The Warriors are the savvy veteran team in the first round of their 2023 NBA playoff series against the young Sacramento Kings. However, the two squads are similar in a way many might not see at first glance.
Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers noted that this young Kings team reminds him of the 2012-13 Warriors team that was on the cusp of becoming an NBA championship organization.
"[The Kings] remind me of maybe [2012-13] when we were the six seed and beat Denver and lost to the Spurs," Myers said on 95.7 The Game's "Steiny & Guru." "That team had a momentum and a newness and a hunger and health.
"So the Kings, what they're doing, they've been doing it all year. I mean, they've got the best shot profile from three of all 16 teams in the playoffs. All of them. Of all 16 teams, they have the best shot profile. [That] doesn't mean they've made the most 3s, but they've taken the best type of 3-pointers. They've been doing that all year long."
Golden State had finished that season 47-35 under coach Mark Jackson, so Myers knows first-hand that a young and hungry team can present problems in the playoffs.
The Warriors advanced past the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs and were a thorn in the championship-savvy San Antonio Spurs' side, before being eliminated in the second round in six games. As a result, Myers knew a team like the Kings would be a challenging opponent.
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"You can sit here and say, 'Well, look at what the Warriors have done in the past and the Kings are new,' " Myers continued. "They have a huge body of work to say that they belong where they are.
"And you can come up with reasons, or anybody can, as to why they thought it would be easy. I never thought it was going to be easy coming into a building where their fans haven't had a playoff game in 16 years. It's a serious atmosphere."
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