They avoided major, lingering injuries. They led the NBA in regular-season wins (67), average margin of victory (10.1) and defensive efficiency (98.2) and finished second to the Clippers in offensive efficiency.
They have the league's Most Valuable Player in Stephen Curry and two others, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut, who finished second and sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, respectively.
But after a first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors' ship finally sailed right into a hurricane.
Golden State's second-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies—lovers of grit and grind, proprietors of The Grindhouse and a team that would be just as comfortable in a hockey brawl as on a basketball court—has become the Warriors' first meeting with true adversity this season.