Coach Pop and the Spurs attempt to control the West. Chapter one of four.. or five, or six... or seven.
With the bearded one finally put to rest, Coach Pop and his deteriorated, yet exceptional crew of bandits ventured west. Their new quest is one that many a men have failed to accomplish this season. With no signs of Tony Parker, or former members of the brigade like the great Tim Duncan, Pop still had one goal in mind. Slay the dragon. Or shall I say dragons. Emphasis on the ‘s'. As the San Antonio Spurs landed in Oakland on Sunday, their opponent had been anticipating their arrival. The Baby Faced Assassin, formerly known as Wardell Stephen Curry entered Oracle Arena with a non-surprising glint in his eye, obviously prepared for war. Alongside him, just a few paces to his south, walked the earlier mentioned dragon. Seven feet tall. Physical. Stealthy. Determined. A nightmare for any and all opponents. "They couldn't guard me. (They) still can't," he said just a week ago. He is the self proclaimed Easy Money Sniper. He is, Kevin Durant.
In addition to the dragons(s), if you add on the sharpshooting Klay Thompson, the gritty Draymond Green, aging yet efficient Andre Iguodala, alongside big men Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee, the Golden State Warriors are capable of making you tremble before tip-off.
All things noted, the Spurs are no ordinary foe. Gregg Charles Popovich is a five time NBA Champion and three time NBA Coach of the Year recipient. Facing the King, Lebron James three times in the NBA Finals, Gregg Popovich has only allowed Lebron to win 5 of 16 games. Coach Popovich enters Oracle, he see's your depth, he see's your dragons, and he raises you an Argentinian. The 2006 second overall pick. As well as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Cornrows included.
As the clock strikes noon in Oakland, and the tip-off soon ensued, the match-up portrayed the feeling of a modern day version of the Battle of Waterloo. With Vegas oddsmakers assuming the Warriors will win by 10, Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs had something else in mind.
After forcing five Golden State turnovers, a plethora of bricks, and going on a 14-2 run to close out the quarter, Coach Pop and the Spurs sprang out to a 30 to 16 lead by the end of the first. The onslaught continued in the second, after a Manu Ginobli three-pointer, followed by a Kawhi Leonard finish at the rim, Mike Brown called timeout, needing to go back to the drawing board with the Spurs up 18. The Warriors prolific offense had yet to show up to the party, as they had committed more turnovers than field goals, with nine minutes left in the second. After 16 minutes of play, due to great defense and a ferocious Kawhi Lenord attacking the rim, the Spurs built the lead up to 25. After a few quick spurts from both teams, with timing running down in the quarter Kawhi made his way past an aggressive Andre Igudola, forcing the defense to collapse, Kawhi kicked the ball out to an open Danny Green for a three-pointer to end the half. Allowing the Spurs to head to the locker room up twenty, leading 62-42.
The hot takes began immediately. Are the Warriors frauds? Should Kawhi Leonard be a MVP candidate? Will Pop actually dismantle Golden State and slay the alleged dragon(s)?
With Lamarcus Aldridge looking dominant inside scoring 17, and Kawhi scoring 18 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists through the first half, the answer to all the previous questions seemed to be yes.
On the other hand, the Warriors are coming off five days of rest. In the NBA, five days of rest is an eternity. You have to get the rust off to continue what you're used to doing, and everyone knows rust doesn't come off in a matter of seconds. It takes time. For Stephen Curry and the Warriors, it took approximately 24 minutes.
"Get your poise back," Head Coach Steve Kerr told the team before they left the locker room to begin the second half.
"Lets get three stops in a row and the push will come from that. Settle in and we'll be alright."
As if the third quarter was one of Stephen Curry's pregame tweets, the Warriors came out locked in. After a Stephen Curry catch-n-shoot three pointer, the Spurs lead trickled down to 15. On the other end Aldridge nails an off balance three as the shot clock expires. Wasting no time, Curry darts down the floor and fires up another catch-n-shoot three. Splash. Though the Spurs are almost matching the Warriors shot for shot, the pace clearly favors the Warriors. With no hesitation, Patty Mills received the inbound after the Stephen Curry three and pushes it ahead, finding Kawhi in the corner. He shoots the three with no hesitation and knocks it down. Kawhi falls on the way down, landing his already injured left ankle on David Lee as he sat on the bench. Popovich subs him out and the quarter continues. Stephen Curry continues to make threes, and the Spurs continue to respond with shots of their own. After Curry's third three-pointer in just as many minutes, Pop calls timeout. Not a minute later, Kawhi is back in the game with the ball in his hand, Kevin Durant defending him. Aldridge sets a screen to his left, Zaza Pachulia sets a hard hedge. Kawhi steps back and shoots a three, Zaza puts a hand up and closes out on him. Thud. Kawhi misses the shot, falls to the ground and is clearly in pain. After seeing the replay, when Zaza closes out on him, Kawhi's damaged left ankle lands awkwardly on Zaza Pachulia's foot. With the Warriors down 21, with 7:26 left to go in the third, Kawhi Leanard hobbles to the locker room where he later would be ruled out for the rest of the game.
"A two step lead with your foot close out is not appropriate. It's unsportsmanlike. And this particular individual has a history with this type of action," said Coach Popovich after the game, clearly upset with the way Zaza Pachulia contributed to Kawhi Leanard's injury. Later adding that it's a "dirty play".
When Zaza closed out on on Kawhi, his eyes were up the entire time. As the ball went up, Zaza's eyes followed, all the way to the basket. Some believe he attempted to injure Kawhi on purpose, others say it's just a dangerous basketball play. Either way, with his intent unknown, it is tough to call someone a dirty player when he doesn't even attempt to look where Kawhi may land, Pachulia was clearly already looking at the basket preparing for the rebound. Though he has teammates with exceptional peripheral vision that can turn and consistently make somewhat miraculous shots with the slightest view of the basket, it's hard to believe Pachulia has the same caliber peripheral skills. Though, in this profession it is the norm to make accusations without knowing complete facts, unless Popovich can get Peter Holt to summon Olivia Pope to get to the bottom of this scandle, the world may never know Zaza's intent.
As play continues Curry hits another three, his fourth of the quarter. Two Kevin Durant free throws narrow the Spurs lead down to 16. Two Draymond Green free throws shortly after narrow it to 14. Defensive stop, Kevin Durant lay-up. 12. Another stop on defense, Klay Thompson elbow three. 9. Defensive stop, Stephen Curry shimmy, pull up jumper. 7. Time out. After a Warriors 16-0 run, Popovich is irate. His star player out for the game with an injury he believes his opponent caused. What was once a 25 point lead, is down to a mere 7 with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter. As the third quarter comes to a close, with a last second tip in, the Spurs build the lead back up to 9.
As the fourth quarter begins, the Warriors do what Coach Popovich says 9.75 out of 10 people believe would happen. They itch away at the Spurs lead, taking a lead of their own after a Kevin Durant lay-up that was actually a travel if you were born and raised in San Antonio. 101-100 with four minutes remaining in the game. With two minutes remaining, the Spurs built their lead back up to three, with the score 106-103.
Insert Wardell Stephen Curry. After a perfectly executed Draymond Green off-ball screen he gets free of his man, darts to the corner. After a pass from Klay Thompson he pump fakes, Manu Ginobli jumps in the air and goes flying to Alameda. Curry shoots the three. Brick. After an offensive board, Durant has a chance for an open three in the corner. Brick. After a second offensive rebound, Curry receives the ball yet again. One dribble, pull-up three pointer. Splash. Tie game with 1:48 remaining. As the Spurs go down the court, Jonathon Simmons does what no team should do, but for some reason they continue to try to do. He attacks Draymond Green one on one with the game on the line. Two dribbles into the lane, step back, pull up. Draymond reads it like a book, hand in the air as Simmons releases the ball. Brick. Klay Thompson gets the board, passes it to Curry who passes the ball back to a cutting Thompson who feeds Draymond Green for a lay-up, plus the foul. Three point Warriors lead. After a few defensive stops by both teams as well as a goaltend, the Warriors have the lead and the ball with 31.9 seconds remaining.
Insert Klay Thompson, who has shot poorly, and besides his assist to Draymond Green just a few minutes ago, he hasn't played very Klay Thompson-esque on offense the entire game. As Thompson catches the inbound to help secure the game, Patty Mills reaches in and snatches the ball from him. Klay Thompson aggressively fouls him. A clear unnecessary frustration foul. Patty Mills knocks down both free throws to give the Spurs life, as they get back on defense down by one with 30 seconds left in the game. Stephen Curry catches the inbound, everyone gets out of his way. Livingston sets a screen, Lamarcus Aldridge has to switch and guard him. With five seconds left on the shot clock, Curry toys with him and gets to his spot of choice. He shoots an unorthodox one foot jumper at the free throw line, a shot he practices during every pre-game. The ball hits the back rim, pops up in the air and falls through the net. Three point Warriors lead, 12.1 seconds remaining. Patty Mills scurries down the court, finds Lamarcus Aldridge in the corner all alone with the chance to tie the game. He misses, after a fight for the rebound, Klay Thompson fouls Patty Mills as he heads out of bounds with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. With no time to make both and try to foul, Patty must make the first free throw and try to allow Aldridge or Gasol to tip in the second free throw. He completes phase one as the first free throw falls in. Insert the dragon. As Patty Mills misses the second free throw, Kevin Durant runs to the other side of the baseline to box out Lamarcus Aldridge as he secures the rebound himself. The clock strikes zero. Warriors 113, Spurs 111.