CLEVELAND — There’s a strong sense of togetherness and bliss the Golden State Warriors feel when they come to the city of Cleveland.
Just 12 months ago, the Warriors popped champagne in the visitors locker room after a decisive 105-97 Game 6 victory in the NBA Finals. That euphoric winning feeling prompted Steph Curry to say he hoped the Cleveland visiting locker room still smelled like the sticky bubbly when the Warriors returned for the first time in January.
Because they won their first championship on the road, Cleveland will always evoke fond memories for the Dubs.
“We really do like playing there,” Draymond Green said earlier in the season to Mr. T on KNBR about the sleepy city in Northeast Ohio.
There isn’t a ton of sight-seeing to do in Cleveland, but the town is becoming a food and dining hub in the midwest. On the eve of Game 3, the Warriors indulged at one of the best restaurants in town.
Players, coaches and staff members ate together at Blue Point Grille, a fancy seafood establishment on the west side of downtown. With the curtains pulled down and two charter buses idled outside on St. Clair Street, the team spent several hours away from the team hotel on Tuesday night — probably a mandate from Steve Kerr to get their minds off of things.
The last bus left the restaurant around 11 p.m. eastern time, also showing that the Warriors are sticking to a west coast schedule, which makes sense given the 9 p.m. tip-off time on Wednesday.
I get that this isn’t hard-hitting news. At all. Every team that travels normally goes out to dinner.
The point is this: the Warriors play loose on the court because they don’t let anxiety creep into their daily routine. Not every team competing for a championship would spend several hours at dinner. Some NBA teams would stayed cooped up in the hotel, overanalyzing film. Obviously it’s a different sport, but most NFL teams don’t their players leave the hotel.
Up 2-0 in the NBA Finals, this Warriors team doesn’t feel pressure. And this leisurely routine would likely stay intact even if the series was tied up at 1-1.
Kerr understands his Warriors want some normalcy and fun interjected into their routine. It can’t be basketball all the time. That was a problem under Mark Jackson, whereas Kerr has found that happy medium.
