Road trip: Why players prefer bus rides over airplanes in Kings-Warriors playoff series
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Sacramento Kings in the Playoffs
Kings playoffs have arrived! Here’s everything you need to know.
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There’s one thing we’ve already learned from this Northern California playoff series between the Kings and Golden State Warriors.
NBA players would rather ride a bus than get on an airplane.
Warriors star Draymond Green has been saying he wanted to play the Kings for weeks, citing travel considerations. The Kings echoed that sentiment Sunday after learning they would face the Warriors in the first round.
“We’re not going to have to travel very far — they’re not going to have to travel very far — so we’re looking forward to it,” Kings guard Kevin Huerter said.
Game 1 will be played Saturday when the Kings, the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, face the sixth-seeded Warriors at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Gentlemen, start your buses.
The Warriors will make the 86-mile drive along Interstate-80 from San Francisco to Sacramento on Friday. They might even drive back to the Bay Area before returning to Sacramento for Game 2, which will be played Monday or Tuesday. Raymond Ridder, the team’s senior vice president of communications, told The Sacramento Bee the Warriors expect to make that decision Wednesday.
The Kings did not respond Tuesday when asked about their travel plans, but they will likely take a bus to San Francisco when the series shifts to Chase Center for Games 3 and 4. Huerter suggested as much following Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Denver Nuggets, saying he would rather drive.
“You don’t have to fly,” Huerter said. “We’ll get on a bus and go to an away game. More nights sleeping in your own bed. I’m sure the fans will like it. It’ll be probably mean more fans in each other’s buildings than a normal playoff series, but anytime you don’t have to fly, it’s better on your body. Any time you don’t have to fly is great.”
Kings center Domantas Sabonis agreed.
“Yeah, for sure, anytime you don’t have to get on a plane — all the information, all that scientific stuff — so it’ll be easier,” Sabonis said. “The same thing applies to them.”
Green made the same point two weeks ago on his podcast, long before playoff matchups were finalized.
“I’m not upset if the standings shook out how they did today and we met Sacramento in the first round,” Green said. “Not because I think Sacramento is a weak team. Because the travel is so much easier.”
Green went on to explain: “The reason why I said Sac is simply just because of the travel. That’s a lot on your body. If we can bus ride an hour and 10 minutes up the way, I just think that’s much better for us.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
