Kamenetzky: Cali Report – Lakers alive, Griffin AWOL, Curry balling, Downtown Sacramento

Moreover, Landry is alone with more than one series under his belt. They may be a 6 seed, but the Warriors feature the collective postseason experience of a rebuilding lottery franchise. In order to pull an upset, the inevitable nerves of some newbies must be offset by others.

That Curry is the Warriors’ best player makes it critical he fall into the latter group rather than former. The wave he’s currently riding allows for optimism.

— AK

SACRAMENTO KINGS (27-47)

As we approach the NBA Board of Governors meetings April 18 and 19, where a vote will be cast to determine the Kings’ residence next season, a recent Sacramento Bee article presented an interesting wrinkle regarding status quo. Per Phillip Reese and Jerry Bizjak:

The campaign to keep the Kings in Sacramento has developed into a larger civic plan, with some of California’s richest business leaders promising to inject money and energy into the neglected heart of the capital city.

Now the question is: Can they keep that promise?

City officials say they see the so-called whales as white knights who will dramatically remake downtown by buying the Kings, building an arena at the Downtown Plaza site and surrounding it with offices, retail, housing and a hotel.

“This is every city’s dream to have this many investors with this much capital behind them with this much interest in investing in our city and our downtown specifically,” City Manager John Shirey told The Bee.

Obviously, as the article later notes, some are skeptical about whether a new arena can provide salvation for a downtown area strife with unemployment. The devil is always in the details, and even well-formulated details don’t guarantee results. But I couldn’t help but think about what is now Downtown Los Angeles.

When I first arrived in 1990, and for the next 15-ish years, downtown LA was largely a wasteland. I went to school at USC, located just a couple miles away, yet barely knew downtown. Beyond long-time staples The Original Pantry Cafe, and El Cholo, plus a Russian brewery called Gorky’s (R.I.P), I barely recall frequenting any businesses there. I barely recall any businesses, period. Downtown LA was just a shady area I mostly ignored.

Brian and Andy Kamenetzky are sportswriters and radio hosts who have worked in sports media for over a decade. They have covered the Lakers and the NBA for eight seasons, for both the LATimes.com and ESPN.com, as well as ESPN The Magazine. Follow them on Twitter at @KamBrothers.