The Warriors are on pace for 75 wins after beating the Thunder Thursday. They are undefeated at home and have a deep roster that has allowed them to survive some injuries. If nothing strange happens, they can definitely break the record for most regular-season wins established by the 1995-96 Bulls, who went 72-10.
Warriors’ coach says resting players will ‘take precedence’ over the single-season wins record
Steve Kerr wants the Warriors to break the record set by the 1995-96 Bulls, but won’t risk the health of his players to chase it.
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That huge accomplishment would clearly mean a lot to the Warriors and NBA history. However, their head coach is more concerned about getting to the playoffs rested and healthy than chasing milestones.
“Resting, that will take precedence,” Kerr said, via The Vertical’s Marc Spears. “We will rest guys if they need it before we will go for any kind of streak or record, that’s for sure.”
Kerr has already started to err on the side of caution. Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala took the night off against the Hawks on March 1 -- a game Golden State won -- and Iguodala was on a minutes restriction against the Thunder Thursday. It wouldn't be surprising to see Draymond Green get a break soon, especially since next week's schedule is not particularly challenging.
The players seem to agree with their coach that the ultimate goal is the championship, but is obvious that breaking the record is on their minds.
“Honestly,” Stephen Curry said, “if we are a 70-win team and champions versus a 73-win team and depleted energy and banged up going into the playoffs, we’re trying to avoid that. But at the same token, it’s a tough balance. How many times are you going to have this opportunity?”
The Warriors are so good that they might not need to choose between one or the other. As long as the rest days come against bad opponents, there's enough talent on the roster to win even if one of the core players rests. They are also a young team, for the most part, so they don't necessarily have to keep rest on their minds as much as, say, the Spurs.
The Warriors need to go 18-4 the rest of the way to break the Bulls’ record. Considering they have only lost five times in 60 games, they should be able to get there, even if the stars take some breaks along the way.
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