Will Warriors Give Up On 73?
After Tuesday night's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors must win the remaining four games to break the record for wins in a season.
Breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72-10 seemed like a sure thing for the Warriors just a week ago, but things have changed after the team has lost two of its last three games.
Golden State currently sits at a record of 69-9, and the questions of whether the team should rest its star players are gaining traction.
At some point, the Warriors will have to consider how badly the team wants to break the Bulls' record. There have been signs of fatigue during the past couple weeks of basketball for Golden State.
Not only has fatigue been an issue, but injuries have also affected the team's chance to set the all-time wins record.
Andre Igoudala played Tuesday night after being sidelined since March 12 with an ankle injury. Andrew Bogut has also been in and out of the lineup with an injury to his ribs.
In the last four games of the season, the team will have home and away games against possible playoff opponents, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will more than likely rest his stars, which is something he has been known to do over the past few years.
If Popovich rests his stars against the Warriors, wouldn't that be a perfect time for Kerr to rest his stars as well?
In the grand scheme of things, the Warriors breaking the Bulls' record is not all that important. The team will forever be considered one of the greatest in NBA history whether they break the record or not.
The more important accomplishment would be to win back to back titles.
With the way the team has looked recently, the fatigue may be a big reason why that doesn't happen.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have all played in at least 75 of the team's 78 games this season.
Most of the Spurs' star players haven't even played in 70 games this season.
While the Spurs are older as a team, they will be far more rested than the Warriors if the two teams happen to match up in the Western Conference Finals.
The talk all season has been about Golden State breaking Chicago's record, but it's time to move on.
It's been fun, but the focus needs to be on resting star players to get ready for the NBA Playoffs.