San Antonio at Golden State, Final Score: Spurs fall in Game 1 against the Warriors, 92-113
Dubs say “No Curry, no problem.”
We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but did anyone anticipate it would be this hard? The Spurs struggled throughout the game on both ends of court. At one point, the Warriors had more assists than the Spurs had made baskets. A slow start gave way to a closing gap comeback. This accordion-style scoring permeated throughout until Golden State finally broke it open in the second half leaving the hardwood covered with players who are only known to their respective fanbases.
Overall, the game was not terrible in the terms of a series . . . as far as a Spurs fan can see. Gregg Popovich was visibly readjusting players in his head for the second game before the 4th quarter times out. Pop’s ability to make changes and impact a series has altered more than one playoff series and directly carried the Spurs to the 2014 NBA Championship. Will he be able to do it against a heavily stacked team? Stay tuned on Monday night and find out.
Random Observations
- The Spurs came out timid. Mills held back some 3-balls shots he normally would have taken. He’ll need to be more aggressive if the Spurs are going to keep the Warriors scoring pace.
- Dejounte Murray was also shy about moving in and taking his shot. Overall, the Spurs came out of the gate looking like they might get blocked from every angle and played that way throughout. The Warriors do have the length, and the Spurs are going to have to get crafty to survive more than four games.
- LaMarcus Aldridge got into foul trouble and had issues with JaVale McGee. Make no bones about it, McGee had a great game. He cannot be allowed to have a great series.
- Rudy Gay started the second half in place of Kyle Anderson and was great. This may have had something to with the timidity of the Spurs starting 5. The Spurs will need a lot more minutes from Gay to keep scorers on the court.
- The Dubs switch so that Patty Mills is on Kevin Durant. That is a losing combination every time.
- A bright side- Derrick White looked good in his limited time. A big loss gave Pop a chance to get end of the bench some minutes. It’s been part of what has kept the Spurs well-rounded this season and could help over the longevity of this series.
- Bryn Forbes can score. Was that a statement or a question from Mike Breen? We all know he can score. Hopefully Oakland will have to recognize as well.
The Spurs return to Oracle for Game 2 on Monday at 9:30.
Source: Pounding The Rock