How the Utah Jazz connect with the Golden State Warriors’ 2-0 deficit to the Sacramento Kings
The Golden State Warriors fell behind the Sacramento Kings two games to none in their first-round NBA playoff series on Monday night, losing 114-106 in Game 2.
The hole the Warriors are in is notable, because it has been a very long time since they’ve been in such a position.
The last time Golden State trailed 2-0 in a series was all the way back in 2007. Their opponent in that series?
The Utah Jazz.
That year, the famed “We Believe” Warriors pulled off the rare 8-1 upset in the first round of the playoffs, beating the Dallas Mavericks four games to two.
The Jazz were the fourth seed in the Western Conference that year and beat the Houston Rockets in seven games in the first round.
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After going up 2-0 on the Warriors in the second round, the Jazz lost Game 3 before winning the next two games and the series to advance to the Western Conference finals.
There, the Jazz lost to the San Antonio Spurs four games to one. The Jazz have not made it to the conference finals since.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have won four championships since then, including last year.
An ominous note for the Warriors about their current deficit? According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Golden State is the fifth defending NBA champion to get into a 2-0 hole in the first round the next season.
All four of the prior such teams ultimately lost, with three of them getting swept.
The last time the Warriors trailed in a series 0-2 was the 2007 Conference Semifinals when they were the eighth seed losing to the fourth seed Jazz. The are the 5th defending champ to fall behind 2-0 in the first round. Each of the prior 4 went on to lose, with 3 getting swept.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) April 18, 2023
