Can the Golden State Warriors break the 2001 LA Lakers’ playoff record?
Kevin Durant made his return for the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 after missing the last two games, and it was business as usual for the Dubs.
Durant helped start an amazing run at the beginning of the game that saw the Warriors take a 20-3 lead. They also set a franchise record with 45 points in the first quarter. Steph Curry finished with 37 and, without Coach Steve Kerr for the third straight game, the Warriors put the game away early.
The dominance and urgency this team showed from the beginning sparked a question in my mind. Could this team possibly a challenge the 2001 Los Angelos Lakers postseason record of 15-1?
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The Lakers cruised through the 2001 playoffs. Losing only Game 1 in overtime of the NBA Finals to Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. They defeated three 50-win teams and went undefeated on the road. I believe this Warriors team can show similar, if not greater dominance.
If the Warriors make the Finals, that means that would have beat two 50-win teams in the West and possibly a 60-win team in the San Antonio Spurs if they face off in the Western Conference Finals. That type of dominance would be never before seen in the NBA. Their finals matchup would more than likely include another 50-win team in the Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending NBA Champions.
The Golden State Warriors are indeed off to a commanding start, with its closes win being six in a game without arguable its best player and last year’s NBA Coach of the Year. The (2001) Lakers first round matchup was against the Portland Trailblazers, ironically that’s also the Warriors first round matchup.
The Lakers won the series by an average margin of close to 15 points per game. The Warriors defeated the 2017 Blazers by 18 points per game. Golden State averaged 119 per game compared to the Lakers’ 103 points per game.
The Warriors defense was also really great in holding the Blazers to 39 percent shooting over four games this series. Draymond Green was particular special on defense averaging 4.2 blocks per game throughout this series.
The true potential of this Warriors team is still yet to be seen in the playoffs, with Golden State missing key reserves the last three games and KD only playing in two of the four playoff games. Though this team isn’t as deep as Warriors teams we’ve seen the past, the playoffs are a time for rotation shortening.
The Warriors have a strong 8-man rotation with reserve players they can plug in like Ian Clark or Matt Barnes. This gives them more depth to their bench.
Golden State’s next matchup will be against the LA Clippers or Utah Jazz – GSW was a combined 7-1 this season against both those teams. The one hiccup was against Utah on April 10th, a game in which Klay Thompson sat out for rest. Durant was in his second game back from missing 20 games and all the starters sat the 4th quarter in a six-point loss.
If the Warriors successfully make the Western Conference Finals they will potentially face the Houston Rockets or the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, at the moment, seem to be the biggest threat to this dominance. They’re the only team to win a season series against the Warriors in the last three years.
To put the Spurs wins under a microscope for a second, their first win against the Warriors was the first game of the season. The second win was in the highly criticized nationally televised game in which the Golden State sat it’s starting lineup and 6th man Andre Iguodala.
Assuming the Warriors get by San Antonio, the NBA Finals matchup we’re all anticipating is Part 3 of Cavs vs Warriors. They split the season series with the Cavs, winning the Christmas Day matchup by one and the Warriors dominated the second game by a whopping 35 points.
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The Golden State Warriors are 19-1 in their last 20 games; regular season and playoffs included, and they’re hitting on all cylinders. With a healthy Kevin Durant, I can’t see anyone truly stopping or slowing them down. The Warriors finished the season top 5 in every major offensive and defensive statistic. With their team getting healthy and catching a rhythm at the right time, we will begin to see if they truly can be stopped. With the past three NBA MVPs on their roster, Golden State looks like an unstoppable force.