NBA: Golden State Warriors seen to break records this season
Golden State Warriors guards Shaun Livingston, left, Stephen Curry (30), and Andre Iguodala (9) celebrate after Curry’s three-point score to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter during an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, on Nov. 11, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. AP
LOS ANGELES, United States — AFP looks at trends and topics in the National Basketball Association over the week ending November 22:
Warriors eye season record
They’ve already tied the record for the best start to a season in NBA history.
Now there’s talk that the Golden State Warriors could surpass the record 72-10 season of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
Golden State’s Klay Thompson is on record as saying 73 wins are possible for the defending champions, who moved to 15-0 on Sunday.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry thinks it would be a tall order — but has also indicated it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
“We know how hard it was to win 67,” Curry told the San Jose Mercury news. “You feel like, what games did you give along the way? But we’re off to a better start than we were last year, and I think we have talked about we’re a better team, so a lot goes into that.
“That would be nice to hit (72 wins) and something that we would be very proud of obviously. It’s still more to the formula of winning a championship. We want to be at the best we can be, and if that’s 72, 73 wins, then so be it.”
Hero to zero?
Luke Walton is officially the least-recognized record-equaling coach in NBA history.
Walton may have overseen Golden State’s remarkable 15-game unbeaten start to the season, but in the eyes of official statisticians, the rookie coach has zero victories in his wins column.
That’s because Walton is merely keeping the seat warm for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who is currently on a leave of absence as he recovers from multiple back surgeries.
Walton, 35, says he’s unfazed by the fact that the wins don’t count towards his record.
“I’m completely okay with the fact that the wins don’t count on any record book for me,” Walton told SI.com recently. “Our concern here is getting the wins and the team continuing to get better while Steve isn’t able to coach.”
Philadelphia (horror) story
While the Golden State Warriors sweep all before them in the upper echelons of the NBA, at the other end of the scale the Philadelphia 76ers are closing in on an unwanted piece of history.
The 76ers have now lost 24 games in a row after Saturday’s 96-91 defeat to Miami, and on current form look well placed to equal their own record of 26 games for the longest losing streak in NBA history, set in the 2013-2014 season, a record they share with the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lieberman to reign at Kings?
With the Sacramento Kings languishing near the foot of the Western Conference standings, the pressure is mounting on head coach George Karl.
That has opened up the intriguing possibility that owner Vivek Ranadive could promote Nancy Lieberman to be the first female head coach in NBA history, according to Bleacher Report.
Lieberman, 57, was hired by the team over the summer and could be in line to replace Karl if Ranadive is unable to lure first choice John Calipari from the University of Kentucky.
