You hear it all the time. Records were made to be broken. In the case of the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, it appears that they’re on pace to shatter the Chicago Bulls’ single-season wins mark. But, if you listen to head coach Steve Kerr, the record does not matter nearly as much as the rest the team could get does.
As they slog through the regular season en route to one of the most dominant runs in sports history, Golden State has to make sure that they don’t wear themselves out — especially with Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala already nicked up, and with Festus Ezeli on the shelf for a little while longer. Kerr has taken notice of this, and he thinks rest ranks as being far more important.
From Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports:
“Resting, that will take precedence,” Kerr said. “We will rest guys if they need it before we will go for any kind of streak or record, that’s for sure.”
It’s an interesting balance that the team is trying to maintain. They want the record, but they need the rest. Over the next several weeks, don’t be surprised if you see a player here and there start to get rested for a game or two in order to preserve their legs and rhythm for the postseason, which matters far more than any regular season record does at this point.
Of the Warriors’ next seven games, only one, March 11th at home against Portland, comes against a team currently in the playoffs in either conference. Seems like an ideal time to rest Curry or Iguodala for a game, as well as some of the other players. We’ll see how Kerr handles this, though, but don’t be shocked to see rest matter more than record from here on out.