At an impressive 41-8 at the NBA All-Star Break, the Warriors are performing better than what even the most optimistic fans expected.

But it will all be for naught if they fail to achieve the ultimate goal of hoisting up the NBA Championship trophy.

The Warriors have put together several impressive seasons recently, only to flame out in the playoffs. At 47 and 51 wins the past two seasons, respectively, the Warriors looked primed to make a run both times in the playoffs before being bounced disappointingly early both years by the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, this year’s Warriors are different. They are currently on pace to win an incredible 67 games. If they can achieve that, they will be a mere five games shy of the all time record set by Michael Jordan’s famed 1995-6 Chicago Bulls.

Right now, the Warriors are firing on all cylinders. Andrew Bogut is healthy and the bench is consistently out-shooting other teams’ benches.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the “Splash Brothers,” are quickly becoming one of the best shooting backcourts of all time, by shooting at an impressive .476 combined and a .419 beyond the arc. However, these numbers are just half the story of the Warriors.

Curry showed off his offensive prowess at the NBA All-Star three-point contest by shooting an incredible 27 out of 34 possible points. Trailing not too far behind was Thompson with 24 points. With these two bright stars, the Warriors look to dominate the league from beyond the arc for years to come.

But Curry is not limited to just shooting other teams out of the building. He is leading the Warriors with 7.9 assists per game. This places him as the fifth best in assists in the league, fairly impressive considering how many points he scores on a daily basis.

Thompson signed a 4-year, $70 million max contract this November. He is proving he more than deserves it as he is averaging 22.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He received All-Star honors for the first time this year, namely as a starter. He has exponentially grown as a player over the past few seasons.

The bench this year is deeper than it’s ever been. Players like Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, and Shaun Livingston have been pleasant surprises for the Dubs so far. In previous years, the bench has been a weakness for Golden State.

But these guys have been pivotal in turning this weakness into a strength. The bench is averaging 54.4 points per game, as opposed to last year’s lackluster 41.2 points per game.

Bogut is the key to the Warrior’s success this year. He is the most important player on this team because his defensive abilities are second to none on the Warriors, a refreshing change of pace for this offensive-minded team.

The Warriors are 38-7 with him and 9-5 without him this year. Big men are hard to find in today’s NBA and the Warriors don’t have another like him.

However, no team is complete without a great coach at the helm of the ship. Steve Kerr should be commended for managing this team the way that he does. There was a lot of outcry over firing team favorite Mark Jackson. There was doubt swirling around the former Chicago Bull and first time NBA coach Kerr.

But Kerr has come into this situation and worked it as best as one could. He is on pace to hold the best record of a rookie coach in the NBA, and has surpassed even the wildest of expectations at the beginning of the season.

However, all of these great strides are meaningless if the Warriors fail to win the last game of the season. They have carried too much momentum in the past just to be stymied in the early rounds.

To be considered a success, they must prove that things are different and they are a team of winners. For this year, the Warriors need to win it all, or they will end up looking back on this season as a disappointment.