This season's Golden State Warriors are already more dominating than ever
This season's version of the Golden State Warriors is not going to win 73 games, as they did a year ago, and we don't know yet if they will win the NBA championship, as they did two years ago, but this year's incarnation is already the more dominating team.
Through 56 games, the Warriors already have as many losses (9) as they had all last season when they won an NBA record 73 games. But this year's team has already outscored their opponents by 718 points, or about 12.8 points per game.
Last season, the Warriors didn't reach +718 point differential until Game 66 and had an average winning margin of 10.8 points per game. It was 10.1 points per game during their championship-winning 2014-15 season (continued below).
Of course, this year's team has Kevin Durant. But the differences also reveal how luck can play a part in overall regular-season record and how last season's team was somehow much better at converting their dominance into wins.
One example of the difference can be seen in overtime games. Last season, the Warriors dominated in overtime games, going 6-1. This season, the Warriors have not been as lucky, going 0-3 when tied at the end of regulation. If the Warriors had won all three of their overtime games this season, they would be 50-6, just one game behind their record at the same point last season (51-5).