Warriors top last year, clinch earliest playoff berth ever, beat Nets: Takeaways

WATCH: Warriors fan wins $2,500 thanks to an assist by Steph Curry

OAKLAND, Calif. — En route to the NBA’s first 73-win campaign last season, the Golden State Warriors made history by clinching a playoff spot on Feb. 27. Less than a year later, the Warriors beat themselves.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Warriors punched their ticket to the playoffs with an 112-95 victory over the persistent Nets, which means they broke their own record for the earliest playoff clinching date in NBA history.

At 49-9, the Warriors don’t have a better record than last year’s team, which clinched at 52-5. They’re not chasing history this regular season and were never in danger of missing out on the postseason. So, booking a playoff spot is nothing more than a formality. It doesn’t really matter. Even before the Warriors landed Kevin Durant in free agency, they were already the best team in basketball. With Durant, who missed Saturday’s game with a pinky injury, anything less than a championship will be a failure.

But that doesn’t mean what they did Saturday night should be overlooked. Steph Curry, who missed the playoffs in his first three seasons, knows that much.

“I remember those days,” Steph said. “Not a lot of the guys in that locker room remember or have experience not being on a playoff team. … Clinching a playoff spot this early, it used to be — I remember that first time we did it, it was a huge celebration in the locker room. Obviously, it’s expected now.”

There wasn’t a celebration Saturday, according to Steph, and he was the first to mention the feat to the rest of the team.

In the Steve Kerr era, it has been far too easy to take for granted what the Warriors are doing. It’s easy to shrug at Saturday’s accomplishment and ask, Well, isn’t that what they’re supposed to do? By now, it’s normal. But keep in mind how crazy that sounds or would’ve sounded three years ago. The Warriors normalized February playoff berths.

At some point, though, the Warriors are going to wake up from this dream and become just another team. Eventually, the Death Star will be defeated and we’ll all go back to living in a world where the Warriors don’t clinch playoff spots in February. Saturday serves as yet another reminder that what we’re watching is entirely not normal.

It’s Feb. 25 and the Golden State Warriors are playoff bound. This is real life.

Read on for more takeaways from Saturday’s game.

2. Uneven game without Durant

For the first time since he joined the Warriors, Durant missed a game. It was a good one to miss, as the nine-win Nets didn’t pose much of a threat. If anyone thought the Warriors might lose without Durant, their fears were unwarranted.

The Warriors are now 6-1 when their entire Big-4 doesn’t play, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

On Saturday, Kerr went with rookie Patrick McCaw as the unusual starter. He also handed plenty of minutes (15) to James Michael McAdoo…