Could the Warriors really beat the 1996 Bulls' 72-win record?
After defeating the Lakers yesterday, the Warriors officially have the best start for a franchise in NBA history. They’ve started perfect this season with 16 straight wins without their Head Coach, Steve Kerr. They haven’t faced an opponent who’s been a match for them; so the only opponents they can have fun beating are the NBA records. The two records that the Warriors are up against this season are the Lakers’ 33-win streak record from the 1971-72 season and of course, the 1995-96 Bulls’ record for finishing the season 72-10.
Even though Kobe admits that the Golden State Warriors are capable of beating the Lakers’ 33-win-streak record, it seems too big a feat in today’s NBA. We can’t say that the Warriors cannot do it; but it seems unlikely that they will.
The Bulls’ 72 win record on the other hand seems more realistic; at least when you simply look at the numbers. Even though the Warriors were just building momentum last year, they managed to end up with the 6th best finishing record with 67 wins. They’ve only improved this year and just 5 more wins than last year seems fairly achievable.
“This time last year, we were still learning the system, but we were playing hard, playing with that effort every single night. This year, we’re just a little better individually, better as a team, and I think that’s showing. Everybody is pretty focused.”
- - Stephen Curry, in a recent interview with USA today
Breaking this record will raise the question of whether or not they are better than the 95-96 Bulls; and that is an era defining question. This would be bigger than what the Lakers and the Celtics did in the late 2000s and bigger than what Wade and LeBron did in Miami. We are talking about the original Big 3. We’re talking about possibly being better than Jordan, Pippen and Rodman. Only time will tell if this is even a legitimate comparison.
The Warriors have been accused of having a fairly easy schedule in the beginning and eventually facing stronger teams like the Cavs, Spurs and the Thunder may not be as easy for them. Additionally, they’ve been lucky enough to have all key players healthy. The Warriors’ deep bench certainly contributes to them being able to get everyone involved. They lead the league in assists and 70% of their field goals come from assists.
No team has been able to come up with an answer to their small ball lineup. To make things better, they’ll get a boost when Steve Kerr returns as Head Coach. Interestingly, Kerr was a part of the ’96 Bulls alongside the Big 3. He averaged 8.4 points and 2.3 assists off the bench that season.
It is safe to assume that he’ll have a few more tricks up his sleeve since he knows what it takes to achieve that feat. Only time will tell if a jump shooting team can define this era of basketball and break the 72 win Bulls record. The only thing we can say with certainty is that it will be extremely entertaining to watch their journey.