Did Warriors’ playoff debut in San Francisco rival their Oakland heyday?
Chase Center didn't disappoint in welcoming its first playoff crowd in
three years as the Warriors' new home
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: The Golden State Warriors stand
during the national anthem before Game 1 of their NBA first round
playoff series against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. It was the first playoff
game played at Chase Center since the team moved from Oakland. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: The Golden State Warriors stand
during the national anthem before Game 1 of their NBA first round
playoff series against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. It was the first playoff
game played at Chase Center since the team moved from Oakland. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By CAM INMAN | cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 16, 2022 at 8:11 p.m. | UPDATED: April 17, 2022 at
12:54 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/16/did-warriors-playoff-debut-in-san-francisco-rival-their-oakland-heyday/

SAN FRANCISCO — Moving here across the Bay sparked a valid fear among
Warriors’ fans: the loss of Oracle Arena’s vibe that took decades to
build in Oakland.

No way could the new joint resemble a buzzing beehive with fans decked
out in yellow T-shirts, right?

Correct. And that’s OK.

It was still loud, just more luxurious. It was still the place to be,
just overseas from Oakland. And the Warriors were just as triumphant, at
least through Game 1 one of their opening series against short-handed
Denver.

“There were some great moments,” Steph Curry said after the 123-107 win.
“It’s still a young building and environment and trying to find its
identity.

“But it was loud at times. … It’s only going to get better as the stakes
get higher and higher.”

Saturday night’s playoff debut for the $1.6 billion Chase Center marked
its first true test. It passed. The fans got to loudly root, root, root
for a home-team win. Yellow and blue streamers rained from the rafters
once the victory was done.

“I give Dub Nation credit. They were so loud when we ran from the
tunnel,” Klay Thompson said afterward. “It’s something I don’t take for
granted, playoff basketball. It was a surreal moment.”

Roaracle Arena West? Hmm, OK it eventually will earn a nickname, after
tougher playoff wins than this.

Granted, this was not the NBA Finals of Oracle’s bygone days. This game
did not need — nor have — A-list celebrities. Instead, San Francisco
Mayor London Breed led the cheers entering the fourth quarter.

The Warriors did not give away yellow T-shirts. Chase Center deserved a
new look all its own (and, perhaps, a nickname-to-be-named later).
Rather, each seat offered dark-colored garb featuring their “Gold
Blooded” moniker. Hence, there would be no yellow wave encompassing the
lower bowl, like the “We Believe” and “Strength in Numbers” eras.

Then came the usual accouterments.

The crowd went wild when back-to-back buckets were drained from Klay
Thompson, in his long-awaited and hard-fought return from leg injuries
dating to the 2019 Finals.

Chants of “DE-FENSE” echoed, appropriately.

When Curry checked into the game midway through the first quarter, he
drew the requisite standing ovation. (Maybe fans took to heart the
public-address announcer’s pregame advisory: say something if you see
something suspicious — like Curry on the bench to start a playoff game.)

Sure enough, Curry came on strong in his limited return from a foot
sprain. He pulled out his old custom sneakers from the Oracle days, both
as a passing-of-the-torch symbol to the new gym but also for technical
reasons in terms of foot support.

Curry did so alongside familiar sidekicks in Thompson and Draymond
Green, while Jordan Poole proved ready to join the playoff parade.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) and Klay Thompson (11) congratulate Draymond Green (23) after
scoring against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of
their NBA first round playoff series at Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

“You don’t wanna play from behind in this building against that team,”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

Fans showed up in their typical fashion attire, the majority wearing
Curry’s No. 30 jersey while socialites still dressed up for a red-carpet
stroll into a gala.

And, like clockwork, when young and old fans danced during timeouts,
their images on the overhead video screens were met with applause, like
the good ol’ days.

Chase Center’s capacity: 18,064.

Oracle Arena’s: 19,596.

So, the guest list is a bit tougher to get on here. Yet Chase Center
seems spacious, brighter.

The acoustics? No need to pump in fake noise.

“We’ve had a great home crowd and home-court advantage all year,”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said pregame. “Chase has been a fantastic
atmosphere in terms of noise and crowd proximity to the court.

“Some new arenas are expansive and noise gets lost,” Kerr added. “This
building was built specifically to make fans’ experience more intimate.
We can really hear our fans out here. It’s exciting to have our first
playoff game here.”

It helps when the decor already includes their recent championship
banners (2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18). They hang from the rafters to the
upper right of the Warriors’ bench. Nice subtle reminder there about
Oracle Arena’s souvenirs.

It helps to offer multiple scoreboards, including a shot tracker as if
you’re watching from the comforts of home or on your phone.

It helps to have bayfront views and a spacious concourse for fans to
wander and shop beforehand, during and after. (Premium beer costs
$16.50; a hot dog is $8.75).

And it helps to set up a nice front yard to tailgate along Third Street.
Rows of food trucks and beer gardens are a few blocks up in this
booming, Mission Bay neighborhood.

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Good thing the Giants were out of town. The Warriors had Saturday
night’s party to themselves.

Overseas, so to speak, the Oakland Arena has not been totally abandoned.
It’s a music venue. Hey, Paul McCartney is coming to town next month.

This place has been broken in enough where it doesn’t feel too sterile,
kind of like Levi’s Stadium did in the 49ers’ early years upon there
move out of San Francisco in 2014. (It took six seasons there for the
49ers to host their first playoff game, which they won by two more
points’ than the Dubs did in theirs Saturday night.)

The Warriors’ only other playoff game in San Francisco was 58 years ago,
when Wilt Chamberlain and Al Attles triumphed over the St. Louis Hawks
at USF’s War Memorial Gymnasium.

Now there’s a new home sweet home.

Home is where the court is.

And the Warriors’ 3-year-old playground indeed makes for a friendly and
loud confine. Just not a playoff beehive.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) waves after their 123-107 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game
1 of their NBA first round playoff series at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area
News Group)

--
Cam Inman | San Francisco 49ers reporter
Cam Inman joined the Bay Area News Group in 1995, specializing in the
49ers and NFL since 2000.