http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14917 ... e-warriorsLost in Lakerland: How do Warriors respond after historic upset?
Even the seemingly unstoppable Warriors are prone to lapses. But now, with the pursuit of 73 wins hitting a speed bump and San Antonio closing in, nothing seems like a given for Golden State.
LOS ANGELES -- Sunday served as a reminder that there's a thin line between wondrous and perilous for the now 55-6 Golden State Warriors.
Even though their unexpected 112-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers left them still on track to surpass the Chicago Bulls' 72-win season of 1995-96, it left them only 2.5 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the pursuit of the NBA's best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs this season.
Steve Kerr maintains the No. 1 seed is all that matters, that it's pointless to speculate about winning 73 until it's actually within reach. But the 73 talk is out there, awaiting the Warriors everywhere they go -- to the detriment of the team's focus, some in the Warriors organization believe. Yet it's also possible that the goals are one and the same, that securing the top seed could necessitate winning 73 games. That's how good the Spurs and their .855 winning percentage have been this season, with about 1/90th the buzz of the Warriors' season.
Kerr says he believes any lamenting over missing a chance at history would quickly be erased by refocusing on the task at hand of winning a championship. What about missing out on not only the best team of all time but the best team of 2015-16? That would be, as Kerr said, "anti-climactic." And falling behind the Spurs in the standings would probably mean carrying the additional mental weight of losing at least two of their remaining three games against San Antonio.
"The big thing is how we respond [after the loss]."
Not just big, but necessary, for their shot at history and their quest for the No. 1 seed. The teams in the third and fourth Western Conference spots, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers, spent last week saying that seeds didn't matter and only health and momentum going into the playoffs were important. That could be why they're the third and fourth seeds.
The Warriors believe things like the No. 1 seed are important, and have spent much of the season acting in that manner. The response to their previous loss, a road pounding to the Portland Trail Blazers coming out of the All-Star break, was to win the next five games on their trip, culminating in that memorable overtime victory in Oklahoma City. Their response to the loss before that, against the Detroit Pistons, was to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Spurs by a combined 107 points over the next four games.
"We'll be all right," Curry said after Golden State's defeat.
It sounded more like belief in what his team can do than denial about the way his team had just played. If the Warriors want everything they've openly sought, they'll need to be more than all right.
