As they approach the record of 73 wins in a single-season, the Golden State Warriors are shooting for it. However, they’re only going to approach the record as long as it falls within reason for them. That reason? Not overplaying anyone who could be banged up, and just being cautious with everyone.
With a few players having been dinged up over the last several weeks, coach Steve Kerr wants to take all the precautions in the world to prevent something serious from happening just because they’re going for a record. The record won’t matter much without the title, and the health of the team is far more important.
From Rusty Simmons of San Francisco Gate dot com:
“We’re right there. We’re 12 games away. We need to win 10 to break the record. That’s pretty enticing,” Kerr said before winning Wednesday’s game. “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 can potentially cause harm, then we’ll sit that player down. We’ve been really consistent with all of that. The guys who are hurt are not playing. The guys who are healthy are playing.”
You have to commend Steve Kerr for recognizing that the overall goal is far more than the single-season one. The title matters more, and without it all that will remain would be questions for the Warriors to answer about why they didn’t achieve it. Kerr’s handling this the correct way.
This doesn’t mean Kerr won’t let the Warriors chase the record, but only within the reasonable confines of getting rest for players while trying to mitigate the potential injury issues that have just now begun to plague Golden State. Records are important, but only within reason.