Many felt the Warriors underachieved last year despite winning 51 games. The complaints about Mark Jackson's system were merited, but his supporters raised a good question: How can a coach really be holding back a team that won 51 games in a brutal conference?
We now know the answer. A brand-new coaching staff took the same core Jackson had and turned it into one of the best regular-season teams this league has ever seen. The Warriors didn't just win a league-high 67 games. They won by blowing teams off the floor, nearly becoming the first team to finish No. 1 in both offensive and defensive efficiency since the 1996 Bulls. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green emerged as stars, Harrison Barnes was rescued, the veterans accepted and thrived in bench roles and Stephen Curry put together an MVP-caliber year tying everything together.
Golden State thus enters the postseason as one of the biggest title favorites in recent memory, even if some are slow to accept their dominance. The Warriors lost seven times all year with their normal starting lineup, and two were after they clinched the No. 1 seed. Good luck beating them four times out of seven.
