Draymond Green discusses the Warriors’ first-round NBA playoff matchup with the Kings, and shares how happy he is to have extra time to prepare.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Eighty-seven miles is all that separates Chase Center and Golden 1 Center, the respective homes of the Warriors and Sacramento Kings. They also happen to be the two arenas where the West's No. 6 and No. 3 seeds will square off in the first round of the NBA's Western Conference playoffs, starting Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT.
That's a big difference from where the Warriors started the playoffs a year ago, flying to the altitude of Denver. Or making the treks to Memphis, Dallas and Boston, the Warriors' other three postseason destinations last season on their way to the NBA championship.
Draymond Green already made his desires to begin the playoffs in Sacramento because of the easier travel known on his podcast, the "Draymond Green Show." After the Warriors' 56-point win Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center, the 33-year-old emphasized what a benefit this will be for he and the rest of his teammates.
"It's huge," Green said. "We went to Memphis last year, we went to Dallas last year. Boston was far as hell. Denver is not an easy flight and definitely not an easy game to play in altitude. So we had quite the travel schedule for the playoffs last year. To know that we'll be starting off in Sac, it's huge. That travel starts to add up.
"So being that it's a bus ride away, I think that'd be great for us, and hopefully we can fill the stands with some Dubs fans, Dub Nation, and try and turn it into a home game. But Sac has a great crowd. They've been ready and waiting for this for years. It'll be a crazy atmosphere, but I'm looking forward to it."
Before the Warriors' win over the short-handed Kings on Friday night at Golden 1 Center, where Sacramento sat four of its top players, Klay Thompson took it all in before the opening tip. Especially the love from traveling Warriors fans.
Sitting at the podium after an historic night for himself, Thompson needed a reminder of who the Warriors will play in Round 1. Once it was relayed, he was all smiles.
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The son of a former two-time NBA champion and No. 1 overall draft pick, Klay is a basketball historian. He knows how much a Warriors-Kings playoff series means to Northern California, both fan bases and the entire basketball world.
"Oh cool," he said. "Oh, that's going to be fun. First time in NBA history, I know it's going to be really special. I know the Kings fans will be excited. They haven't been to the playoffs for a while, so they'll be very excited.
"But that's just great. Great for the NBA, great for Northern California."
The Warriors can feel like more than a basketball team. There are Beatles vibes. Elvis vibes. Whatever comes to mind in that regard.
Between the winning and entertainment side over the last decade, Golden State has gone from the bottom of the barrel to the hottest ticket in the game. There will be loud, rowdy Kings fans in Sacramento. There, too, will be loud, rowdy Warriors fans cheering every time Thompson hits a 3-pointer.
He'll feed off that for sure. Like Green, Thompson also recently turned 33 and is happy to avoid a plane ride for now. But he might have a different mode of transportation than the rest of his teammates.
"Yeah, you can boat there from San Francisco. Don't test me," Thompson said. "It's huge. We see a lot of planes, which are fun, but the bus ride kind of gives you the old-school vibe with high school and college. It's just great. It worked out very nicely.
"And that's a team we greatly respect. They won our division. They have a great coaching staff, great players, so we'll give them our utmost respect and play our hardest."
Curry is the oldest of the Warriors' veteran Big Three, having turned 35 on March 14. He also seems the least inclined to put too much into traveling less to begin the playoffs than in the past.
Will it help? Certainly. There also still is a lot of work to be done, and a lot to clean up, no matter where the Warriors are.
"It's helpful," Curry said. "I don't know how much, but it's helpful. You have a 90-minute bus ride to get locked in on the road routine. In between home and road in Game 2 and Game 3, it's kind of nice to be back in your beds pretty quickly.
"So it's helpful, but I know Draymond talked about it on his podcast. It really doesn't matter at the end of the day. Whoever we were going to play, we'd be able to adjust because we've been through it. But it is helpful, for sure."
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Golden State finished its regular season with just 11 road wins and 30 losses away from San Francisco. Neither number matters now.
Behind the powers of Steph, Klay and Draymond, the Warriors have won a road playoff game in a record 27 consecutive playoff series. They expect to extend that streak. The road less traveled will be shorter, though it will come with plenty of obstacles in the way.
The veteran stars will take a bus or a boat over a plane right now. The goal is to get back in the air in the near future after taking care of business. First, it's time for Northern California basketball at its best, one quick trip at a time.
