Is the Bucks snapping the Warriors' 24 game win streak a blessing in disguise?
It’s all over. The horsemen draw nigh, neighing. The Apocalypse is upon us as the Warriors lose their first game of the season. That may seem too moribund, but it seems to be the case judging by how some of the fans of other teams are celebrating. Truth is that 24-0 has given way to 24-1 and it is still a record better than every other team in the league so we can quit calling it the end of everything.
The flip side to this streak ending is that everyone can relax now. Riding on such a streak builds a playoff atmosphere to the games somewhere around the double digit win mark, and the Warriors understandably have some relief mixed in with the sour taste of the loss. “I told the guys postgame, now we can have a regular season.” said Draymond Green of the Warriors.
The team coming in 24-0 lost to the team with a 9-15 record which had lost 2 straight. The Milwaukee Bucks delivered a 108-105 loss to the Warriors who were playing their 7th consecutive game on the road, revealing to a relieved league that the Warriors are human after all. The Bucks led 80-77 to start the 4th quarter before running away to a win.
As the Warriors kept rolling downhill over all and sundry, they left a carnage of destruction in their wake. As many a pundit have declared, the NBA is a copycat league. Small ball is now the order of the day.
The Warriors have been thriving on small ball, shooting teams out of games. Yet they were handed their first loss in large part to Greg Monroe who is a traditional big man. Monroe put up 28 points while shooting 11 of 16. He added 11 rebounds and 5 assists. He was key in the 4th quarter as he scored 11, most of them over Draymond Green.
Teams try to counter the Warriors by going small, but the Bucks had the big bodies to make it work. Giannis Antetokounmpo added a triple double of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Jabari Parker added 19, O.J. Mayo had 18 and Michael Carter-Williams added 17 for the Bucks.
Stephen Curry may be the best shooter in the league, he's staking his claim as perhaps the best shooter of all time. But even the best misfire on occasion. The Warriors didn't have their legs under them. Accumulated fatigue showed up behind the arc as they went 6 of 26 from downtown, well below their average of 13 makes per game.
Curry finished with 28 points on 10 of 21 shooting, while going 2 of 8 from behind the arc. Draymond Green added 24 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Klay Thompson had 12, Festus Ezeli added 13 and no other Warriors finished above double figures in scoring.
Not to take anything away from the Bucks, but more than a modicum of credit ought to go to the Boston Celtics. The Warriors lost to the Bucks coming off a double overtime win over the Celtics a day ago.
In that contest Curry played 46 minutes, Draymond Green put in 49 minutes, and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala sweated it out for 43 minutes of action. Curry had a long shooting night vs the Celtics as well, going 9-27 for 38 points.
While Green was all over the place netting 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks. He joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Derrick Coleman as the only three players to ever put up a 20/10/5/5/5 stat line. After such a herculean effort, even Hercules would need a day off, and it showed.
Perhaps the outcome would have been different if the Warriors were not on the tail end of a 7 game road trip stretching over 2 weeks. With the 6th game being a double overtime grinder, the 7th one was set to be a challenge. And it proved to be a challenge too difficult to overcome for the Warriors.
On the other hand, perhaps the outcome of a lot of those 24 wins may have been different if the teams coming in to face the Warriors had more favourable schedules as well. The teams whom the Warriors defeated en route to their streak had also faced their fair share of bad breaks. That is no excuse, a loss is a loss just as a win is a win.
Speaking of win streaks, The Bucks have a curious record as streak killers. Take a look at the teams with win streaks above 12 which were ended by the Bucks.
1971-72 Lakers - 33 game win streak ended.
1973--74 Celtics - 12 game win streak ended.
1982-83 76ers - 14 game win streak ended.
2006-07 Spurs - 13 game win streak ended.
2010-11 Mavericks - 12 game win streak ended.
If all those teams stand out, its because every one of them went on to win the title. Going by history, which is basically just a coincidence in this case, the Bucks seem to have the power to bless teams with championship parades. The 6th team to have their 12+ win streak ended by the Bucks are the 2015-16 Warriors and their run to the title remains to be seen.
Of the streak ending, Curry said: “We’re a little upset that it came to an end. If you told us going into the season we’d be 24-1 to start the year with some guys injured with the schedule we’ve had, we’d be pretty proud of that, which we are. Remember the big picture of the season is be our best come April and chase another ring.”
The Warriors 24-0 win streak will go down in the history books as the longest win streak to start off the regular season. It is also the 3rd longest win streak of all time, right being the Los Angles Lakers' 33 wins of the 1971 season and Miami Heat's 27 wins in 2013 season. The Lakers' streak was also ended by the Bucks, albeit with a different personnel of course.
The 1995-96 Bulls team which went on to set the all time regular season record of 72-10, they were 25-3 by the end of December that year. Barring injuries, the Golden State Warriors still have a shot at attaining that seemingly unattainable record and perhaps even besting it. The best part about the streak ending is that they can do so now focusing on the big picture, which is a Championship parade come July.