Golden State Warriors: Are they Respected Nationally?
The Golden State Warriors have either owned or shared the best record in the NBA the vast majority of the regular season. So why does a portion of their fan-base still feel they haven’t been receiving their due respect from the national media?.
The 2014-15 NBA season has been filled with an abundance of player movements and coaching changes, but one thing has been reliable all year-long. On any given day of the week, a look at the top of the Western Conference standings would show the Golden State Warriors leading, or near the lead of the pack.
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, better known as the “Splash Brothers”, have taken the league by storm. The Warriors not only play an entertaining brand of basketball, which has been a staple of the franchise for many years, but they are playing winning basketball. This has turned an already rabid fan-base into one that only can be described as energetic and infectious .
The Warriors hold a 6.5 game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies atop of the Western Conference standings, with a 52-13 record going into its home game versus the Los Angeles Lakers. The division title and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoff season might not be a forgone conclusion by all, but barring a late-season collapse, should be wrapped up without much drama.
What seems to be an outstanding regular season unfolding for the Warriors is nearing its conclusion. How Golden State would be a nightmare matchup for their opponents would seem to be the obvious conversation being held around league and media water coolers.
However, this has not invariably been the case when brought up by many of today’s NBA insiders and experts.
The prevailing feeling discussed amongst the Warriors fan-base, in large part, is that the national sports media is taken an opposed approach. However, this is not to say the Warriors are not being given credit for an outstanding regular season, or their accomplishments being diminished by sports media colleagues.
Yet the debate of who the Splash Brothers and Warriors don’t want to face in a playoff series seems to be generally outweighing who doesn’t want to face the Warriors.
The Warriors have pretty much dominated what many NBA insiders feel has been the strongest Western Conference field in history. The Warriors currently stand at 53-13 after pulling out a narrow home victory of the Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State’s .803 winning percentage is tops in the league, putting them on pace to achieve a 65-win regular season.
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Winning 65 or more games in the regular season has been done six times since the year 2000, with the last being the 2013 Miami Heat. Three of those teams went on to win the NBA Championship. The 2007 Dallas Mavericks are the only team to accomplish the feat and not make it out of the first round of the playoffs, losing to the “We Believe Warriors” in six games, in what may be the greatest playoff upset in NBA history.
The mass majority of Warrior fans are running out of superlatives to describe the Warriors and their talented roster. However, one thing is becoming very clear. To gain the national respect many of their fan-base believe to be lacking, a long and successful playoff run is essential.