Oracle soon will rock
There’s a shortage of blue collars around Oracle Arena these days. The colors lean more toward white, or a festive chartreuse. The Portland Trail Blazers will be acutely aware of the Warriors’ homecourt advantage when the playoffs begin for them Sunday, but there are certain standards to be matched.
Which brand of Oakland mayhem are we about to see?
A certain complacency has settled over the grand old barn this season, discernible largely to the experienced. It’s loud, it’s fun, and there are priceless episodes in which every last patron is standing. But the outcomes seem almost preordained. The best team in the league added Kevin Durant, and when it comes to sheer improbability — the driving force behind a crowd gone wild — “Warriors in crisis” is an element gone missing.
When the team rose to power in the mid-70s, the Oakland Coliseum Arena (as it was then known) was a vibrant, pulsating haven for affordable prices and a rich ethnic mix. A tone was set, lasting so brilliantly through decades of Warriors mediocrity, and national writers marveled at the East Bay’s incredible brand of loyalty. You’re selling out the place to watch a 118-94 loss to Milwaukee? On a Tuesday night? Where else does that happen?
Then came 2007, the big first-round playoff upset over Dallas and what most everyone around the Warriors — players, executives, coach Steve Kerr — recalls as the loudest crowd noise they’ve ever heard. My only comparison was the Metrodome, in 1991, when the Minnesota Twins engaged Atlanta in a classic World Series. But that was 50,000-odd people and some bizarre, ready-made acoustics.
The 2015-16 championship season built to a glorious crescendo, fans sensing around Groundhog Day that something remarkable was at hand. For those not accustomed to the high life, it was that long-awaited sensation of impending romance, the real thing, finally. It’s just that the final act played elsewhere. The Warriors staged a very private celebration inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where they had just sent everyone home in despair, and in their Champagnesoaked delirium, they watched the sun come up.
As for last season, there won’t be another one like it. Charles Barkley has been saying dumb things about the Warriors for three years now — for some reason, he just doesn’t
get it — but he hit the target recently, scoffing at the notion that the Warriors “used up too much energy” in winning a record 73 regular-season games. They were destroying Cleveland in the Finals with a 3-1 lead. They were about as “spent” as a high school crosscountry champion. Fate intervened, sadly, but I’ve had fans tell me that regular-season power drive was better than a championship (given, of course, that the Warriors had one in hand), just for the sustained magnificence of it all.
Fans felt they couldn’t afford to miss a single game last season, either in person or on television. “Who’s hosting the party tonight?” people asked, even on busy weekdays. It was going to be the NBA’s greatest start-to-finish season in history. This season? It just wasn’t the same. There was jealous resentment around the league toward ownership in general and Stephen Curry in particular, as outlined in Marcus Thompson’s excellent new book, “Golden.” All of a sudden, Golden State seemed just a bit too precious, and the Bay Area fans knew it. It wasn’t
their opinion, necessarily, but the feeling around Oracle was unmistakably different. Big win tonight. It’s a given. Let’s hope Curry hits a 68-footer.
And so the playoffs begin for the Warriors, on a lazy and potentially rainy Sunday, just a bit after noon. Nothing in Game 1 is going to remind people of the decibel-shattering days. Don’t rule anything out, though. As the weeks go on, let’s have a little crisis in the mix. Dismantle those high expectations. Let the Warriors come back, from something, before the crowning. The house of thrills will rise again.
A singular quest
On their way to their first Bay Area championship in 1975, the Warriors gave significant rotation minutes to 10 players (at least) and divided the center position equally between Clifford Ray and George Johnson. As coach Don Nelson unleashed his imagination on the early 90s, the team employed a “point forward” and a 7-foot-7 beanpole (Manute Bol) shooting three-pointers. This season may be a bit short on suspense, but the Warriors’ quest is highly unusual. No team ever won a championship with a threeheaded center, each man vital in his own way — and Draymond Green (in the so-called “Death Lineup”) makes it four. Also, no team reached the summit behind three phenomenal outside shooters — three of the
all-time best — and only marginal inside scoring presence in a halfcourt set ... Heard from Matt Duffy, the beloved exGiant, via text. He’s still recovering from Achilles surgery and regrets having missed the start of the season as Tampa Bay’s shortstop. “I hope to start running on Tuesday,” he said, “and if goes well, a rehab assignment would follow that. So, hopefully, not too long now.” ... Has Marreese Speights become a cult figure? Yes, among the Clippers’ fans and players, over his propensity for taking charges. Not known for his leaping ability, or “flopping,” he just stands there and takes it. Foul on the other guy. And he’s ready for more ... People are calling this the greatest MVP race of all time, but we would submit 1961-62, when the Celtics’ Bill Russell was a worthy recipient. His competition? Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double, a feat only recently matched by Russell Westbrook. Elgin Baylor averaged 38.3 points per game and Jerry West 30.8 for the Lakers, who reached the Finals. And Wilt Chamberlain weighed in with 50.4 points and 25.6 rebounds per game (you read it right). Good heavens ... Finally, remember this throughout the playoffs: There is no such thing as “momentum.” Consecutive games likely have no connection to each other. NBA momentum has all the staying power of fallen hail.