Depending on how fast you drive, you can get from Chase Center in San Francisco to Golden 1 Center in about 90 minutes. Despite the proximity, the Warriors and Kings have never been known as fierce rivals. Both franchises were dormant for decades, before Golden State’s recent dynasty and the Mike Brown-led renaissance in the state capitol this year.
Now they’ll be facing off in Sacramento on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT in the first round of the playoffs, as the No. 3 Kings will host the No. 6 Warriors. The two Northern California teams have never been in the same playoffs before, let alone go head-to-head in a series.
All season long, the Warriors just wanted a shot at a playoff series. They’ve never lost a seven-game set to a Western Conference opponent since Steve Kerr joined forces with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky of 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” discussed Kerr’s playoff success on Monday.
“Until we see them lose under Steve Kerr in the Western Conference – how can you bet against them?” Hill said. “They haven’t lost one series in the Western Conference under Steve Kerr. Not one. They’ve won a road game in 27 straight series. How can I not be confident about this bunch?”
As Hill noted, the Warriors are 18-0 in the Western Conference Playoff series since Kerr joined for the 2014-15 season. Golden State is also 8-2 in its past 10.
The Warriors wrapped up their regular season with a 157-101 victory Sunday over the quasi-Portland Trail Blazers, as the organization sat virtually every rotation player but Shaedon Sharpe. Golden State set an NBA record with a 55-point first quarter against All-Star Game-level defense, hitting 12 3-pointers in the first frame. The Warriors ended up tying a franchise record with 27 3-pointers. Klay Thompson became the third player in NBA history to record 300 3-pointers in a season, ending the season as the league leader (301).
As benign as the game seemed, the Warriors still needed the ‘W’ to secure their spot in the top six. Their 44-38 record represents the highwater mark, as they struggled to separate from the .500 line all season long. But as Draymond Green told reporters after the game, the past 82 games don’t really matter. The Dubs are in the tournament.
“I was on a team that won 73 games (in 2015-16) and we lost the final game of the season and no one talks about that team,” Green said Sunday. “So the moral of the story is it does not matter what you do in the regular season. You get to the playoffs and your team will be judged by how you do in the playoffs. No one will be talking about, ‘They won this many road games.’ No one will care.”
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