Warriors going for it all: 73 wins, title, for some, the Olympics
POSTED: Mar 25, 2016 12:10 AM ET
OAKLAND — Klay Thompson is in, without hesitation. Draymond Greenwants to play, absolutely, Andrew Bogutremains committed, definitely, andStephen Curry expects to be in Rio, probably, and so there is little uncertainty among four of the six Warriors with Olympic hopes this summer even as the calendar and burden of expectation weigh heavy.
There are worldwide implications to Golden State's renewed push to the finish line as the record for regular-seasons wins re-emerges as a clear goal, and there are the telling statements beyond the statements: If Curry, Green and Thompson are still aiming for a run at a gold medal with the United States and Bogut is still pointing at another Summer Games with Australia, the Warriors must be in a good place emotionally and physically in the pursuit of a second consecutive NBA title.
Talk about developments to strike back at the doubt, however slight, that emerged last week as players and coach Steve Kerr conceded the wear of playing as champions for the first time and expanding the target on their back by immediately moving into range of the all-time mark of 72 wins. The Dubs were feeling it. And then they were held to 79 points in a loss at San Antonio on Saturday and got taken into the final minute by the Timberwolves on Monday in Minnesota, signaling Kerr would obviously start to cut back minutes to make sure his team is fresh for the playoffs, the real goal.
But then they returned to Oracle Arena on Wednesday to play the Clippers, hardly the emotional showdown of past year but a good opponent and therefore an important barometer on the state of the Warriors at the moment, and suddenly there was a new obvious. Golden State is going for 73. Kerr would try to build in rest because the wins record will mean little unless accompanied by another parade, but down to the final few games, with history on the line, yeah, they're playing.
Could a couple of our guys use a little mental rest and take a night off? Probably. But I wouldn't do that at the expense of losing games and possibly losing the one seed.
– --Warriors coach Steve Kerr
"I've maintained all along we're trying to get the one seed," Kerr said of trying to secure home-court advantage for the playoffs. "That's a really important deal for us and we're not there yet. There's (11) games to go. We've got a four-game lead, which is great, but we're not home free. We have been resting guys when they've been nicked up. Steph's missed a few games this year, obviously we rested Draymond earlier in the year against Denver and right now Andre (Iguodala) and Bogs are injured and getting rest. So it's not as easy as just saying, 'Well, we'll take this guy out and we'll that guy out while we're trying to win games.' We already have three key players who are out right now. I'm more interested in securing the one seed, seeing how things go, but not with any risk of hurting anybody. Could a couple of our guys use a little mental rest and take a night off? Probably. But I wouldn't do that at the expense of losing games and possibly losing the one seed. And I know what the next question will be."
What about the chase for 73, someone asked.
"Right," Kerr said, nailing the guess.
"I think it's a good question now," he continued. "It was a good question (earlier in the season), it just wasn't anything I was interested in addressing because it was so early. But you're right. Now we're right there. We're (11) games away. We need to win (nine) to set the record. That's pretty enticing. It's really the players' record. I know they want to get it. So we'll act accordingly. If the players want to go and they're fine physically, we'll probably play them. If we see something, if there's an injury, if somebody's nicked up and we could potentially cause harm, we'll sit that player down. But right now we've been really consistent with all of that. The guys who are hurt are not playing, the guys who are healthy are playing. Fortunately right now the goal of going for the one seed goes hand in hand with the record that everyone wants to talk about, so we're able to just keep trying to win."
And then there's the Olympics factor. The Warriors are already feeling the short offseason of 2015 and the impact it had on their 2015-16 along with the emotional grind of constantly being chased, and now several of the core players tell NBA.com they are sticking with plans for an even shorter offseason in 2016. They will almost certainly play until at least May, possibly into June. The United States and Australia will have practices and exhibition games, and then the Games are in August.
It's an issue the Warriors as a whole will have to deal with in 2016-17. But the certainty in what most of the four say matters now.
Bogut: "It'll be tough. But I made the commitment two years ago. I missed 2012 and I wasn't happy about that. I'm a professional athlete so I try to look after my body as much as I can. It's no secret that I'm 31 years old, turning 32 this year, so if you do the math Olympics-wise, you never know. It could possibly be my last one. It's very, very special to go to an Olympics three times and it'll be my third one this summer. It doesn't happen to a lot of athletes."
Thompson: "No matter what. It's a dream. No matter what..... I'll be all right. We've got enough time off. Plenty of guys have done it too. I would be more than happy to play for my country."
Green: "I would never pass on the Olympics. To play for this country, to represent this country and have an opportunity to possibly win a gold medal, it's not something that I would ever pass up. It's a dream of mine. If I'm fortunate enough to be invited to that team, I would accept the offer before they could say it.
"It's a lot of basketball. But at the end of the day, I'm 26 years old. Do you ever get the chance to play in the Olympics again? You never know. It makes people realize how non-human LeBron is, that he's played in the Olympics three straight and he's been to six Finals. You give a lot of credit to a guy like that who hasn't had a break from this game at all and constantly plays at a high level. No, it's not something that I would ever pass on."
Curry, the closest to living himself wiggle room: "I don't think (I will withdraw), but I don't know how I'll feel come June or how this next 2 ½ months will unfold. It's hard to answer that. It would maybe be an option, but playing in the Olympics is a special opportunity so we'll have to see.... It would probably take a lot for that to even kind of be a decision, I think. I'll be able to rest for about a month before we go. I hope I'm not dealing with any injuries or anything like that.
"I came back from the world championships two years ago and felt pretty good for the season."
But without playing two long seasons in a row.
"That's true," Curry said. "Right now my mind is to play and it would probably take a lot or feeling significantly tired to pass it up."
Harrison Barnes, Iguodala, Thompson, Curry and Green are finalists for a Team USA roster spot, before the roster is decided in the summer, so it possible all five won't make it to Rio. Curry is a lock, though, Thompson close to it and Green a very strong candidate because of his defense, passing, versatility and shooting fit the international game.
Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail himhere and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
No comments:
Post a Comment