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Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors learned their lesson in 2015-16.
Last season, the Dubs blew the rest of the NBA out of the water, setting a league-record with 73 wins. Curry won his second consecutive MVP award, and the Warriors appeared destined to cruise to another title.
Instead, the road to the Finals was quite rocky. After barely slipping by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, Golden State was dethroned in seven games by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The toll of battling at full throttle through a 82-game season took a toll on the Warriors, physically and mentally. Curry recently admitted that he wasn't 100% during the Finals. This really isn't surprising considering he missed a number of games in the first and second rounds.
Expectations have never been higher with the addition of superstar Kevin Durant, but that doesn't mean the Dubs will aim to break their own single-season wins record.
They have one goal: a championship.
Curry, from a video on the Warriors' Twitter:
“74 (wins) isn't really a goal. If it happens, it happens. All of our energy will be spent on getting ourselves ready for a championship run.
“We want to have a great regular season obviously, we don't want to have any slip-ups, but I don't think coming into the season with the goal of 74 is a good focus. It's about winning a championship.”
To accomodate Durant's contract, the Warriors parted ways with core players like Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes. But, they maintained their best guys in Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala, while also adding Zaza Pachulia and David West on cheap deals.
Curry believes the additions will fit in with the rest of their roster right away:
“I think we've added some great character guys that will fit right into our identity and who we are as a team, and there's only one goal this year: obviously to win a championship, so whatever it takes to make that happen, I'm sure we'll figure it out.”
Even with the top-tier talent on Golden State, winning 74 games is highly unlikely. But, if any team is going to do it, Curry and the Dubs are surely in the best position.
