The Weekly Dish

The Warriors are two games away from completing one of the best regular seasons in NBA history.

For the week of Tuesday, Apr. 7 – Monday, Apr. 13

It seems like ages ago that I sat down to write the inaugural edition of the Weekly Dish way back in the beginning of November, and now with only two games remaining before the start of the postseason, it’s only fitting we reflect on just how far the Dubs have come since then, in this, the final Dish of the 2014-15 season. At the time of that first edition, the Warriors had just rebounded from their first two losses of the season by ripping off three consecutive victories. Little did we know at the time that the Warriors were just getting warmed up, as those three wins initiated a franchise-best 16-game win streak that would take them to 21-2 on the season. By then, the entire league was well aware of how devastating the Warriors could be when firing on all cylinders, ensuring that the Dubs would get their opponents’ best shot each and every time from there on out. While everyone was impressed with their torrid start, it remained to be seen how the Warriors would respond to being the league’s new preeminent team, and the expectations that came with it.

Well, at this point, the question has been answered, several times over. The Warriors’ early season success was not a flash in the pan, but rather, the first steps of the staircase of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history. At 65-15 on the season, only 13 teams in the history of the game have ever climbed higher on that staircase than the Warriors stand today, with 10 of those teams going on to win the NBA Championship. Should the Warriors prove victorious in their final two games of the season, they’d finish tied for the sixth-best record and second-best home record in NBA history. If the Warriors go plus-3.0 points or better over their final two games, they’ll become the eighth NBA team ever to outscore opponents by double-figures per game. Their current average points-per-game differential of plus-10.2 ranks eighth-best all-time, with six of the seven teams that posted a higher average margin having gone on to win the Championship. Although they’re probably too far behind the Clippers to catch their Southern California rivals in offensive efficiency, the Warriors still lead the league in defensive efficiency and will finish as just the third team in the last 38 years to rank in the top two on both ends of the floor. All of this is to say that the Warriors haven’t been merely good this season, or even great for that matter; they’ve been historically elite, from beginning to end, and history itself would seem to indicate that their storyline has not reached its’ climax just yet.

The Spotlight wasn’t necessarily supposed to be reserved for the Warriors’ best player over a given week of games, but rather, for the one that elevated their play above their typical performance over that particular sequence of the schedule. The Warriors’ depth has played a significant role in their historic season, and so it was only proper that various members of the Dubs were recognized in this space for the particular role they play on the squad. But, just as has been the case all season long, Stephen Curry is dominating, including in the Spotlight, where he’s now earned three-consecutive acknowledgments. Over the course of last week’s three games, Curry posted averages of 34.7 points, 8.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 59.7 percent shooting from the field and 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from three-point land. Those 18 splashes moved his total to 281 treys on the season, breaking his own single-season three-point record of 272 set back in 2012-13. Amazingly, although it took him 21 more attempts to eclipse the old mark this time around, he did so in nearly 480 fewer minutes played. To put that in perspective, Curry has played a total of 483 minutes over his last 15 games, a span in which he’s sank 67 three-pointers. Only 12 players in the entire league have had half as many threes over that span, with Anthony Morrow closest to Curry and still 23 treys off of his pace. The only reason Curry didn’t shatter his own record several weeks ago is because his team has simply been too good to need him on the court. Curry has now sat out 16 fourth quarters this season, each due to the fact that the Dubs already had the victory well in hand, and thus, did not require the MVP-candidate’s service. Speaking of MVP, let’s circle back for a second. If the Warriors win their final two games, they’ll finish with 67 victories on the season. Only nine other teams have ever won 67 games, and seven of them produced the league’s MVP. History doesn’t always repeat itself, but in this case, it probably should.

Alas, we’ve come to the finish. 80 games down, and only two more separating the spectacular regular season that has been, and the enticing playoffs yet to come. The Warriors round out their regular season campaign with two home games, neither of which mean all that much in the standings for themselves, but could have a significant impact on the rest of the Western Conference playoff race. The Dubs open the week by hosting the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at Oracle Arena, a late-season matchup of two of the strongest teams in the league from start to finish. Memphis enters the game with a 54-26 record, tying them with the Clippers and Rockets for third in the West and only a half-game behind San Antonio for second. However, due to tiebreakers, if the season were to end today, the Grizzlies would find themselves stuck in the fifth seed, which would mean they would go on to play the winner of the Warriors’ first round matchup in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, should they also advance. The Warriors beat the Grizzlies handily on their own home floor last month, and that combined with their desperate need to keep pace with the Spurs, Clippers and Rockets should make for a feisty, entertaining matchup this evening. After that, the Dubs will close out their regular season with a home game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. At 30-50 on the season, the Nuggets will not be headed to the postseason this year, but would love to end their down year on a high note. They beat the Warriors in their last encounter in Denver back on March 13, so the Dubs will have a loss to avenge in their final game before the playoffs start.

The Dish has been served.