Kurtenbach: The Warriors are now required to do the seemingly impossible — win on the road

SAN FRANCISCO — What’s the opposite of a road warrior?

That’s what the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors are.

If the Warriors are to beat the Kings and advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, they will have to do something they failed to do all season: win a road game against a playoff-level opponent.

Yes, while the Warriors only won 11 of 41 road games all season, not one of those wins came against a full-strength version of a top-six seed in either conference.

And with Kings guard De’Aaron Fox saying Tuesday that he will likely play in Wednesday’s Game 5, Sacramento will likely give the Dubs their best.

It’s jarring that the Warriors’ dynastic run has reached the point where the road is daunting. The Warriors have won a road playoff game in 27 straight playoff series, an NBA record.

The Warriors were so great on the road over the years — turning fans against the home team en masse and drawing great pleasure from it — even though they rarely needed to be. Golden State consistently had homecourt advantage in past playoffs.

For the first time in the Steve Kerr era, the Warriors started these playoffs on the road, and the first two games of the team’s series with the Kings — both won by Sacramento — didn’t inspire confidence that 28 straight playoff series with road win was in the cards.

No one has a clear answer for why the Warriors’ road record was worse than a GPS from 2003. We’ve heard countless theories over the last few months — size issues, 3-point defense, the trend of role players not being road players, and bad luck have all been suggested — but even the Warriors cannot put a finger on it. Maybe it’s none of that stuff. Maybe it’s all of it. Maybe it’s the pillows at the luxury hotels the Warriors visit.

And when diagnosing the problem, the playoffs serve as a benefit to the Warriors. Instead of the issue being broad, it’s now specific:

So how do the Warriors beat the Kings in Sacramento?

They have an answer for that. And no, it’s not getting to Golden 1 Center early to swap all the purple for blue.

“Take care of the ball and rebound,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Can’t get any simpler.”

And for what it’s worth, Kerr doesn’t see any correlation between the Warriors’ regular-season road woes and the postseason’s 0-2 start.

“I think we’re a different team now,” Kerr said. “I don’t really look back and compare anything that’s happening now to October, because we’re a different team. I look at Games 1 and 2… and despite not playing very well, especially offensively, and turning it over, we gave ourselves a chance by defending in the half-court.

We’re much better defensively. [Sacramento] is the best offensive team in the league, and through four games, we’ve done a pretty good job… I think we’re much more capable of winning on the road, because that’s what you have to do: you have to defend and get stops and get rebounds.”

But there’s a difference between being capable and executing. The Warriors — even if they are a better team today — have always been capable of winning on the road. And yet, they posted an 11-30 record, with most of the wins coming against teams that will have copious ping-pong balls in next month’s NBA Draft lottery.

This team’s greatest strength — experience — might also be its biggest weakness. It’s near impossible to scare these Dubs.

“Sacramento’s crowd will make sure we don’t let our guard down. They’ll help us quite a bit,” Kerr said. “If we let our guard down, something is seriously wrong with us.

Here’s some good news: the Warriors have responded well to ultimatums this year.

When the Dubs were tasked with winning out the regular season to make the playoffs, they did it (with some help from the resting Kings and Blazers.)

Here’s another non-negotiable ultimatum: the Warriors must win one of two possible road games this week.

Their reward is an advancement to the next round, where the Los Angeles Lakers — up 3-1 on the Grizzlies in their playoff series — likely wait.

The Warriors would have homecourt advantage in that series.