The clock’s dwindling down in the Golden State Warriors game, and the tension inside the Athletic Club Oakland, or ACO, is palpable. The more than 200 patrons squeezed into the downtown Oakland bar at the corner of Grand and Webster seem to be holding their collective breath.
The Warriors are in a closer-than-expected play-in game against the Memphis Grizzlies, in a game that wasn’t even scheduled until two days prior. But for Jaime Diaz, Brian Murphy, Larry Butler and countless others in the East Bay, there was never a question of where they would end up for this night.