Prior to every NBA game, each team’s media relations department prepares for the press an exhaustive and comprehensive packet of information. On the off chance that we may actually sound smart and well-researched, it’s usually because of the material supplied by these documents, which consist of storyline notes, player and coaching staff biographical tidbits, and in-depth statistics. As you can imagine, given Golden State’s collective success, and the achievements of its individual players, the Warriors’ set of game notes is pretty extensive. The list below features a couple of interesting, amazing, and staggering nuggets uncovered by Golden State’s communications staff.
The Warriors enter Saturday’s match-up with a 42-4 record, which matches the mark produced by the 1966-67 edition of the Sixers for the best 46-game start in NBA history.
The Warriors have totaled at least 120 points in their past five games, all wins. The last team to generate such a streak was the 1992-1993 Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors have handed out a minimum of 30 assists in five games in a row. No team has accomplished that since the Orlando Magic did so in April of 1995.
The Warriors rank first in the NBA in three-point field goals made (12.8) and three-point field goal percentage (42.6). They established a franchise record with 22 triples in their November 27th win over the Phoenix Suns. Also that night, they created a new NBA record with 15 first-half three-pointers. Golden State has buried at least 15 threes on 16 separate occasions this year.
The Warriors began their 2015 NBA title defense emphatically by winning their first 24 games. This surge shattered the NBA’s previous season-opening winning streak mark. Both the Houston Rockets and Washington Capitols won 15 consecutive contests to start the 1993-1994 and 1948-1949 seasons, respectively.
Head coach Steve Kerr had the highest winning percentage (81.7) of any first-year coach in NBA history last season, when the Warriors went 67-15 in the regular season.
Guard Stephen Curry has boosted his scoring average from 23.8 points per game last season to 29.9 points per game this season. The 6.1 point per game improvement stands as the largest ever experienced by a reigning NBA MVP.
Curry has connected on 73 pointers alone in January. With two games remaining this month (Saturday at the Sixers, Sunday at the New York Knicks), Curry has an opportunity to set a new NBA standard for triples manufactured in a single month. He also holds the other top two monthly three-point totals in league history, having hit 77 threes this past November, and 75 last March.
Curry has sunk at least eight three-point field goals in nine separate games this season, an NBA record. The most times a player had tallied eight triples in a game in a single season prior to this year? Six, the total accumulated by Dallas’ George McCloud during the 1995-1996 campaign.
Guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have elevated their dual backcourt scoring output each of the five seasons they’ve been paired up. This year, they’re generating a combined 50.8 points per game.
Forward Draymond Green has become the first player not classified as a guard to register at least eight triple-doubles (a figure that currently leads the NBA) in a season since Grant Hill did so in 1996-1997, when Hill had 13 such performances. Interestingly enough, La Salle icon Tom Gola holds Golden State’s franchise record with 20 career triple-doubles. Former Temple standout Guy Rodgers ranks second on that list, with 17. Green has nine career triple-doubles.
Again, all of the above information was originally compiled by Golden State’s communications group.
