OAKLAND, Calif. _ Based on the video tributes, throwback jerseys and sell-out crowd, the Warriors appeared to say goodbye to Oracle Arena. And yet the Warriors appeared to say hello again.
The Warriors finished their 47th and final regular-season at Oracle Arena with a 131-104 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. That only meant the Warriors might do this again, soon.
The Warriors (56-24) secured the No. 1 seed over the Denver Nuggets (53-26), while the Clippers (47-34) are tied with the San Antonio Spurs (47-34) and below the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-33).
So perhaps later this week, the Warriors will invite the Clippers back to Oracle Arena again. That will hinge on Wednesday's games between the Clippers-Jazz and the Spurs-Mavericks.
"Do we want to play the Warriors in the playoffs? Yes," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Do we want to do it in the first round? Probably not. But you have to take it when you get it."
Warriors guard Klay Thompson admitted last month he would prefer to play the Clippers because of the shorter trip to Los Angeles as opposed to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not as forthcoming, fearful that his honesty could lead to a viral quote.
"I can't say anything about them and who I'd rather play," Kerr said. "All three teams are playing at a really high level. This is not going to be your typical 1-8 matchup. So there's going to be a difficult matchup no matter how it plays out. We'll just see what happens."
What happened on Sunday: the Warriors gave fans a show that served two purposes.
They gave Warriors fans plenty of nostalgia commemorating the final regular-season game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors approved the players' idea to wear the "We Believe" jerseys, a throwback to the 2007 team that upset the Dallas Mavericks as an eighth seed in the playoffs. Warriors luminaries Rick Barry, Sleepy Floyd, Adonal Foyle and Mo Speights attended the game.
The Warriors also gave fans plenty to make them excited for another anticipated postseason run. Stephen Curry (27 points) and Kevin Durant (16) mostly took care of the scoring. Draymond Green did a bit of everything (10 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). That allowed Klay Thompson to take a backseat (12 points). That enabled DeMarcus Cousins to fight through both a tough shooting night (12 points on 4-of-15 shooting) and foul trouble (four).
So even if Kerr would not say it, it would appear the Warriors would have no problem disposing the Clippers in the first round. Their identity hinges on a lot of depth in Landry Shamet (17), Lou Williams (13), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (12), Wilson Chandler (11) and Montrezl Harrell (11). But without any star power, the Warriors proved too overwhelming.
