SAN FRANCISCO — After another Golden State Warriors trademark in the third quarter, Stephen Curry walked toward the stands and desperately gestured for the home fans to turn up the volume. From the beginning of the first game of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, the shyness of the crowd at the very first playoff game at the Chase Center was more than noticeable, especially compared to the organization’s earlier, sacred building across the Bay Bridge – the one , which earned the nickname “Roaracle” for its piercing, eardrum-bursting noise.
It wasn’t malice or frustration that came from Curry. It was permission. Untie your ties. let your hair down Let’s get wild – these are the warriors. And we’re back in the playoffs.
“It was almost because the lead was so big you lose the jitters of the moment and that’s where you remember this is a playoff game. Every possession of the ball is important,” said Curry after the game. “I started pointing at the scoreboard and trying to get every hype because I knew you have to build on that momentum in every game to have that home field advantage.”
The sold-out crowd responded in kind, slowly building to a crescendo before descending into the haunting, spine-tingling chant of “Waaaaaarrrrriiiioooooorrrrrs.” Curry stood halfway, hands on knees, nodding his head in agreement. Though Oracle’s trademark is ubiquitous, it has rarely been uttered since the Chase Center opened its doors. It was a little taste of the Warriors’ past success making its way into the new era, much like the Curry 6 sneakers Steph wore, a tribute to the building where he became a basketball legend and ” passed the torch”. into his new environment.
There is a scene in a movie called “After Yang” where Yang, a humanoid robot bought as the older brother of a young Chinese girl adopted by non-Chinese parents, uses tree grafting as a metaphor to explaining how cultures blend can create something new and unique.
“The tree becomes part of another tree,” says Yang. “But you should know that both trees are important.”
In many ways, in Saturday night’s 123-107 win over the Denver Nuggets, the Warriors demonstrated how successfully they’ve blended the old with the new – a rare formula for continued success in the grueling NBA.
Let’s start with the old one. Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney played in the same game for the first time since the 2019 final almost three years ago. The quintet has more titles than an 18th-century British nobleman, and all their skills and quirks were shown in the Game 1 win.
Thompson fires an airball heat check… on his first shot of the game. Green plays inscrutable tenacious defense against Nikola Jokic, a Superstar six inches taller than him. Iguodala snatches the ball with his lightning-fast hands and throws behind-the-back passes to corners. Looney racks up rebounds and hits inside despite not being able to jump over an iPad. And then there’s Curry, who started cold off the field in 22 minutes on his way to 16 points in 5-for-13 shooting but finished characteristically of the game up 17.
“So special,” Thompson said, getting back on the ground with the old guard. “Something I don’t take for granted just being able to play playoff basketball. It was very surreal to me.”
The classic mainstay performance was buoyed by the electricity of playoff freshman Jordan Poole, who worked his way up to 30 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. The 30 points tied Mitch Richmond for the highest total of any Warrior in his playoff debut alongside Wilt Chamberlain – talk about bridging generations.
Poole’s development has been on display since the second half of last season and has reached new heights in the last month and a half, but players with bigger resumes have melted under the brightest lights to the point of dissolution. Poole passed his test with flying colors, as he has since last postseason’s play-in games, and credited his trusted veterans for smoothing the transition to playoff basketball.
“There is no better feeling than having the guys behind you who have already been through the fight. They went through it at the highest level,” Poole said after the game. “Knowing that you have these guys who will pick you up when you make mistakes. There is no better feeling than that.”
Poole wasn’t the only new face to make an impact, either. Gary Payton II had five points, three rebounds, two assists and a monster block while playing his usual brand of smothering defense. Nemanja Bjelica was as aggressive offensively as he has been all season, scoring eight points in 15 minutes. Otto Porter Jr. provided four points and four assists in 25 minutes and tied Green for best plus-minus on the team at plus-21.
Then, for a brief moment, we got a glimpse of the next green wave of contributors. With play in the fourth quarter, rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody checked in to get their playoff feet wet. Both played important roles at various points during the regular season, and they’ll likely see action in big playoff moments at some point — maybe as early as this series.
It’s incredibly difficult to win in the NBA, even when you have the best players in the world on your payroll. The Warriors know this as well as anyone, and have missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons due to injury woes and roster changes. The San Antonio Spurs were able to close the gap thanks to a legendary coach, the grace with which their Big Three aged and the powerful arrival of Kawhi Leonard.
The Warriors hope they’ll eventually become synonymous with Spurs when it comes to franchises that embody undying success, but they’re careful not to get lost in daydreams. Right now, they don’t allow themselves to think about the next round of the playoffs, let alone a championship. The only thing the Warriors are thinking about is Monday’s second game against Denver.
“For the guys that have been there and understand what that journey is like at this stage of the season and the playoff chase, yes you’re starting to think about what’s next. That’s because we were there and we know,” Curry said after the game. “But it’s also a reminder that this group hasn’t done it yet.”