The Spurs waltzed into Houston on Thursday night for Game 6 without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker and destroyed the Rockets, 114-75, in one of the most lopsided elimination games in NBA history. In doing so, the Spurs reminded everyone of how dangerous they can be — with seemingly any combination of players in the starting lineup — and also set up the matchup that we have been waiting for in the Western Conference for three years against the Golden State Warriors.
The last two postseasons, we’ve craved the eventual collision course between the Spurs and Warriors, but San Antonio has failed to live up to its end of the bargain, losing in the first two rounds and failing to go far enough to take on Golden State. This year’s meeting won’t have as much juice as it would have last year, when the two teams had combined for 140 regular season wins, but it’s still a tremendous matchup and gives this Warriors team, which has accomplished almost everything, the rare chance at a first.
Golden State has beaten six Western Conference franchises over the past three years in playoff series, but they’ve yet to face the West’s big boss, Gregg Popovich’s Spurs. This isn’t by any fault of their own and it’s not to say the Warriors wouldn’t have bounced the Spurs out of the playoffs as they did every other team in the West, but they just haven’t faced the team most would consider their biggest rival in the West until now.
This year’s Spurs team looks different than others, mainly because of the absence of Tim Duncan. They will also be without longtime point guard Tony Parker against the Warriors, but Dejounte Murray has stepped up tremendously, along with other role players that the Spurs seemingly have an endless supply of.
After resting for Game 6 and with two more days of rest, Kawhi Leonard ought to be healthy, and the emergence of Jonathan Simmons means San Antonio’s defensive strength lies on the perimeter.
Against the Warriors, that’s huge. Having a pair of hellacious perimeter/wing defenders — Simmons actually did a better job on James Harden than Leonard in their second round series — comes in handy against the backcourt of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant. Murray has been San Antonio’s best point guard all year on the defensive end, and in the playoffs has seamlessly integrated into the offense.
All told, with lineup changes and all, the Spurs have managed to be the best defensive team in the playoffs through two rounds, and will now take on the best offense in the playoffs.
West finals will pit No. 1 offense (Warriors) vs. No. 1 defense (Spurs) in playoffs for just 2nd time this decade (Heat/Pacers in 2013 ECF).
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 12, 2017
It might not be the clash of the titans we were waiting for last year, but it still is a tremendous matchup and will be the first real test for this Warriors team in the postseason (with all due respect to Portland and Utah). There are tons of storylines to watch in this Western Conference Finals.
It’s great defense against great offense, teacher against pupil (Pop vs. Kerr), and the gold standard of consistency against a suddenly formed juggernaut.
This is the series three years in the making, and it will deliver something — either by living up to the hype as a great, competitive series or offer more concrete proof that this Warriors team is an unstoppable force.
