The NBA fans are in for a thrilling North California showdown tonight. The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings will lock horns in a do-or-die game tonight. Apart from the win-or-go-home situation, what makes this game even more interesting is the budding rivalry between the two teams. Last year, Golden State dispatched Sacramento after winning the series in seven games, thanks to a 50-point flurry from Stephen Curry. This season, too, the matchups between the two teams were neck-to-neck, with their three recent outings decided by a one-point difference. Both teams split the season series, winning one apiece at home and on the road.

And now, with their playoff hopes at stake, the hatred Sacramento fans have for the Warriors was palpable at the airport today. As per ESPN’s Kenny Caraway, the fans were not too pleased to see the Warriors gear at the Sacramento airport before their game at the Golden 1 Center. “The moment that really pi-sed people off here in Sacramento was when we started seeing #Warriors gear in the Sacramento airport. For whatever reason that started us off,” said the ESPN employee on The Morning Roast.

Before the Kings’ rivalry with the Warriors, the most hated team in the city used to be the Los Angeles Lakers, thanks to their infamous beef in the early 2000s. In consecutive seasons, the Lakers initially defeated the Kings in 5 games of WC first round in 2000, swept them in semi-finals the next year, and ultimately reigned supreme in finals in 2002. The tensions between the players during these years, have made their way to popularly highlight the bitter rivalry.

However, as per Caraway, the hatred of the Kings fans surpasses even the Lakers rivalry. “The Warriors may have supplanted the Lakers is the number one in Sacramento. We hate the Warriors,” Caraway added. 

Draymond Green reignites Warriors-Kings rivalry

Draymond Green, too, acknowledged the rivalry between the two teams. “It’s always a playoff-type game… their fans want to light the beam and see us lose and beat the crap out of us, and we want to beat the crap out of them … it has brewed into (a NorCal rivalry) but for us it’s another game that we have to win,” the Warriors defensive anchor told the reporters after the final regular season game.

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Green is right. It has brewed into a rivalry, especially after he stomped Kings big man Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 of the first round last year. And almost a year later, the Kings and their fans would want nothing more than to shake off last year’s humiliation and end Golden State’s season tonight. However, Green has the answers he needs to win the game.

As per Green, the most important thing for the Warriors is to take care of the ball and get looks at the rim. “I think for us to win, a very young, fast team, one of the most important things for us to win this game, we really need to take care of the ball,” said Green on his podcast. This season, the Warriors committed the eighth-most turnovers (14.3) per game. Even though they have turned a corner recently, they are still struggling with turnovers, as they committed 14.2 giveaways in their last 15 games. So, if they mend their ways tonight, we’ll see them again on Friday.