobody is really shocked out of their minds and asking WTF is this happening right now?!?! curry took a vacation for about two weeks but this thunder team got a healthy durant and healthy westbrook and they are working with serious firepower. this is not an unbelievable occurrence.

if thunders advance, nobody is scratching their head for a week and questioning how the fk did it happen. and this is the conference finals in the west, not friggin first round. it is a huge choke job when you lose to an opponent that you were supposed to completely dominate without question. this thunder team is the total opposite of that kind of opponent.

[kamil]

actually, NO. sonics losing to the nuggets in the first round in the 90s was the biggest choke job in nba history. NOBODY was expecting the weak ass nuggets with mutombo to beat that powerhouse fully loaded team. NOBODY. it was 8th seed knocking down 1st seed. it shook the minds of everyone. some may also recall 1st-seed mavs vs. 8th-seed warriors a while ago too, but that matchup was all in don nelson's favor and he knew all the buttons to press on dirk.

this golden state team are currently down 1-3 now. people are kinda surprised by it, but nobody is really shocked out of their minds and asking WTF is this happening right now?!?! curry took a vacation for about two weeks but this thunder team got a healthy durant and healthy westbrook so they are working with serious firepower. this is not an unbelievable occurrence.

if thunders advance, nobody is questioning how the fk did it happen. and this is the conference finals in the west, not friggin first round. it is a huge choke job when you lose to an opponent that you were supposed to completely dominate without question. this thunder team is the total opposite of that kind of opponent.

Yes they are, because they just got an NBA record of 73-9 regular season.

[BigBoss]

How is going 73-9 related to being down 3-1 against OKC?

(Yes it was worth it. Your in the history books.)

[DCL]

Yes they are, because they just got an NBA record of 73-9 regular season.

you saying you can't even think how in the world can a team with a past mvp and potential future mvp is leading 3-1??

is it just so impossible to digest that it is the biggest shock you've ever seen in the nba playoffs????

you'd only believe that if you focus too much on the superficial record.

[Fox]

Too disrespectful. Pats have 4 Championships under Brady/Belichick and barely lost that Super Bowl.

How is it disrepectful? Just because won championships before and after, doesn't mean the 18-1 wasn't a massive choke. It was. That particular year they made possibly of one the biggest chokes in NFL history. They could have lost by one point, and it would have still been an epic choke, because of the way they played that year leading up to the Super Bowl. It's the same with the Warriors.

Inb4 comment on avatar and location

[SouBeachTalents]

How is it disrepectful? Just because won championships before and after, doesn't mean the 18-1 wasn't a massive choke. It was. That particular year they made possibly of one the biggest chokes in NFL history. They could have lost by one point, and it would have still been an epic choke, because of the way they played that year leading up to the Super Bowl. It's the same with the Warriors.

Inb4 comment on avatar and location

I'm not disputing the Pats losing in the Super Bowl wasn't an epic upset and massive disappointment, but the Pats level of play dropped off SIGNIFICANTLY in the second half of the season, a point I feel is always ignored. The first half of the season the '07 Pats were by far the most dominant team ever assembled, winning every game by 3-4 TD's.

The second half of the season though, while still great, they were much more vulnerable. They barely beat the Eagles at home with A.J. Feeley at QB by 3 points. Got totally outplayed by a terrible Ravens team and received several lucky breaks to barely win by 3 points. Beat a horrendous Jets team at home by 10 points. Had to come back from 12 points down to beat the Giants in week 17 by 3 points.

Then in the playoffs they beat the Jaguars by 11 in the Divisional Round, then beat a Chargers team with injuries to Tomlinson, Rivers & Gates by 9 points in the AFC Title Game. Again, not saying it wasn't a huge upset, but in retrospect, you could just see the Pats performance diminish greatly as the season wore on. Factoring in the Giants beat the Pats again in the Super Bowl 4 years later, it's honestly not as big of an upset as it would truly seem.

[HurricaneKid]

I'm not disputing the Pats losing in the Super Bowl wasn't an epic upset and massive disappointment, but the Pats level of play dropped off SIGNIFICANTLY in the second half of the season, a point I feel is always ignored. The first half of the season the '07 Pats were by far the most dominant team ever assembled, winning every game by 3-4 TD's.

The second half of the season though, while still great, they were much more vulnerable. They barely beat the Eagles at home with A.J. Feeley at QB by 3 points. Got totally outplayed by a terrible Ravens team and received several lucky breaks to barely win by 3 points. Beat a horrendous Jets team at home by 10 points. Had to come back from 12 points down to beat the Giants in week 17 by 3 points.

Then in the playoffs they beat the Jaguars by 11 in the Divisional Round, then beat a Chargers team with injuries to Tomlinson, Rivers & Gates by 9 points in the AFC Title Game. Again, not saying it wasn't a huge upset, but in retrospect, you could just see the Pats performance diminish greatly as the season wore on. Factoring in the Giants beat the Pats again in the Super Bowl 4 years later, it's honestly not as big of an upset as it would truly seem.

Kind of like how Golden State struggled with a Portland team that no one thought had a chance to make the playoffs while OKC was, after an embarrassing G1, destroying the Spurs.

GSW were ~2:1 to win this series but just based on how good they looked up to that point, OKC should not have been overlooked by ANYONE. I almost bet a pile of money on them.

[Rake2204]

They won't remember it in a good way if GSW don't win it all. The Patriots are a footnote now instead of being remembered as the GOAT team. That's what will happen to the Warriors if they don't win this year.

Personally, as someone who actually has really fond memories of multiple Warriors teams who never really accomplished much of anything (the Run TMC squads and the Baron Davis "We Believe" run), the current Warriors era has had more than enough awesomeness for me to always reflect back fondly (and I say that as a diehard Pistons fan).

I think if Golden State hadn't won a ring last season, then talk of their repeated failures and inability to succeed would be overwhelming and maybe a little more justified. However, again only speaking on my behalf, an NBA team with a guy like Curry shooting like no one ever has in the history of the world, winning an NBA championship then coming back to win an NBA-record 73 games while playing some of the most thrilling basketball we've ever seen... I don't see that as a footnote.

There's been a lot of teams throughout history who remain pretty well remembered (say, the Shaq-era Magic or Ewing's Knicks) yet never accomplished a microcosm of what this squad's brought to the table.

Also, if OKC takes this, it's going to be worth noting that they didn't just plow through a 73-win Warriors team, but they did so after taking out a Spurs team that was also pushing 70 this year (aka the squad that was supposed to be the only threat to Golden State in the first place).