The man with all the answers on the court was asked to identify the biggest challenge ahead for the Golden State Warriors in the quick turnaround from the long Western Conference finals played on a tightrope to the start of The 2016 NBA Finals series three days later and replied “I don’t know.”
Stephen Curry went for honesty.
“This is our first time doing it, so we’ll figure it out,” he continued. “We’ve got to just refresh and obviously get our bodies ready. In the next two days do whatever you have to do to take care of that going into Game 1. Know that it’s going to be a totally different team, different game plan, different Xs and Os. But the mindset that we have going into each game, I think the way this series went from Game 1 to Game 7, we’re ready for anything. Knowing how important taking care of your home court is. So that will be a high priority going into Game 1.”
The Warriors are about to play their eighth playoff series in 13½ months, have been in just about every situation imaginable as the calendar pages peeled away, and have known standing on the greatest pinnacle and the angst of playing minutes away from elimination. But never have they been in this kind of tight spot: Play seven games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the last three when a loss meant vacation (the last two that went down to the last minutes), complete the escape on Monday and open The Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET, ABC) with one full practice of preparation.
At least the Warriors don’t also have long travel to Ohio. That’s their good news in the schedule, that the end of the Western Conference finals ended at the same place the championship series begins, Oracle Arena. And two nights off — Tuesday and Wednesday — without changing cities is a decent rest period.
But it’s two nights coming off a very difficult Western Conference finals while the Cavaliers have been idle since beating the Raptors on May 27 to win the East. That’s a five-day break before returning to action on Thursday, albeit with a leg of travel.
“Obviously at this time of the year regardless how much rest they’ve had, everybody’s got some nicks and knacks,” Golden State forward Draymond Green said. “That’s just what comes with the NBA season. We may have a few more than them being the road that we’ve had to take throughout this playoffs, but it happens. It’s the NBA Finals. You find a new wind for that. You just dig deep. It may not feel good, but you’ve got all summer to get back from that. This is what you play for to reach every single year. You don’t come in saying, ‘Oh, they’ve had more rest than us, we’re doomed.’ No, we’ll be just fine. Fight through it.”
It’s not just the physical, though. The Warriors, after taking Tuesday off, will have one practice (on Wednesday) and one shootaround (Thursday) to prepare for LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
“I mean, I feel great,” shooting guard Klay Thompson said. “I can’t speak for everybody, obviously. But I think the guys, no matter what they’re going through, we’ve got too many competitors on this team to let that hold them back. Guys have been playing hurt all year, and we’ve got, like I said before, way too many competitive guys that love to compete. They’re not going to miss a chance to compete in the NBA Finals. So everyone will just suck it up and just go out there, and like I said before, they’ll give it their all. I’ve got trust in everybody on this team to come ready to play.”
Coach Steve Kerr still managed the minutes — Green averaged 37.7 minutes in the West finals and Curry 36.7, but no one else logged more than 35 against the Thunder, easing the sense that seven games equals exhaustion. Getting blown out of Game 3 at Oklahoma City, as no Warrior went more than 32 minutes, may come back to help them.
Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
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