Why the Warriors should NOT chase 74 wins?

The Golden State Warriors are the favorites to win next year’s NBA championship. They also try to break their own record of 73 wins?

The Golden State Warriors shocked the sports world when they broke the seemingly impossible single-season wins record. Stephen Curry led the Dubs to 73 wins. They did what many thought couldn’t be done.

Recently, when asked about whether the Warriors should shoot for 74 wins this season, Curry responded:

"“Seventy-four isn’t really a goal… if it happens, it happens. But all of our energy will be spent on getting ourselves ready for a championship run. We want to have a great regular season, obviously you don’t want to have any slip-ups, but I don’t think coming into the season with a goal of 74 is a good focus. It’s about winning a championship.”"

The question is not can the Warriors eclipse the mark of 73 wins; the question is should they even try. They certainly have the talent and the firepower. And with the addition of Kevin Durant in free agency, one could argue the Warriors are in the midst of making history this season.

Should they go all out this season and make history…again? or should they take the foot off of the gas pedal and focus on the end goal? An end goal that evaded them in their epic 3-1 collapse in the Finals. Such a collapse that social media is having a blast of making sure no one forgets about it.

For starters, the Warriors should absolutely and unequivocally NOT go for 74 wins. Should they manage to accidentally win 74 games, I will stand corrected. However, if last season’s loss in the Finals was not enough to teach the Warriors a season long lesson, I do not know what will be.

The Warriors, whom are popularly regarded as the villains, should just take what the season gives them and not make an effort to break any win records. I imagine every team is going to play the Warriors like a Game 7 off the sheer fact of Durant’s arrival and the altering of the balance of the NBA.

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Stephen Curry, 29, in the wake of his comments regarding his health in the Finals should have learned the biggest lesson; the ultimate lesson about the importance of pacing oneself. While it is impossible to prove his minutes and games played as causal to his injury riddled playoffs, someone would be foolish to not examine it and apply a more cautious approach to the matter.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all started at least 79 games last season. Even though the Warriors announced they would go for 73 wins, this is especially surprising considering they had the number one seed over the Spurs by 6 games.

An older account of why the Warriors should have rested last season.

Furthermore, a look at Greg Popovich, regarded as a maestro managing his players games and minutes takes a more cautious approach to seasons end. Whereas some may say the Warriors core is much younger, a simple look at Kawhi Leonard and Lamarcus Aldridge should prove logical.

Kawhi Leonard, 25, played a total of 72 games last year, averaging 33.1 minutes per game. In his teams last 15 games of the season, Kawhi sat 5 of them, including the last game of the season. Lamarcus Aldridge, 31, played a total of 74 games last season, averaging 30.6 minutes per game. In the Spurs last 15 games of the season, Lamarcus sat 3 of them, including 2 of the last 4 games.

Draymond, 26, played a total of 81 games, averaging 34.7 minutes per game. His only missed game came on 1/13. Klay Thompson, 26, played a total of 80 games, averaging 33.3 minutes per game. His two missed games came on 12/11 and 11/14.

Stephen Curry’s only missed games came on March 1st, and December 30th & 31st. Meaning Curry played his teams last 23 games despite them having only lost 5 games up until that point. I am certainly not bashing Curry for his wanting and willingness to play nor am I condemning Steve Kerr’s decision, because as a fan of the game, I would love to see Curry play all 82 games in a season.

But in retrospect, if the Warriors and Steph all “about winning a championship”, they should examine this season’s load a little more closely.

On a side note, even the great Lebron James missed 3 of his last 15 games; 4 of his last 20.