History says Warriors’ 10-2 start bodes well for NBA Finals chances
It’s official.
Warriors fans don’t need to worry about the next six months — Golden State’s fate already is set.
OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But after the Warriors’ gritty 123-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night pushed them to a 10-2 record, recent history suggests Golden State will go far this season.
In each of the previous five instances under Steve Kerr that the Warriors have won at least 10 of their first 12 games, the team has — at minimum — reached the NBA Finals every time.
That’s a pretty decent omen.
Granted, it’s not a guarantee that they will win it all, but it doesn’t seem coincidental that this trend applies to five of the Warriors’ six appearances in the Finals under Kerr. The one exception is when Golden State won its second consecutive championship in 2017-18 after starting a measly … 9-3.
On the other hand, here are the Warriors’ records through 12 games in the seasons they have not made the Finals: 2-10 in 2019-20, 6-6 in 2020-21, 5-7 in 2022-23 and 6-6 in 2023-24.
That’s right. In other words, whenever the Warriors have started with a record above .500 through 12 games, they have won at least the Western Conference, if not the whole shebang.
So, while maybe Dub Nation shouldn’t just look away over the next six months, it’s not crazy to feel a bit overconfident in the Warriors only a month into the season.
After all, the stats don’t lie.
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