Boris Diaw, Andrew Bogut

San Antonio Spurs 99 FinalRecap | Box Score 90 Golden State Warriors
David Lee, PF 28 MIN | 5-11 FG | 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 13 PTS | -3Lee doesn’t get a low grade for his defense, and quite frankly the entire Warriors defense didn’t have a bad night on that end, it was more the Spurs incredible, pinpoint execution that made it seem worse than it actually was. The Spurs shot 39% on the night but made up ground from deep, draining 10/28 from beyond the arc compared to the Warriors three made threes. Lee was matched up with Boris Diaw, who is in no way a stifling defender. But, Lee was mangled inside and didn’t get to the line as much as he should’ve. I never complain about the zebras, but there were some blatantly poor calls/non-calls in this game tonight, mostly benefitting the Spurs. Would this have given the Warriors the game? Probably not, as the Spurs are simply in another class at this point. But, Lee might’ve found some rhythm and could’ve opened it up for other shooters in the halfcourt as a result. Diaw shot a ridiculous 2/14 from the field, but the Spurs aren’t just one player. Even without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli, the discipline and execution brought upon by Gregg Popovich’s genius overpowered the Warriors. The difference between contender and pretender was evident tonight.

Harrison Barnes, SF 27 MIN | 1-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +1I’m beating a dead horse, we all are. What else is there to be said about the second-year forward from North Carolina that hasn’t already been said? He’s borderline useless at this point, bringing nothing on the offensive end but clanking jumpers and contested shots in the paint. Defensively, he isn’t horrible, but when matched up against any player with superior offensive skill — which is most nights — he does struggle. At this point in the season I don’t see Mark Jackson suddenly pulling the plug on Barnes as the sixth man either. If Jackson was going to take away some minutes from Barnes in favor of Draymond Green, that would’ve happened already. Now, Barnes has been filling in for Andre Iguodala, which is no easy task, but to have eight (8!) points in his three games this week is simply inexcusable. He’s a liability out there, and time is running out for him to “figure it out”.

Andrew Bogut, C 27 MIN | 1-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 17 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 4 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -71/7 from the field looks bad, but that was very much a product of the Spurs collapsing on Warriors bigs inside and making life incredibly difficult for them. His 17 rebounds (in 27 minutes!) were the most on the team by an easy margin, and the Warriors actually out-rebounded the Spurs 54-40 on the night. Defensively, the team struggled to contain Tiago Splitter on the pick-and-roll, and with Tony Parker being the one passing out of them, you can bet they were executed to a tee. Splitter had an impressive 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Warriors couldn’t handle the Spurs incredible ball movement and precision positioning.

Stephen Curry, PG 39 MIN | 5-13 FG | 9-9 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 20 PTS | -7Curry had 20 points, but nine of them came from the free throw line and was hounded for most of the night by multiple San Antonio defenders. When the Warriors offense is running at its best, they’re scoring in transition, running pick-and-roll plays and moving the ball to the open man. Well, the Warriors had eight fast break points, ran little pick-and-roll and struggled to find open looks all night. The Spurs grinded them all night, and without Andre Iguodala to help handle the ball, Curry was given even more responsibly to help execute the offense. Curry also had six turnovers, which led the team towards a whopping 18 on the night. Even without Iguodala, the difference between contender and pretender was evident on Saturday night. The Warriors next see the Spurs on April 2 in Texas.

Klay Thompson, SG 37 MIN | 7-16 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 16 PTS | -3Neither Splash Brother could get it going from deep, both making only one from beyond the arc on Saturday night. San Antonio made anyone else beat them, and their plan worked. Thompson continued to drive inside, which was good and another sign of his progression as an offensive player. Defensively, he was tasked with Tony Parker, which is one of the toughest assignments in the league. Parker makes most defenders look foolish, but Thompson held with him most of the night — Parker did pull off some patented spin moves — while on his way towards 20 points and five assists in 27 minutes. Kawhi Leonard didn’t shade on Thompson like he has in the past, but Thompson still struggled to get the looks he normally does.

Quote of the game:

They’re deep and they run their system. They execute at a high level. They seem to always try to make the right play. The ball moves so well and they’re kind of a staple of what good offenses do. We’ve won big games with our main guys out and they kind of have that same expectation. We just didn’t have enough early to get a quick lead and they made us pay.” — Stephen Curry

Looking ahead: The Warriors have an incredible five days off before their next game when they host the Memphis Grizzlies (41-28). They round out next week with another home game against the New York Knicks (29-40).

Your surprisingly red San Antonio shot chart:

Screen Shot 2014-03-22 at 10.59.07 PM

Your lone Stephen Curry highlight of the night:

http://youtu.be/FKAw613pg1A

Tweets of the night:

 

One Response

  1. Dennis Towns

    Sorry Jordan not quite agreeable with a few player rankings this time around.

    Curry barely a C from me, cannot give him a B and much praise for a horrible shooting percentage, ‘zero’ assists (offset with his equal silly turnovers), and failing to lead the team and execute any team offence in the second half. Patty Mills and Tony Parker guarding him – not exactly all NBA defensive stoppers. His defensive impact on an NBA game remains as good as David Lee.

    Speaking of Lee, I still cannot identify really what piece he plays in a championship calibre team, there is just something that is not there with him. His game reminded me of characteristics of watching Paris Hilton in her prime last night…..

    Klay I agree with, his turnaround from an ordinary 3 months is very promising; he may prove to be the X factor in the 2nd half of the season if teams are starting to find and expose the current gaps in Curry’s game a bit. Klay’s ceiling remains high once he learns how to ‘Wade-flop’ on drives and get some easy FT points on those drives he is now developing.

    A C- was pretty harsh on Bogut tonight; thats a monster stat line for only 27 minutes play. Sitting most the 4th again – you don’t have those stats if he remains limited from any injury, thats just MJax repeating his fateful flaws. Dubs continue to totally ignore Bogut in any offensive structures, even when the offensive stars of this team give you ~30% FG shooting, limited assists, and 14 TO’s – what is there to lose running some post and high post offence through Bogut as the teams (only????) genuine unselfish player? I cannot give him a hard time for 1-7 from the field (5 shots were hard tip-in attempts off Lee bricks/air balls anyway).

    Credit to the Spurs, but another bad Dubs loss to the Spurs second team. The pattern is solidly established now around this ‘hot dog’ isolation and limited ball movement offence; I do not think this style can be offset in the playoffs by the Warriors quality defence. Not sure if any team will fear them in a 7 game series this season.