Forgive me for the blasphemy I am about to commit. I have become fascinated with the Warriors' winning ways. Of particular interest is their margin of victory. Currently, that number sits at +11.2. The next closest in the league is +6.9 (Atlanta).
A closer comparison is the -10.8 margin that Philadelphia currently possesses. In a nutshell, Golden State is beating people on a nightly basis as badly as Philly is getting beat on a nightly basis. They are Yin and Yang. What is more impressive is when one considers how much more difficult it is to be on their side of that coin. It's easy enough to get beat by 10 points a night....
I was curious how they stack up historically against teams that have had excellent seasons (both with W/L and +/-). I mostly stuck to post 1970 NBA and did not comb through every team of every season, but +/- is tied into a team's W/L record so I likely didn't miss too many significant ones. I've listed the teams, the season, the +/- margin, and ultimate result. Check it out.
San Antonio Spurs:
'05-'06: +6.8 (lost 2nd round)
'13-'14: +7.8 (won finals)
Los Angeles Lakers:
'71-'72: +12.3 (won finals)
'84-'85: +7.3 (won finals)
'86-'87: +9.3 (won finals)
'99-'00: +8.5 (won finals)
Boston Celtics:
'85-'86: +9.4 (won finals)
'07-'08: +10.2 (won finals)
Seattle/OKC:
'93-'94: +9.0 (lost 1st round)
'12-'13: +9.2 (lost 2nd round - Westbrook injury)
Chicago Bulls:
'90-'91: +9.0 (won finals)
'95-'96: +12.3 (won finals - league record 72-10 W/L)
'96-'97: +10.8 (won finals)
Utah Jazz:
'94-'95: +8.0 (lost 1st round - to Houston!!!)
'96-'97: +8.8 (lost in finals)
'97-'98: +6.6 (lost in finals)
Phoenix Suns:
'92-'93: +6.7 (lost in finals)
'04-'05: +7.1 (lost WC finals)
'06-'07: +7.3 (lost 2nd round)
I feel like Captain Obvious over here, but hugely talented rosters, that produce a high win% and +/- score tend to enjoy post season success. Double digit +/- scores all ended up hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Now, I'm not saying they are going to win it all. The season isn't over yet so that score can shift. Still, anything at +9.3 and above still won the finals.
Further, I'd say none of the above teams were faced with a gauntlet similar to this year's WC playoffs. In fact, I would argue the Houston Rockets, as a 6th seed in the '95 playoffs, took one of the toughest roads to finals glory ever. Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Orlando. The Utah and Phoenix series both went to the limit and then San Antonio fell in 6 games. We all know what happened to Orlando.
Our +/- has hovered around +4 - +5 all season. That doesn't exclude us from any level of success, but it certainly does not make us stand out from the crowd or provide any statistical bumps based off history. Still, we were a meager +2.1 in '94-'95 and +4.3 in '93-'94...both championship seasons for us.
Ultimately, I know that match-ups, health, and luck will be as big of factors as point differential during this year's playoffs. That said, I feel like we are seeing a truly special team this season. They may not reach that final goal, but don't let rivalry interfere with respecting and enjoying what they are accomplishing this season. They are literally whooping teams worse than the teams who are actually tanking are getting beat.
That is all. Again, please forgive my blasphemous ways.