The Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings shifts to Chase Center on Thursday night, with Sacramento leading the series 2-0.
Rather than spending the break between Games 2 and 3 anxiously awaiting the next exciting installment, here’s a look at what’s transpired over the first two games and how Warriors fans should feel.
The Good: They’re Coming Home
As bad as the Warriors may have been on the road this season, their 33-8 home record was third-best in the entire NBA, and they won both of their home contests against the Kings during the regular season.
That’s likely not going to intimidate the Kings, though. Sacramento’s 25-16 road mark was best in the Western Conference and tied for second-best in the entire NBA. In fact, it was better than the Kings’ 23-18 home record, so Kings fans were more accustomed to chanting “Light the Beam” on the road than they were at Golden 1 Center. There also may be quite a few Kings fans who make the trip to San Francisco, with ticket prices for Games 3 and 4 cheaper than Games 1 and 2 were in Sacramento.
The Bad: 3-Point Shooting
Even though Golden State and Sacramento were the two highest-scoring teams in the regular season, neither team has looked proficient from beyond the arc. The Warriors are 29-for-90 (32.2%), while Sacramento is 21-for-70 (30%). During the regular season, the Warriors’ 38.5% mark from 3-point range was second-best in the league, trailing only the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Kings had the ninth-best rate at 36.9%. Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter is just 2-for-14 from downtown so far this series, and if his stats normalize, the Warriors may need to score upward of 130 to get back in this series.
The Ugly: Draymond Green’s Antics
Feel free to argue about whether or not Draymond Green’s stomp on Domantas Sabonis’ chest merited a suspension. You could also argue over whether Joe Dumars, a member of the Detroit Bad Boys of the late 1980s and early 1990s, should be the one in charge of handing out those suspensions.
But there’s no arguing over Draymond Green’s conduct. Green, who picks up a technical foul every five games on average, has been a marked man for years, and should know he has to walk a fine line. Not only did he step on Sabonis, his actions afterwards suggested he did it on purpose. He made the conscious decision to egg on the Golden 1 Center crowd after the play, which likely didn’t help his case. For someone who knows the game as well as Green—he could easily be a general manager one day if he wants to—he showed a staggering lack of awareness in that moment, and it’s one that could prove extremely costly.