Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made the unremarkable proclamation that he won't forsake resting his players for the team's pursuit of the NBA record for regular-season wins.
The Warriors are 55-5 and need to go 18-4 in their final 22 games to break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72-10 in the regular season. Kerr, talking like a head coach should, stressed that his priority was make sure his team is rested for the playoffs to enhance their chances of defending their NBA crown.
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Not going after 73.
"Resting, that will take precedence," Kerr said, according to Yahoo Sports. "We will rest guys if they need it before we will go for any kind of streak or record, that's for sure."
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Kerr rested players last year before Golden State's playoff run, Yahoo Sports added. But the website did assert that Kerr could be the biggest barrier between the Warriors and the record.
He will not.
The San Antonio Spurs will.
The Warriors and Spurs, 52-9 on the season, have three more meetings in the regular season, including two in the last four games. The teams will play in San Antonio in the second-to-last regular-season game.
And if anything, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be far more cognizant of resting his players in that meeting than Kerr his.
Even if San Antonio has a chance to gain home-court advantage with a win, Popovich figures be more conservative. But if the Spurs beat the Warriors in the other two matchups -- on March 19 and April 7 -- the Warriors would have to win 18 of 20 in the other games to get the record.
The Warriors have the deepest bench in the NBA, and they already have stressed player health over any regular-season goal. Stephen Curry noted that teammate Andre Iguodala, who is dealing with a strained hamstring) was on a minutes restriction during Thursday night's win over Oklahoma City, despite the fact that Iguodala is the Warriors' best defender against Kevin Durant.
Golden State has a few other tough matchups the rest of the way, but the Warriors are in no danger of falling short of the record without the three Spurs games remaining on the schedule.
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