Going for a record might seem like something that can wear a team out over the long haul, and the Golden State Warriors have certainly shown some signs of feeling the mental and physical fatigue of a season that has demanded so much out of them. However, going for the record might actually help them.
If keeping focus on something as seemingly inconsequential as the single-season wins record actually allows the Warriors to keep their focus on the bigger goal, another world championship, then this really might have been the best thing that could have ever happened to the team.
From Diamond Leung of the Contra Costa Times:
“I think it helps us focus because you can’t just coast to the playoffs, and we don’t want to coast,” [point guard Stephen] Curry said. “We have our eyes set on obviously winning a championship, so in order to do that, we have to continue to develop the certain characteristics of a championship team — executing down the stretch, defending at a high level for 48 minutes, not turning the ball over.”
In a season that has gone so right for the Warriors, at least in the win column, it makes you respect their level of dedication and awareness. They know how close they are to setting the brand new single-season wins record, and yet they view that goal as something that will propel them to bigger and better things.
The record without the championship will almost ring hollow, but earning the championship alongside the record will definitely put them in rarified air. And, at this rate, that air is something that only the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors will ever be able to breath in.