Steve Kerr was back at the helm of the Warriors for the second time this season.Coming into their game on Monday night, the Golden State Warriors (40-4) and San Antonio Spurs (38-6) had the highest winning percentage of any teams facing each other aft 40 games. They also were both on pace to set the record for net efficiency rating, while the Warriors were sporting one of the best offenses the game as ever seen and the Spurs were sporting one of the best defenses. Needless to say, anyone who was a fan of the NBA had this date circled on their calendar as a can’t miss affair and the ratings showed this as it was the most viewed game ever on NBA TV. The outcome, however, did not live up to the hype as the Warriors demolished the Spurs 120-90, showing everyone, at least for know, that they are the alpha dog in the Association. It was a masterful game to watch, as the Warriors were able to find creases in the vaunted Spurs defense, while silmultaneously forcing the Spurs into 25 turnovers leading to 19 fast break points. The Warriors are proving to be a team that knows how to rise to the big occasion, as evidence by their 34 point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers the previous Monday, and that should scare the rest of the league.
#1 Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry’s jumper was a pure as ever against the Spurs.
This game started and ended with Stephen Curry, who put another file in his case to win back to back MVP awards. The Warriors dynamic point guard was by far the best player on the court, as he has been for much of the season, dropping 37 points in only three quarters of work (12-20 from the field, 6-9 from three, 7-7 from the free throw line). From the moment the game tipped off, you could tell Curry was coming out to prove a point as he dropped one of his ridiculous threes off a high pick and roll two minutes into the game.
From there, it was if he was just toying with the Spurs, shooting whenever and from wherever he wanted to, even making a layup where he brought the ball behind his back to avoid a Tony Parker steal attempt before making the shot just before Danny Green could block it. He was also particulalry active on the defensive end, notching five steals and hounding Tony Parker into an abysmal shooting night. Curry finished the game a +23, and really it could have been worse had he played the entire game. He is truly on another level than the rest of the league this season.
#2 Spurs Turnovers
Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs were staring up at the ceiling looking for answers on Monday.
Besides Steph’s brilliance, the biggest thing that jumped out from the game was the Spurs plethora of turnovers, 25 to be exact. The Spurs are tied for 7th in the league at 13.7 turnovers per game, but with the Warriors defense dialed in and moving around on a string, they were undone by careless passes and defenders who aren’t usually in the way. Coming into the game, the Spurs methodical, crisp offense was supposed to be one of the reason they had a very good chance of winning because it could slow the Warriors down and not let them get out on fast breaks, but that was just not the case on this night.
There wasn’t one main culprit, as the most turnovers were four by Jonathan Simmons, but instead a team wide effort that saw 11 of the 13 Spurs who saw court time commit at least one turnover. It was very uncharacteristic to see the Spurs so discombobulated, and most of the credit goes to the Warriors defense. They seemed to make a conserted effort to speed up the Spurs offense knowing they would need some easy buckets to that the Spurs set defense just doesn’t allow.
#3 Draymond Green
Draymond Green was stellar on defense as usual.
11 points. 9 rebounds. 6 assists. 3 steals. A good but not spectacular from the Warriors resident trash talker Draymond Green, but as always, it’s everything else that doesn’t go in the stat book that makes Dray great. He finished the game with a +29, the highest plus/minus line of the night, and while he wasn’t the best player on the court, that distinction goes to Curry, he was just about as instrumental in the win.
As a defender, he once again showed why he was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season, as he frustrated the Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge into an abysmal night (two of nine for five points and three rebounds). He consistently dug in in the post and out leveraged the taller Aldridge, not letting him get closer to the hoop than Green wanted and make him shoot from uncomfortable positions all night. It was very reminiscent of what the “We Believe” Warriors did to Dirk Nowitzki when they upset the Mavericks in 2007, only better. On offense, he did all the ball movement and playmaking things he always does, repeatedly making the Spurs pay off of pick and rolls once he was passed the ball.
#4 The Others
Brandon Rush (4) and Shaun Livingston played very well off the bench for the Warriors.
One of my favorite terms in sports is brought to you by Shaquille O’Neal, who has dubbed those players that aren’t stars on a team, the others. It is a simple yet affective term to show who are the ancillary parts of a team needed to help that team fully realize their potential. While everybody follows what the stars do, games and playoff series are often decided by the actions of “the others” and Monday was no different.
The Warriors got massive contributions from Shaun Livingston and Brandon Rush, two wily veterans who are on the team for games like this. Livingston has been a key cog in the Warriors machine, playing a variety of roles for the team and Monday was no different. He had 13 points (6-6 from the field), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals as he consistently found ways to affect the game, finishing with a +13 in 17 minutes. He was particularly adept at moving without the ball and finding creases along the baseline when the Spurs doubled a Warrior in the post. Rush, who has mostly stuck in the lineup after getting playing time when Harrison Barnes was hurt came in and shot the lights out while played expert defense as well, finishing with a +11 in 17 minutes.
#5 Does This Game Matter?
Andrew Bogut (12) and Stephen Curry had a lot to smile about on Monday night.
In terms of wins and losses, this game matters, but in the grand scheme of things, it has very little bearing on the teams. Yes, the Warriors won a valuable game that could help serve as a tiebreaker for the one seed come April, but the Spurs have shown they don’t care to much for things like that. Heck, they sat Tim Duncan last night because they didn’t care enough to put all of their eggs in one basket for a regular season game. Gregg Popovich knows his money is made in May and June and will never risk the health of one of his players just to win a regular season game, no matter how big we think it is.
Now this doesn’t mean that nothing can be taken away from this game. Despite having two potential long arm defenders, it didn’t seem like the Spurs had much of an answer for Curry from the outset and that could very well be a problem. It also had to be a little disconcerting to watch LaMarcus Aldridge get controlled by Draymond Green, but ultimately boh teams will use this game as a piece to the puzzle when they construct their gameplans in a potential Western Conference Finals matchup
Guess the Lakers players!
