Warriors welcome revenge, chance to quiet rowdy Kings fans in Game 5
Revenge: Warriors welcome chance to quiet G1C's rowdy Kings fans originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO -- Cowbells will be rattling again Wednesday night. Cheers will turn to loud boos. Chase Center to Golden 1 Center is only a bus ride away.
But Sacramento Kings fans are sure to do everything they can to make the Warriors feel far away from home in Game 5 of this heated first-round NBA playoff series that's all tied up at two wins apiece.
The Warriors were two different teams this season: Fantastic at home and terrible, at times, on the road. The first two games of the playoffs mirrored the regular season.
Golden State dropped Games 1 and 2 in Sacramento. The defending NBA champions were sloppy with the ball, and the Kings looked like the more experienced team down the stretch. Over the last two games, both Warriors wins in San Francisco, they played smarter and tougher than their less-experienced Northern California counterparts.
Countless times this season, the Warriors started sluggish on the road. When their opponent was without their top star or hampered to injuries, the Warriors often struggled to show up. Kings star De'Aaron Fox is dealing with a fractured left index finger, but he already has vowed to be on the court for Game 5.
No excuses anymore. The Kings' crowd is sure to remind the Warriors of that right away.
"I think Sacramento's crowd will make sure that we don't let our guard down," Steve Kerr said Tuesday after Warriors practice.
That actually can work to the Warriors' advantage in Kerr's eyes.
"They will help us in that regard," he said.
"It's different in April and May and June than it is in January or December. If we let our guard down, there is something seriously, seriously wrong with us. We'll be ready to go."
This isn't anything new for most Warriors. Steph Curry has played 138 playoff games, Draymond Green has played 148 and Klay Thompson tops the Big Three with 149. They've now won 94 playoff games together, the third most ever by a trio in NBA history.
Andrew Wiggins in his eighth season experienced his first real playoff run last year. He was vital in all 22 games and all 16 wins, fulfilling what many predicted his destiny to be when he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft: Become a champion.
He first opened the doors to the playoff dance in 2018 as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wiggins was in his fourth professional season. He turned 23 years old fewer than two months before the postseason. The Timberwolves started their first-round series on the road against James Harden, Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets.
They lost both games in Houston to begin the series and were bounced from the playoffs in five games, falling to the Rockets on the road to end the Timberwolves' season.
"I just remember it being a crazy atmosphere," Wiggins said Tuesday. "Loud. That was first taste of playoff basketball. The physicality of it, the attention to detail. Headed to Sac, we just to have that same mindset of playing our game, dictating what we want to do.
"I think we'll be all right."
With the Warriors and Boston Celtics tied 2-2 last season in the NBA Finals, Wiggins responded with 26 points and 13 rebounds in a Game 5 win. That was at home in front of Dub Nation.
Wiggins then helped close the door on the Celtics in Boston, scoring 18 points along with six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in the Warriors' Game 6 win at TD Garden to be crowned champions.
Jordan Poole in his first playoff experience put the basketball world on notice with three straight huge performances against the Denver Nuggets last season. Still only 22 years old at the time, Poole scored 30 points in Game 1, 29 in Game 2 and then 27 in Game 3. In his first road playoff game, he drowned out the Denver crowd and joined elite history.
Poole became the 16th player in NBA history to score at least 25 points in each of his first three career playoff games. He joined Wilt Chamberlain as the second Warrior to do so. From high school to college and early in his career with the Warriors, Poole has welcomed the bright lights and rowdy road fans.
His mindset isn't changing one bit going into Wednesday night.
"I feel like I've played in some pretty loud arenas my entire life," Poole said Tuesday. "It's fun, honestly, it's exciting. I know a lot of people have talked about Boston's fans last year. But it's the playoffs, you know. That's what you get up for it. This is the type of stuff that you dream about when you're a kid: Getting an open look and 18,000 fans screaming as loud as they can.
"Those are the shots you want to make, the ones you want to take. If anything, I just embrace it. And it's a really cool opportunity. It's really special just to be a part of that and always be ready for the moment."
Poole embraces the rowdy atmosphere at Golden 1 Center and will lean on his past experiences in playoff games on the road pic.twitter.com/jbNJDeKWZP
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 26, 2023
Is Game 5 when the Warriors' experience finally shows up on the road? They're going to need it to.
RELATED: Confident Warriors still must prove they can thrive on road
The Warriors have won a road playoff game in an NBA record 27 straight playoff series, and they'll have to make it 28 if Golden State truly wants to defend its title. Nothing is sweeter than hushing a road crowd to a pin drop, a feeling the Warriors are frothing at the mouth to achieve again.
