Barnes says 72 games is Warriors' 'magical number'
The Golden State Warriors have publicly dodged most of the talk of winning 72 games, but one Warrior finally came clean.
Harrison Barnes isn't ashamed to admit it. He wants to break — or at least match — the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record.
While hosting a "Sports Matter" holiday shopping event with the Boys and Girls Club and Dick's Sporting Goods in Daly City, Calif., Barnes spoke with Sporting News about the possibility of winning 72 or more games:
The politically correct answer is something along the lines of, "We're taking it one game at a time. We're not looking that far ahead yet." That's the tone most of the Warriors have taken with the media.
"I don't know how other guys feel, but to me, being able to win 67 games last year, that just meant so much,” Barnes said. “A year ago, we thought 50 games was a lot. The fact that we hit 50 wins was so big! Then to hit 67, it's like, 'Man, we got to 67 games, and think about the games we let slip away? Could we have gotten to 72?' Seventy-two is like that magical number, so if you can get to that point, it'd be special. And it's a little competition, too, because Coach Kerr was on that team."
But that's just not true. If any team would want to defy expectations and make history — especially after all of the "luck" talk this offseason — it's this one.
It's far too early to truly speculate. There are still 57 games left in the Warriors' season, and there's no telling how injuries or regression may ultimately affect them. They are a shoo-in for 60 wins, if not 65.
But at that point they will likely have clinched home-court advantage throughout the postseason, and it will be to their advantage to prioritize rest and prevent injury before the playoffs. If they are forced to rest their starters, the Dubs could drop a game or two, and that would probably prevent them from reaching their goal.
Of course, the scariest part of all is that, at 24-1 and no sign of slowing down, Barnes' goal of winning 72 games isn't hyperbolic but, in fact, realistic.
