Answering All The Important Questions Before Spurs Vs. Warriors III

kawhi leonard
Getty Image

Are you excited?
I am because basketball!
Warriors v. Spurs!

Forgive the haiku, but we always do them when we get playoff-atmosphere basketball before the playoffs.

On Thursday night, the Spurs will take on the Warriors in part three of their season-long battle for supremacy over the entire Association. Sorry LeBron, but these are the two best teams and, barring a minor miracle from the Clippers or Thunder, the seven-game series between them in the Western Conference Finals will decide the 2016 NBA Champion.

In preparation, we thought we’d answer all the important questions before the two teams tip off at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Is Gregg Popovich going to rest everyone?

No, because then the Spurs couldn’t put five players on the court and he can’t rest the Warriors because he’s not their coach.

Is Gregg Popovich going to rest his starters, which he’s done in the past?

Better question! If starting point guard Tony Parker is to be believed, then no. Except, this is as caveat-laden as Trump winning the GOP primary. One of Popovich’s peccadilloes is an abhorrence of the 82-game regular season and those old back-to-back-to-back weeks where even viewers felt it in their knees. That’s why he’s rested players during nationally televised games early in the season, and why owner Peter Holt picked up the $250,000 fine that was the result of that decision. It could happen again tonight. Popovich doesn’t troll, he just does what makes the most sense for this basketball team in their odyssey toward a championship. Tonight, that could mean playing all of his starters 35 minutes, or it could mean they play less than a quarter — or not at all. At this point, only Popovich knows.

Are we going to get to see Kawhi Leonard on Stephen Curry?

Probably, but for our money the better matchup is Draymond Green battling a LaMarcus Aldridge that looks just as deadly as he ever did in the Pacific Northwest.

Still, who can forget this doozy?

https://i.giphy.com/l4hLG5sWDJ5ryhMhG.gif

Yeah, Kawhi’s got his own highlight with Steph, too.

This game is gonna be so great, even if it’s not that great of an actual game. The hype might suffice at this point in the season. About that…

Does this game mean anything other than bragging rights and a possible emotional edge heading into a possible Conference Finals matchup?

Actually, yes. If the Warriors lost out, and the Spurs win out, they’ll have identical 69-13 records, but San Antonio will hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series 3-1 (they’ll have to beat Golden State at home on Sunday to win out, giving them the season series). So this game actually does mean a little more than you might first think, which might be the excuse Pop’s starters give him so they can suit in the late regular season against their biggest obstacle to a ‘chip.

Who is favored?

In Vegas the lines are either 6.5 or 7 points for the Spurs, depending on which sports book you go to, and the over/under is 207.5 to 212.5. As for those online entities you all know and love, they’re giving the Spurs 7.5 points and the over/under is either 207.5 or 208 (we’d take the over, if it weren’t illegal to gamble in the United States).

The Warriors are at home and after blowing the Spurs out in their first meeting, San Antonio and their league-leading defense kept Golden State to a season-low for points in an 87-79 win in San Antonio. So this is all perfectly reasonable.

What play should I pay the most attention to?

The high screen between Steph and Draymond Green. In the second meeting between San Antonio and Golden State, Popovich blitzed Curry and forced the other Warriors to beat them. But Curry was pretty bad anyway. Steph has said since that game that he needs to drive more — he was 1-of-12 from three-point territory in game two against San Antonio this year — and that counter will come into play when Dray sets that really high screen four to five feet behind the arc. How San Antonio attacks this difficult-to-guard set where Green usually gets a 4-on-3 look will go a long way toward deciding what happens should the two teams meet in May.

Where can I watch the game?

We thought we already answered this, but it’s on TNT at 10:30 ET — that’s 9:30 Central, 8:30 Mountain and 7:30 PST.

Who should I follow on Twitter during the game?

Wrong question! Watch the f*cking game and don’t tweet! But, if you’re like seemingly every other basketball fan in the world, except Jack, you may want to follow some of these people for tonight’s action:

Enjoy the game!

×