The Golden State Warriors secured their first Pacific Division title in 39 years on Tuesday, following a 122-108 win over the Portland Trailblazers at the Moda Centre.
The last time the Warriors achieved such a feat was in 1975-76, when they also recorded a franchise-best 59 wins.
Currently, Golden State sits only one game away from tying this organisational milestone.
MVP candidate Stephen Curry played an enormous role in the victory, contributing 33 points and 10 assists as the Warriors moved to a league-best 58 wins and 13 losses, with 11 games of the regular season remaining.
Curry was aided by double-doubles from Australian star Andrew Bogut (10 points, 16 rebounds) and 25-year-old forward Draymond Green (14 points, 11 rebounds).
Under the guidance of former player, now first-year coach, Steve Kerr, the Warriors have built upon their incredible start to the season to dominate their opponents.
Golden State’s present winning percentage is .817. If they were to hold that percentage all the way to the playoffs, it would be noted as the sixth-best seen in NBA history.
The last team to achieve such a mark was the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (67-15).
An improvement made to the Warriors play this year has been offensive efficiency which has seen them amass an astounding 109.8 points per game. The next best is the Los Angeles Clippers, who average 106.1 points per game, sitting quite a considerable distance behind.
For Kerr the aim was to consistently perform on offence while maintaining the same defensive presence and tenacity shown in prior seasons, which the Warriors have achieved this season with flying colours.
According to the 2014-15 Hollinger team statistics, Golden State is ranked first for pace (100.6), which equates to the number of possessions a team uses per game.
The Warriors also rank first in both offensive efficiency, the number of points a team scores per 100 possessions (109.6), and defensive efficiency (97.5), the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions.
Unlike their opponents, Golden State’s fast play is not at the expense of its defence.
Since teams started to slow down and strategise against the Warriors unstoppable offence, Kerr employed a strategy–increased ball movement. As a result, Golden State have are producing an NBA best of 27.4 assists per game. This amount of passing and assists make everybody on the court a scoring threat, leading to the implementation of a double-team on Curry or Klay Thompson that much more unlikely.
Will their form continue into the playoffs? Who knows? All we know is that the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors have provided something special, not only to their fans, but also to the NBA’s whole audience.
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