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OAKLAND – It's only preseason, just an exhibition game, a training exercise for the teams and leisurely entertainment of the fans.
But when it's Warriors-Clippers, as it will be Tuesday night at Staples Center, well, those meetings are accompanied by a palpable rage that surely went to another level last spring, after the Clippers ousted the Warriors from the playoffs.
Stephen Curry wants to focus on the now, wants to view this as a merely the first opportunity to take the court against someone other than his teammates.
But . . . it's the Clippers. They stir memories.
"I know I will have some sour thoughts, just because that was the last place we suited up last year," Curry said after practice Monday. "So you understand the emotions you have.
"But it probably will be over really quickly because I'm looking forward to this year.''
The Warriors and Clippers have become one of the NBA's most notable rivalries, two franchises that in recent years have risen from comatose to highly competitive.
But there have been a few notable changes since that stirring seven-game series that ended when Los Angeles won Game 7 at Staples.
Mark Jackson coached the Warriors then, and he undoubtedly enjoyed facing Clippers coach Doc Rivers, as he did when they were point guards.
Jackson is gone, fired by the Warriors, and replaced by Steve Kerr. Alvin Gentry, the top assistant under Rivers last season, has hopped the fence and become the chief aide for Kerr.
Most of the key players, however, remain in place. Should the NBA be on the lookout for extra pushing and shoving?
"I hope not," Warriors center Andrew Bogut cracked. "We don't get paid for preseason but we (can) get fined for preseason. It's a unique situation. You hope not.
"But we definitely don't like each other; it's no secret there. We both want to win, and we're both pretty good teams. So who knows what's going to happen.''
