Warriors tipped as a dynasty in the making
Golden State is off to a 15-0 start, led by group of young, talented players
Pat Riley played alongside Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, the guards whose exploits from the early 1970s still have the Miami Heat president saying they were the best backcourt he ever saw. His rankings might be changing. From Riley, these are ultimate compliments — comparing anyone to West and Goodrich, or one team to that 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers team that won 33 consecutive games and rolled to the NBA championship. But that’s the level of praise he’s doling out these days to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rolling Golden State Warriors.
“They are the two most dynamic players in the backcourt that I have ever seen, since Jerry West and Gail Goodrich,” Riley said. “Go back and check their numbers, 25 points apiece and Jerry leading the team in assists, Gail shooting close to 50 per cent or whatever it was. Both of them could shoot it, could drive it, could pass it. That’s what you’re seeing here.”
It’s been more than 40 years, and Riley’s recollection of the numbers hasn’t faded. Goodrich and West combined to average 51.7 points per game in that 1971-72 season; Curry (32.7 in 15 games) and Thompson (16.6 in 14 games) are combining for 49.3 points per game this season.
And the Warriors have matched the NBA record for the best start to a season by beginning 15-0, something that Curry even called “a huge accomplishment” after Golden State beat Denver 118-105 on Sunday night.
“They are in the beginning of something that can be dynastic,” Riley said. “They’re in the beginning stages of it and that’s the scary part, versus somebody that catches lightning in a bottle one time.
“They’re at the beginning because all of their key players are young and they’re talented. The ones that aren’t have what I call youth-age, like Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston — those guys bring an element to the team is incredible.”
The Warriors could grab the outright best-start record with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday. Riley believes they’re primed for much more than that, and the man who knows something about championships — he has nine rings in his collection — believes that Golden State is in the title mix to stay for a long, long while.
“It’s going to be very difficult to challenge them,” Riley said. “But that’s what we’re here for.”
WORTH NOTING: Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James are in line for more milestones that show both their longevity and talent. Duncan goes into this week six shots shy of 20,000 for his career; he’ll be the 14th to get there. Nowitzki is 17 field goals away from 10,000, and James is 21 points from passing Reggie Miller (25,279) for 18th on the league’s all-time scoring
list.
STAT LINE OF THE WEEK: Brandon Knight, Phoenix: His 30-point, 15-assist, 10-rebound game against the Lakers on Nov. 16 was just the 12th such game in the last 50 years. And if that wasn’t rare enough, only he and Russell Westbrook (last season) had put up stats like that and added four steals as well.