‘None of us are ready for this run to come to an end’
OAKLAND >> Because he is new to the Warriors, DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins is still getting accustomed to life in the Bay Area.
“I’m trying to get used to this traffic, man. It’s crazy,’’ the 6-foot-11 center said. “At 8 in the morning, it’s bumper to bumper. I’m still trying to find the right times to travel.”
Buckle up, Boogie. The Warriors hit the gas pedal again starting tonight when they open the regular season against the Oklahoma City
Thunder at Oracle Arena. The ride is unlikely to end until midJune, with the Warriors aiming to earn their third NBA title in a row, as well as their fourth title in five seasons.
“None of us are ready for this run to come to an end,’’ forward Draymond Green said. “So we’ve got to continue to approach it like we’ve got zero.” Cousins, a four-time All-Star who played last season in New Orleans,
signed at a discount rate for the chance be part of a championship celebration. As a bonus, a parade float would give him access to carpool lanes.
Until then Cousins, who won’t take the court until he recovers from an Achilles injury, also will have time to learn a new language. These Warriors speak openly now in terms of legacies and eras, knowing they are in the midst of a basketball Camelot.
“I think we have made history, but in terms of what’s in front of us, you’ve got to be able to turn the page and look ahead,’’ said guard Stephen Curry, the only player in NBA history to lead the league in 3-pointers in five seasons.
“It gets even more elite in terms of how few teams have accomplished the three-peat . ... I don’t think
anybody should shy away from talking about having that conversation about what this means historically. But it should be our motivation, too.”
The only team to make it to five consecutive NBA Finals, as the Warriors are trying to do, is the Boston Celtics, who did so 10 straight times (winning nine) from 1957-66.
The Warriors feel an obligation to get there again as a parting gift to Oracle Arena. This is their 47th and final season at the raucous Oakland venue before heading to Chase Center in San Francisco next season. The nostalgia for their soon-to-be-former-home is already thick.
“I think we all feed off of that,’’ guard Klay Thompson said Sunday. “That’s one of the first things Steve (Kerr, the Warriors coach) talked about in our first meeting as a team this year: Our love for Oakland and the fans.”
As Thompson talked,
he nodded in the direction of oversized photos that adorn the team’s downtown Oakland practice facility. The large murals surrounding the court are heavy on the giddiest moments of their recent championship celebrations.
“I look at the pictures on the wall. I see the parades,’’ Thompson said. “Driving around town and seeing how happy people are. It gives me — gives us — motivation to keep going.”
In contrast to a year ago, when the Warriors took pains to remind people how hard the road is, this group has found a new theme: Soak it all in. Instead of talking about the grind, they’re talking about the grins.
With the end of Oracle Arena, and with Thompson and Kevin Durant eligible for free agency at year’s end, there is no guarantee this incredible vibe will last forever.
So the new message emanating from Golden State
is a reminder to seize the day — Carpe Dub-em.
“I have to remind myself that this is such a rare time for our organization to have this kind of talent,’’ Bob Myers, the Warriors general manager, said. “Forget about being GM of the team. Just to watch our team practice and play, to watch Steph Curry shoot on his basket. I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life.
“To watch Kevin Durant and Steph Curry right here do a shooting drill? I don’t take any of that for granted.”
Last year, the Warriors paced themselves for this marathon by settling for a good (but not great) 5824 regular-season record. Even at that speed, however, the Warriors led the NBA in scoring (113.5 per game), assists (29.3), blocks (7.46), field goal percentage (50.3), 3-point field goal percentage (.391) and freethrow percentage (a franchise-record 81.5).
That made the Warriors the first team to lead the league in all those categories in one season since the introduction of the 3-point line in the NBA in the 1979-80 season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
But, as Curry acknowledged, it wasn’t always fun. Being awesome all the time can take a toll.
Consider that a perennial non-playoff team, such as the Orlando Magic, has played 328 games since the start of the 2014-15 season. During that same span, the Warriors have played 411 games as a result of extended playoff runs.
The Warriors have to fight the feeling that the regular season is an annoying formality.
“Last year between September and December, it kind of sucked, to be honest, in terms of, like, the vibe,’’ Curry said. “We were all trying to figure it out, play at a higher level than we were. But it never really clicked the way we wanted
it to. I don’t think anybody wants to go through that feeling again because it was just tough.
“This year we want to really enjoy what we do.”
Starting tonight, it begins anew, albeit with one last look backward. As part of opening night, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, along with Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, will hand out championship rings.
The team also will raise its latest championship banner, the sixth in franchise history.
I asked Thompson, who has done this before, what he thinks about whenever he watches a banner go up in the rafters.
“I think about everything: My childhood. The journey to get here,’’ Thompson replied. “And I think about when I was drafted by the Warriors. It’s been a special, special time these eight years. Hopefully, the next eight are even better.”