(By e.Chang)
Last Week
Won 2, Lost 1
This Week
Mon: at Philadelphia against the 76ers
Wed: at Minnesota against the Timberwolves
Fri: at San Antonio against the Spurs
Sat: at Memphis against the Grizzlies
In 2002, the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers fought in the Battle for California. The reigning kings, er, champions were the Lakers, the defending Back-to-Back NBA champs on their quest for three-peat. Standing in their way were the Kings, who were the Greatest Show OnCourt. The clash between these two California teams in the 2002 Western Conference Finals became one of the most legendary playoff series in NBA history. The Lakers, with a little help from referee Tim Donaghy, stole it from the Kings, broke Sacramento’s heart, and went on to win it all.
That same season, the Los Angeles Clippers’ record was 39-43 and Golden State Warriors went 21-61. They also played during the playoffs — golf, probably.
That was then.
This past week, the Warriors just so happened to politely invite the Lakers and Kings to the Oracle, and then rudely kicked them back out, beating the Lakers by 31 points and the Kings by 11. The Dubs also went to LA to visit the Clips, who embarrassed the Warriors, 126-115.
This is now.
Northern California is now represented by the Warriors and SoCal by the Clippers. Both will be central figures in the 2013-2014 season narrative, both are media darlings, and it is very likely that one of the two will play the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship. That would sound crazy to your 2002 ears, but so would dubstep, and yet, here we are.
*****
Some NBA players make it rain at strip clubs. Steph Curry makes it rain behind the 3-point line. Steph made 272 threes last season, setting the single season record. This season, he’s already hit a league-leading 16 threes, on pace for 434. He’s also turned the ball over a league-leading 19 times, on pace for 516. This is called Fun-With-Small-Sample-Sizes. Both figures will fall back down to reality throughout the season, but the latter needs to crash now—the former can take its sweet time.
*****
The Dubs are dominant at the Roaracle. Last season, they won 68% of their home games, versus only 46% on the road. This season, they’ve kept that pace, having won both home games and lost one in LA. Let’s see if they can’t change that this week, shall we? The Warriors face their first true test of the season this week, playing four games on the road against the unbeaten Philadelphia 76ers, the unbeaten Minnesota Timberwolves, the defending Western Conference champs San Antonio Spurs, and the Memphis Grizzlies. That’s brutal — Philadelphia is an awful town. The four games won’t be fun either.
