The Weekly Dish

With the halfway point of the season in sight, the Warriors are on a historic pace.

For the week of Monday, Jan. 12 – Monday, Jan. 19*

*For the sake of this week’s edition, I’m including Monday’s victory in the discussion, due to the early start on MLK Day. Starting again next week I will return to the Monday – Sunday format previously established.

Even after victories over Utah, Miami, Houston and Denver, as well as a defeat in Oklahoma City over the past week, the Warriors enter Tuesday as one of five teams in the NBA that have played fewer than 41 games so far this season. Still, with roughly 83 percent of the league at or past the season’s halfway point, this marks a convenient time to do a little simple projecting. Let’s assume the worst-case scenario in which the Warriors lose their next two games (which is unlikely, considering they’re both at home where the Dubs have won 16 in a row), putting them at 33-8 on the season. Simple math would indicate then that if the Warriors play at or near the same level for the remainder of the season, they would end up somewhere around 66-16, assuming no major injuries or inconsistencies in strength of schedule. That record would blow away the most successful regular season in franchise history, set in 1975-76 in which Golden State went 59-23 on their way to a seven-game series defeat in the Western Conference Finals. In fact, only nine teams in NBA history have recorded more than 66 wins in any single regular season. So while the 2014-15 Warriors seem well on their way to accomplishing the best regular season in franchise history, that doesn’t entirely encapsulate the awesomeness of their performance to date.

For instance, it’s not just that they’re winning at an unprecedented rate; they’re doing so with nearly unprecedented dominance. The Warriors have the league’s best point differential (plus-11.7), which is an entire 1.7 points better than the Western Conference’s second and third place teams combined (plus-6.2 and plus-3.8, respectively). As if that weren’t impressive enough, it’s historically significant as well. Since the ABA-NBA merger, only four teams have outscored their opposition by a double-figure average (the Bulls in 1991-92, 1995-96 and 1996-97 and the 2007-08 Boston Celtics). All four won the NBA championship, and the only one of those teams to surpass a plus-11.7 differential was the 1995-96 Bulls (plus-12.2), which won an NBA-record 72 games. While in reality it’s not as simple as doubling the team’s statistics and record, it does offer a basic framework of what to reasonably expect. Surely it’s possible the Dubs could experience some dropoff during the second half, but given their steady and consistent dominance through 39 games, it’s not unreasonable to assume they’re capable of keeping it up. In fact, if anything, it appears they’re only getting better with time. In their 11 games since Christmas, the Warriors have failed to score at least 110 points only once, and have averaged 117.8 points per game over that span (compared to 107.4 ppg in the 28 games prior). Whether they’re adding new elements to the offense or simply perfecting those that have been in place since the start, the explanation isn’t nearly as relevant as the statistics themselves. The Warriors are onto something great here; just how great will be determined over the course of the next 43 games.

Considering this has essentially become the midseason edition of The Dish, it’s only fitting that the NBA’s leading MVP candidate captures the Spotlight once again. As the best player on the best team in the league, Stephen Curry has proven to be the most impactful individual on any NBA team roster, and this past week’s results seem to cement that fact even further. In the Warriors four victories, Curry posted averages of 26.5 points, 8.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and only 2.0 turnovers in just 29.75 minutes. His shooting percentages in those four wins: 56.1 percent from the field (37-of-66), 46.9 percent from three-point range (15-of-32) and 85.0 percent from the line (17-of-20 FT). It comes as no surprise that the Warriors’ lone loss on the week came in arguably the worst game of Curry’s season (19 points, six assists in 31 minutes), which is an indicator in itself of just how good he’s been. In a matchup with likely his closest competition for league MVP in James Harden, Curry stole the show, leading his team to a 25-point victory over a tough Rockets squad in Houston, on the second night of a back-to-back no less. While the MVP award is rightfully based on the results of an entire season, it was certainly a strong argument in Curry’s favor, and at this point it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find any comprehensive analysis in which he doesn’t come out on top.

With three more home games to round out the week, the Warriors have a chance to build upon their current franchise-record 16-game home winning streak. First up is another tangle with the Rockets on Wednesday, and you can be sure they still have a sour taste in their mouths following the blowout the Warriors laid on them in their own building just last week. On paper it would appear to be the Dubs’ toughest test of the week, and a victory would give them a perfect 4-0 season series sweep of a possible eventual playoff opponent. The Warriors will then ultimately reach the previously-discussed halfway point of the season on Friday night when they play host to their Northern Californian brethren Sacramento Kings, followed by a Sunday matinee showdown with the Celtics in Boston’s lone Bay Area appearance of the season. It’s the NBA and there’s no such thing as an easy win, but considering how easy the Dubs have been making it look lately, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if their home winning streak reaches 19 games.