Daily NBA Fix: Will Golden State Have a Perfect 2015?

The Golden State Warriors proved once again why they are the best team in the NBA with a victory over the Indiana Pacers.

At 23-0 they continue the best start in NBA history with their 131-123 win, and are making us really consider what other milestones and records they may surpass. While there are plenty to talk about, let’s focus on one that will be impressive enough if it happens.

Will the Golden State Warriors still be undefeated when Christmas Day rolls around?

A 28-0 record isn’t out of the question and in my opinion, is likely. Their next five games include finishing off their Eastern swing with games against the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks before returning to Oracle Arena to host the Phoenix Suns, the Bucks and the Utah Jazz.

They have to make it through a back-to-back against the Celtics and the Bucks, and possibly without Klay Thompson and definitely without Harrison Barnes. After that they just need to defend home court until the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town on Christmas Day.

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That matchup against Cleveland will certainly be the toughest game the Warriors have had this season, but we know this Golden State team is better than the one that won the championship last season. Kyrie Irving is still on the mend, which doesn’t help Cleveland’s chances either. The Cavaliers beating the Warriors wouldn’t be shocking, but Golden State will still be the favorite to win.

If they are 29-0 after facing Cleveland, we can talk about them going 32-0.

I’m sure some are laughing, but if they get past Cleveland they will host the Sacramento Kings, before heading to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. All of that seems entirely possibly, and I think they will do it.

One thing they proved Tuesday night was what they could do when they were fully focused. Unlike some of these games where the Warriors maybe messed around before jamming down on the gas pedal late, the Warriors knew that the Pacers posed a real threat to their perfect season. Indiana took an 21-17 lead early, but 6:31 left in the first quarter the Warriors brought the hammer early.

Golden State’s 22-0 run was marked by 8-of-10 shooting, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, out-rebounding Indiana 6-0 and forcing two turnovers. With 1:37 left in the first the Warriors held a 31-21 lead after five of the most devastating minutes we’ve from them this season.

The Pacers went cold with 0-of-9 shooting, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and were just shellshocked for the remainder of the first half.

Indiana might have got that lead down to single-digits again in the fourth quarter, they might scored the most out of any team this season on Golden State, but that five minutes of terror effectively won the game in the first quarter.

That’s why everyone in the NBA should be scared that this team is going to remain undefeated until 2016.

It should be lost in all this that Klay Thompson also went 10-of-16 from beyond the arc in one of the more impressive shooting displays we’ve seen this season. Indiana was doing an OK job limiting the damage from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but Thompson just crushed the Pacers with those 10 3-pointers,

That is what has been so amazing about this team. On a night where Curry was somewhat human with 29 points and 3-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc and Green was limited to eight points, another one of their starters stepped up to absolutely demolish a team’s will to live.

Nothing is beyond this team at this point. Logic, rational thought and statistics tell us they will eventually lose, and become somewhat human, but right now Golden State is playing the best team basketball we’ve ever seen.

At this point, nothing about this team will shock me.

LeBron, Cavaliers Go Down By 18, Rally For Win

It looked like the Portland Trail Blazers might pull off a huge road win in the shadow of Golden State’s crazy night, but of course, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers had something to say about that.

Cleveland trailed by as many as 18 before making their comeback that saw LeBron score 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter. LBJ grabbed 10 rebounds as well. Damian Lillard matched LeBron’s 33, but it wasn’t enough as the Cavaliers won 105-100.

Portland’s stripped roster showed that they are far from helpless as the rebuild themselves into a real Western Conference contender, but James reminded us that the Cavaliers are still the best bet to win the Eastern Conference.