sure the nba play off the games have been close, but the matchup of three seeds against six seeds from the Western Conference has produced the same result as in the Eastern Conference. On the Atlantic coast, he Philadelphia 76ers they have hit the Brooklyn networks in two consecutive games. On the left coast, the sacramento kingswho hasn’t been in the playoffs since Rihanna released a girl like meare currently up 2-0 over the defending champion warriors of the golden state.
One advantage the Kings have over the Warriors is their home stadium. The Kings have only won 48 games this season, but that was enough for the No. 3 seed in the W.its T. The Warriors won four fewer games and found themselves in the sixth seed. That Sacramento postseason crowd has lain dormant for 17 years, but those who remember the teams that featured Chris Webber and Peja Stojaković knew that Golden 1 Center would be in a frenzy over this series.
The excitement in that arena is akin to what not long ago was arguably the best home court advantage in professional sports. Oracle Arena earned the nickname “Roracle” due to the intensity Oakland fans brought to each game. Now down 2-0, the wine, cheese and yacht crowd that has helped bring pain to downtown San Francisco, he’ll need to fill up on cappuccino to give the Warriors a boost at home.
Warriors homesick for their old home?
Financially, it made sense for the Warriors to leave their nursing home for San Francisco. What is currently known as Oakland Arena opened in 1966. That’s even older than today’s Madison Square Garden in New York.
The noise in Oakland was deafening not only when the Warriors won three NBA championships between 2015 and 2018, but also during the win over the No.1-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007 and the Run TMC years. It was a party in Oakland when the owners cared about putting out a decent product, but once the Warriors got really special, it was time to maximize profits.
They moved to San Francisco’s waterfront Chase Center for the 2019-20 COVID-19 interrupted season. The 2021-22 season was the first in which the building operated at full capacity without interruptions. During that season the Warriors generated $800 million in revenue with a regional sports network deal nowhere near that of the major American professional sports franchises.
All that money is great for Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, but last month, Stephen Curry said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s talk about dubbing podcast that wants to play one more game in the old oakland building. He knows all too well what it feels like to hit back-to-back 3s in that building.
That is what happens when a team puts its stadium in another city. The Kings built their new stadium less than six miles from their old site, and their fans haven’t missed a beat, despite the lengthy postseason drought. On Thursday, the Warriors will want a home court boost from people still employed after the tech industry’s recent downsizing.
Game 3 is sure to be home-field advantage for the Warriors, but for the first time in recent memory, their crowd will not compare with the one they meet on the road. A multitude of roads that can be reached by bus.
Hope Lacob and Guber enjoy their Scrooge McDuck money while remembering the sound that used to come from their local stadium.
