NEW ORLEANS – The 1975 NBA champion Golden State Warriors were a hunted team in 1976 – one that failed to repeat as they were upset by the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.
No one on the Warriors' current roster was even close to being born then.
But now, 39 years later, today's Warriors are fighting in new territory as the NBA's most hunted team after winning a league-best 67 games. While Golden State passed its first test by completing a sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round on Saturday, they believe the tougher-than-it-looked first-round series offered some lessons that will help them to deal with the unfamiliar bull's-eye.