Warriors Pace Will be Hard to Maintain

Bo KendallTHE SANTA CLARAJanuary 21, 2016

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s the NBA season passes the halfway point, basketball fans are realizing that this year’s Golden State Warriors have a chance to beat the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls mark of best regular season record, at 72-10.

The Warriors boast a 39-4 mark at print date, after starting the season on a 24-game winning streak.

At this point in the season, the Bulls 20 years ago were 40-3, with their fourth loss coming a whopping 45 games into the season.  To be clear, this is not a prediction on which team would win in a seven game series.

The game has changed so much in the past 20 years that I think it’s unfair to compare them in that way. However, I will examine the different facets of each team relative to the NBA at the time they were active to get the best estimate of who was, or is, truly the most dominant team.

The stiffest Eastern Conference competition for the Bulls came from the Orlando Magic, and the All-NBA combination of Penny Hardaway and a young Shaquille O’Neal.  The team finished with a very impressive record of 60-22, yet incredibly finished 12 games out of first place in the East.

The second-best team, in terms of regular season record in ‘95-96, was the Seattle SuperSonics. They were arguably the most talented squad in their franchise’s history, due to stars like Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf.

The Warriors play in an extremely competitive Western Conference.  The San Antonio Spurs are currently on the tails of the Warriors, sporting a record of 36-6 (only two games back from first place) and an 11-game winning streak, propelled by a squad of proven veterans like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, as well as young stars like Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Also out West, the best duo in the NBA happens to play in Oklahoma City. Today’s league also features a supremely talented Cleveland Cavaliers team in the East.

The threesome of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are hungry for an NBA championship after coming up just short last year.

The NBA is in transition, but some of the better teams in recent years have been competing against each other.  In comparison to the Bulls of the 90s, the Warriors success is that much more impressive.

However, one area that the Bulls have the advantage over the Warriors is in their superstar.

Although some Bay Area fanatics seem to be forgetting, Michael Jordan is the best basketball player ever and there’s a reason for that.

If Curry can play  a career like he’s been playing in the last three to four years, he has a chance at becoming one of the greatest offensive players of all time.

But where MJ has Curry and others beat is on the defensive side of the ball.  Jordan was as talented of a lockdown perimeter defender as the NBA has ever seen. Curry comes close to Jordan in terms of entertainment value, but Curry can’t yet match His Airness with those six championship rings.

What truly makes the Warriors one of the greatest teams ever is their depth.  A starting lineup including Curry, Thompson and Green would make them a matchup nightmare, but they are able to compete for the best record in NBA history this year because of their bench play.

Having the choice of putting Andre Iguodala, one the league’s most experienced and talented defenders, on the bench or in the starting lineup is a tremendous luxury. It is one of the most underrated aspects that makes this year’s Warriors squad so great.

There is a lot of basketball left to be played this season. The great thing about the NBA is that basically anything can happen in the regular season, and the Warriors could easily go on another absurd winning streak.

However, at the rate they are going, with injuries and entering the tougher part of their schedule, I do not believe that the Warriors will surpass the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls regular season record of 72 wins, and therefore, will not go down as the best team in history.

Bo Kendall is a freshman communications major.