BDL’s 2014-15 NBA Playoff Previews: Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans (Ball Don’t Lie)

How They Got Here • Golden State : Pegged as a mid-level playoff team and dark-horse contender entering the season, the Warriors merely had the best regular season in franchise history and arguably one of the best for any team ever. Their 67 wins are tied for the sixth-most all-time, while their average point differential of plus-10.1 beat the next closest team by 3.5 ppg. Only seven other teams have ever topped plus-10 over a full season, and only one of those didn't win the title. The postseason operates differently than the regular season, but they're not so far away as to keep the Warriors from entering the playoffs as favorites to win the whole thing. It doesn't hurt that they have homecourt advantage throughout and went lost just two games at Oracle Arena all season. Virtually everything went right for Golden State to get to this point, but let's start with the man in charge. Steve Kerr replaced Mark Jackson as head coach last summer, built on the positives from two consecutive playoff appearances, and ramped up pretty much everything else to create a team with no glaring weaknesses. Stephen Curry earned the MVP award he's likely to accept in a few weeks, Klay Thompson...