Do the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors have a chance to be the best team in the history of the NBA when they go for a three-peat in the 2018-19 season?
According to what Las Vegas oddsmakers told ESPN, they’ve certainly got a shot.
Largely regarded as one of the best teams in league history, Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team won the title after going 72-10 during the regular season. That was the best record in league history until the 2016-17 season when the Warriors went 73-9.
When asked by ESPN how either of those teams would fare against the 2018-19 version of the Warriors, which have added All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to a championship core that already includes Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, four of the six oddsmakers said they would favor the new Warriors team against Jordan’s Bulls.
It was more split with regard to the 2016-17 Golden State squad, but Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook director and oddsmaker John Murray made a compelling argument as to why the 2018-19 Warriors would win against their earlier incarnation.
“We would rate this version of the Warriors about four points better than the 73-win team,” Murray told ESPN. “If he’s healthy later in the season, Cousins maybe adds a half-point to their power rating. The biggest difference is having Durant at the small forward spot instead of Harrison Barnes. Barnes missed so many open looks in that 2016 Finals and now all those shots go to Durant, which makes this version almost unbeatable.”
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