OKLAHOMA CITY – Amid the folks strolling downtown Friday wearing their allegiance to Donald Trump were more than a few dressed in T-shirts and jackets adorning the colors and logo of the hometown Thunder.
Consider that a warning to the Warriors.
Few venues in the NBA can rival the imposing crowds at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors haven’t lost in precisely 13 months, but Chesapeake Energy Arena comes closer than any other.
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SIGN UP HERE The Warriors on Saturday make their only visit to Oklahoma City this season.
“It’s always an energetic atmosphere in there,” Warriors star Stephen Curry said.
The Warriors are accustomed to big crowds and to high-intensity experiences. They’re the defending champions, the largest target in the NBA – if not American sports. They have the reigning MVP, who always has support from the Curry Corps, the most uniquely devoted fans in the league.
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This is a different experience, partly because of the arena but mostly because Oklahoma City is the only team with two players as explosive as any the Warriors put on the court.
Kevin Durant, the 2014 MVP, conceivably is the toughest cover in the league. The small forward is averaging 27.7 points per game (third in the NBA) and is one of four players among field-goal percentage leaders who play neither center nor power forward.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook is one of two players, along with Curry, who by most measurements are having better seasons than Durant. Westbrook is first in steals (2.21) per game, second in double-doubles (39), second in assists (10.2) and seventh in scoring (24.3).
“We’re going to need everything,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re going to need all the juice and the execution. We’re going to need to be really good to win.”
The Warriors are in the difficult position of concluding a seven-game road trip. They’re won five of the first six, but the last one is traditionally is both physically demanding and mentally challenging.
And they are facing an Oklahoma City team that should be plenty motivated. The Thunder pushed the Warriors pretty hard before falling, 116-108, on Feb. 6 at Oracle. Moreover, the Thunder are coming off another of several puzzling losses, this one at New Orleans on Thursday.
So as Oklahoma welcomes presidential candidates seeking votes ahead of next week’s Republican primary, so too does the state want to welcome the defending champions – except not as warmly.
“We know that they’re going to come out ready,” Curry said. “They’re waiting on us.”