The Warriors and the "Regular" Season

To be honest, I haven't thought a whole lot about the Warriors beating the Bulls regular season wins record.  I agree with you Brad, that things change.  And yet everyone is still following the "chase to beat the record."  Is it the same record if it's not the same basketball as it was when the Bulls were kings?  Perhaps I am a curmudgeon, because I'm "old school" in the sense that I think records should be incidental to the game, not the goal or focus of the game.  Just ask Gregg Popovich how he feels about records!  That's why he rested his "big three" for a Friday night prime time match up with the defending champions Miami Heat back in the day (and then got fined for it).  The Spurs were at the end of a long road stretch and didn't need the W - his starters needed rest.  No Ed, it doesn't make for good TV, but in that case I think it did make for an NBA championship.

Don't get me wrong - I am as much about entertainment value as the next guy.  One of the MYRIAD of things that irritate this curmudgeon is the I-like-NCAA-basketball-because-it's-more-fundamentally-sound speech.  I don't watch the NBA to watch lock-down defense and low-scoring affairs.  I like fast breaks, monster dunks, and downtown threes.

But let's get back to where the REAL money is in sports, and that's in post-season wins, and especially championships.  The Warriors have to know that if they don't take home the O'Brien trophy when it's all said and done, then in a couple of years no one will remember that they won 73 games.  The reason people remember the 96 Bulls is because they won the championship.  The Spurs have had 17 consecutive 50-win seasons.  You'll hear that mentioned occasionally, but not much.  Why?  Because it's not a championship.  The Warriors BETTER win it all.  I doubt that the two of you have to search very hard to find near-and-dear examples of excellent regular seasons that ended in forgettable fashion.

I will take a side trail for a moment to talk about something that you touched on Brad.  I actually LOVE the debates about players or teams from different generations and who is better.  And the reason is because they CANNOT be answered.  You guys have heard me mention before (probably) that human beings used to debate trivial things for hours and hours because there was no definitive answer handy.  That doesn't happen anymore.  If someone makes a comment like, "Notre Dame has won more football National Championships than Alabama has," then people could pass hours arguing about it.  But not anymore, thanks to Google and his cousin Siri, we can get a definitive answer almost instantaneously.  But those generational questions?  Well, no one will ever be able to answer those questions, and THAT is what makes it a fun discussion.

Scottie Pippen says that the '96 Bulls would sweep the Warriors.  So what do you think?