Warriors sitting on top of the basketball world

We believe. And now we actually have good reason to.

Unlike the “We Believe” Warriors of 2007 who went into the NBA playoffs as the No. 8 seed and shocked the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, and the 2013 Warriors who went toe to toe with the mighty San Antonio Spurs in a second-round series, and the 2014 Warriors who took the rugged and inspired Los Angeles Clippers to the brink in the first round, this year’s team has no underdog status, no element of surprise, and no excuses as it prepares to open the postseason tomorrow afternoon against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans.

“I have not had this type of buzz going into the playoffs, ever,” guard Shaun Livingston, an 11-year veteran, said in an interview on the Warriors’ multimedia site Friday. “But, I mean, it’s to be expected with this year, I think for everybody. This is probably the best team that everybody’s been on in the regular season, going into the playoffs. Obviously, with that comes expectations.”

And anticipation. Lots of anticipation.

Though the Golden State Warriors have a less-than-glorious history, and though they play in Oakland, a city that continues to struggle economically, they have groomed a large and rabid fan base. This season they equaled the second-highest home attendance in franchise history at 803,436 paying customers. The team has sold out 123 consecutive games.

For once, the attention seems justified. The Warriors, at 67-15, finished with the best record in the NBA for just the second time ever. (The first was in 1976, the year after they won their only championship on the West Coast.) They lost exactly twice at Oracle Arena this season. They didn’t lose three consecutive games all year.

And so the Warriors enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the dominant Western Conference, and the virtually unanimous team to beat. Even the computers think so. A 2K Sports simulation of the entire NBA postseason culminated with Golden State defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.

Even in off years, Oracle is considered one of the most difficult NBA arenas for an opposing team. The decibel level promises to be off the scale against the Pelicans, and against whoever might follow. Getting a seat in the house won’t be easy if you don’t have one already; Friday night on StubHub, tickets prices ranged from $107 for standing room only to more than $10,500 for VIP courtside.

The devotion goes beyond game day, and beyond the Bay Area. Among NBA players, only LeBron’s official jersey sold at a better rate than MVP candidate Stephen Curry’s this year.

Friday, representatives of the City of Oakland and the city’s chamber of commerce delivered to team headquarters good-luck banners signed by fans at City Hall. For once, it is the Warriors, and not the Giants or 49ers, who are hogging the Bay Area talk-radio airwaves.

Steve Kerr, the winningest rookie coach in NBA history, appreciates the ardor but is doing his best to dial back the confidence just a bit.

Speaking to his former college teammate, KNBR host Tom Tolbert, on Thursday Kerr said: “This morning when I woke up, I thought, ‘We’re zero-and-zero.’ … Now the nerves start.”

Along with the championship run.