>
>Knowing that the Phillies team with the best record in team history went down in the first round, I wonder how much it translates down to individual teams as well. That is, for each team, if you look at the year in which it had its best record, how did it fare in the post-season? (And I already have at least one example of a team that won the championship that year, the whatever-year-it-was undefeated Dolphins.)
>

Actually, three times the Phillies won 100+ games and lost in the opening round. In 1976 they went 101-61 and lost to the Big Red Machine. In 1977 they had the same record and lost to the Dodgers (that was the year of the famous "Black Friday" Game 3 where the Dodgers benefited from 2 bad calls). And then there was the 2011 debacle.

In both World Series years (1980 and 2008) they won 91 and 92 games, respectively.

In the case of the Warriors, it was a matter of "Live by the sword, die by the sword". I hate the Cavs, but I admit that they were able to knock Curry and Klay Thompson off their games.

I think in some sports, having the best record is a curse. In the NHL, road teams have a considerably higher winning % than in other sports. Often having the best record in the NHL is a curse. And lately it's been the same issue in the NFL.