Kerr says Warriors are going for 73 wins, Curry opposed to resting
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says players have a say in resting as they try to win 73 games.
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2 min read
For the 64th time this season, the Golden State Warriors pulled out a win. By defeating the Clippers 114-98 Wednesday, the Warriors are now just nine victories (single digits!) from breaking the '95-96 Chicago Bulls' record for most wins in a single season. According to projections from SportsLine, Golden State now has a 72.5 percent chance of winning 73 games or more. Strong odds, which Warriors head coach Steve Kerr seems well aware of.
Before taking on the Clippers, Kerr basically told reporters that the Warriors are indeed chasing after the Bulls' record. Kerr has been reticent to acknowledge this although players like Draymond Green and Stephen Curry have openly talked about resetting the history books. And because of the record, Kerr is allowing his players to have a say in whether they sit out games to get some rest before the playoffs start.
From Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group:
"Now we're right there," Kerr said before the game. "That's pretty enticing.
"It's really the players' record. I know they want to get it. So we'll act accordingly."
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"Yeah, this whole idea of setting a record does make things a little trickier," Kerr said. "It's the players who are setting a record. It's not the organization. It's the players who are doing it.
"So they will absolutely have some say in matters down the stretch in terms of how we approach everything."
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"For us, we don't want to limp into the playoffs," Curry said. "We want to continue to play better and fine-tune on both sides of the ball, our execution.
"We want to continue to establish winning habits and a winning mentality as you go into the playoffs.
"Whatever it takes to motivate us at this point, whether it's just continue what we've been doing, searching for that 73, No. 1 seed, whatever it is."
Also, Curry added: "Sitting out and watching is just boring. I don't like watching games if you have the opportunity to play in them."
Kerr has previously said he values rest over the record, but with the Warriors closing in on history, he's clearly changed his mind. Winning 73 games is so unique that it should trump rest in this instance. No one, including Kerr himself, thought any team would come close to the Bulls' record. Yet the Warriors are right there and should go for it as the season winds down.
Rest is quite important though, as it will allow time for the Warriors' bodies to heal and recuperate a bit before heading into what would likely be a long postseason. We can't forget the Warriors already get a lot of rest in games. Curry, and often both Green and Klay Thompson, get plenty of rest in fourth quarters since Golden State builds such large, insurmountable leads. Also, the Warriors are quite deep, so Kerr may choose to play their bench more minutes to allow Curry, Green and Thompson to get more in-game rest.
And like Curry says, the Warriors want to head into the playoffs as the best team that they can possibly be. Winning 73 or more games would definitely make them the best of the best.
