Supersquad

Based on current patterns at the SuperBook, casual fans believe the Warriors will not only win more than 66.5 games in the regular season, but will emerge with the Larry O’Brien Trophy when all is said and done. From a purely betting standpoint, these hav

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook yesterday released its over-under benchmarks for teams through the 2016-17 campaign of the National Basketball Association, and, not surprisingly, the Warriors are at the top of the list. Conventional wisdom has them setting the pace anew in light of their second straight Finals appearance propelled by a record 73 regular-season triumphs. And then there is the clincher: The entry of former Most Valuable Player awardee Kevin Durant grants them Supersquad status heading into their opener next month.

Under the circumstances, the shocker isn’t the SuperBook’s decision to place the Warriors a full 10 games ahead of runners-up Cavaliers and Spurs; it’s their projected victory total of 66.5, the addition of Durant notwithstanding. On one hand, the number is higher year on year. On the other, it cannot but be deemed relatively depressed, and reflects the notion that head coach Steve Kerr and his charges will be experiencing some growing pains. Not that it isn’t a sentiment grounded on reason; after all, there’s just one ball to share, and even the vaunted pace-and-space system of the blue and yellow won’t eradicate the need for their resident All- Stars to sacrifice touches as a result.

All the same, the onus is on the rest of the league to prove the SuperBook wrong. The Cavaliers may have claimed the championship last June, but not a few pundits continue to contend that the development was borne more of freak turns of events, not to mention the Warriors’ inability to play to potential. Thusly, the wine and gold need to approach their title defense with the mindset of underdogs. It’s exactly what they and everybody else are.

Based on current patterns at the SuperBook, casual fans believe the Warriors will not only win more than 66.5 games in the regular season, but will emerge with the Larry O’Brien Trophy when all is said and done. From a purely betting standpoint, these have good odds, as do the under for the 56.5 of the Cavaliers ( given top dog LeBron James’ advancing age and increasing predisposition to pace himself and save his best for the playoffs) and Spurs (following the retirement of Tim Duncan and departure of Boris Diaw). Simply put, take the benchmarks for what they really are: more fodder for speculation. ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.