Golden State Warriors Season Update

With over half of the season already in the books, this would be a good time to check in on the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Basketball fans will note that at this point last season, the Warriors were sitting with an astonishing 48-4 record after starting the season off with a record 24 wins in a row.

The 2016-17 season started with the highest of expectation as the Warriors were able to lure superstar Kevin Durant over in free agency from the Oklahoma Thunder. There was little doubt that a starting quintet that included two-time league MVP Stephen Curry and All-star Klay Thompson joining forces with an offensive juggernaut like Durant was going to create problems for the rest of the league.

The only surprise so far this season is the five losses the team has suffered, with two of those losses coming at home against San Antonio and Houston. However, the Warriors are certainly entitled to an adjustment period while they work on integrating Durant into an offensive scheme that relies on precision passing and outstanding 3-point shooting.

Of course, it’s hard to ask anymore out of a team that is leading the league in scoring at 118.3 PPG and field-goal percentage at .501%. Without trying to place any blame on a specific player, a couple of the team’s early season losses occurred while Thompson struggled to find his stroke and his rightful position on the court. All concerns about his ability to still put up big points were surely set aside when he laid down a scorching 60 points against the Indiana Pacers in less that 30 minutes on the court. That number just missed the NBA record for points per minute as Thompson scored 2.07 PPM versus the record of 2.09 PPM.

As for the rest of the team, everyone seems to be settling in nicely to the new player rotation scheme as laid down by Head Coach Steve Kerr. On the season, Durant holds a scoring edge over Steph Curry, averaging 25.7 PPG while Curry is averaging 25.3 PPG. Draymond Green, continues to be a very important component on a team that has designs for another NBA Championship. It’s worth noting that Green, as a forward, leads the team in assists with 7.3 per game. That’s an amazing accomplishment on a team that is leading the league in assists by a large margin. It’s also a testament to how deep this team is and why they are favorites to take down the league title.

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Google’s Alphabet Inc. Company and Their Self-driving Service

In 2009, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, Inc, began the daunting task of researching and developing autonomous, or self-driving vehicles. This endeavor was aptly titled the “self-driving car project.” By 2012, their autonomous technology had clocked in more than 300,000 miles of driving time on freeways and highways. In the same year, they began to test their vehicles on city streets.

By 2014, Google had developed their own self-driving vehicle prototype, and tested said prototype on public roads the following year. Throw in another 2 million self-driven miles and an additional 1 billion miles of simulated tests with their technology, and, in 2016, the project became its own business entity called Waymo.

It was with the creation of Waymo that Google announced their official intent to join the ever-growing market of automated cars and compete with rivals such as Tesla and Uber. According to CEO John Krafcik, Waymo stands for “A new way forward in mobility,” and that with the concept in mind, they have big plans for the future. He stated that he could see their self-driving technology being used for ride-sharing, transportation, personal-use, and beyond.

In May of 2016, Google partnered with Fiat-Chrysler to begin integrating their minivans with Google’s self-driving system. This pairing proved beneficial for both companies, since Fiat would not have to spend the money developing their own technology, and Google would have more time to perfect their self-driving technology.

As of today, Google is using its autonomous technology in vehicles that are still equipped with a gas pedal and steering wheel, to appease state’s regulations. The goal, says Krafcik, is to get to a point where those elements are not necessary.

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