Warriors thinking about the title not NBA record – Bogut

The Golden State Warriors are staying grounded as they move closer to the NBA’s 72-game win record, insists centre Andrew Bogut.

Bogut and Co. are halfway to the win mark set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96, having won 36 games from 38 prior to Wednesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

Fans and pundits alike have continued to talk up the record but it is not something the NBA champions are thinking about, according to Bogut.

“It sounds boring [sorry for the cliche] but we’re really taking things game by game,” Bogut wrote in his column for NBA Australia.

“A lot of the time I don’t even know what our record is going into a game, we just focus on whoever is next and how we can beat them. Once we get closer to that mark, there’ll be time for a discussion amongst the fellas.

“I’d say we’ll treat it in similar fashion to the way we treated our winning streak to begin the season.

“Once we had a chance to do it, we decided that we might as well grab it if it was there for the taking. Right now, we’re a long way from that point; we have a few players who are a little banged up.

“Towards the end of the season, we might be in a situation where we’re resting everyone so it’s a long way away.”

Such has been Golden State’s dominance this season, there are doubts as to who can realistically stop the Warriors in their quest for back-to-back titles.

Western Conference rivals the San Antonio Spurs, though, are one team emerging as a challenger and Bogut admits the Warriors are taking notice.

The Spurs – unbeaten at home after winning 31 consecutive games – boast a 34-6 record.

Bogut, who is averaging 5.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season, added: “The Spurs are the Spurs, they’re a well-oiled machine that’s going to keep doing what they’re doing.

“We’re obviously paying attention to what they’re doing, but they aren’t our sole focus. We still need to make sure that we’re doing all the right things.

“To have an opportunity to make the Western Conference Finals, or to advance to the Finals, we’re going to have to go through San Antonio eventually.

“We’ll have three or four chances to play them in the regular season, but even those games aren’t the be-all and end-all. They will be a good measuring stick, but the play-offs are a different beast.

“We’re both playing great basketball, and hopefully we can wrap up the number one seed.”