Spurs-Warriors: Where Things May Not Be What They Seem
Navigating the hazy aftereffects of what was billed as the regular-season game of the century remains difficult. After all, it’s tough to clear one’s head after it’s just been bludgeoned.
Golden State’s 120-90 dismantling of a historically great team (on paper, at least) wasn’t as much a statement — the Warriors have made plenty of those over the last two seasons — as it was a reminder of what they are — that even as the Spurs, with a stifling defense and relentless grind-you-to-pulp offense, maintained pace in the standings, it’s clear the road to the Finals will go through The Bay and the madness of Oracle Arena.
But if you’re looking to take away any sign of what might come should these two teams meet in May, treating this game as a bit of a mirage could be wiser than considering it the blueprint. Just as Golden State offered a reminder of how breathtaking it can be, San Antonio reminded us of exactly what it’s never been: an overmatched, fumbling, stumbling amalgamation of sloppy and panicked.
Don’t misconstrue what’s being written here, however. This is what the Warriors do. What appears at times to be a disjointed, helter-skelter style is, below its surface, a beautiful, Siren-like orchestral blend of precision and chaos designed to rope you into a pace that will leave you shipwrecked. The line between the way they play offense and defense is blurred to the point where traditional understanding of a basketball floor’s measurements no longer seems to matter. When you’re playing Golden State, the game becomes 94 feet of mayhem.
The Spurs fell into that trap on Monday. An offense that’s been building into one of the league’s most efficient over the last couple of months was in total disarray. Outside of the first few possessions, simply getting into offensive sets was a chore, never mind finding ways to get the ball into Kawhi Leonard’s hands. LaMarcus Aldridge, the team’s giant, maximum-salary summertime acquisition, was a ghost of himself, sent to the afterlife by the 6’6 Draymond Green. And poor Tony Parker couldn’t find a second of relief from the Steph Curry treatment.
There was no rhythm and no balance, and that constant state of confusion led to a deluge of turnovers — a death knell against the Warriors. From there, Golden State feasted. The Spurs had more turnovers (8) than field goals made in the first quarter (7), and 25 giveaways for the entire game.¹ And that’s where the floodgates opened widest. San Antonio, a team that went into the game allowing a league-best 13.6 opponent points off turnovers, gave up 32 points off those 25 giveaways. The Warriors also tacked on 19 fast-break points and a staggering 52 points in the paint.
¹The last time they turned the ball over at least 25 times, per basketball-reference, was in December of 2009 against Charlotte; furthermore, it was only the seventh time the franchise has reached that mark in the entirety of Tim Duncan’s career.
We’ve seen this sort of game from the Spurs over the past few years. Maybe not quite to this magnitude, but close. Never a team known for its athleticism, San Antonio’s most recent title-contending iteration has gotten into trouble against the likes of the Thunder, Clippers, and the Hollywood-as-hell Heat when it turned the ball over too much and allowed chances for the opposition to run out and dunk or launch 3-pointers.
Golden State is a different animal than what the Spurs have faced before, though. Against the Clippers, you may have been able to recover by taking advantage of brain-farts, DeAndre Jordan’s free-throw shooting, or just an overall lack of discipline and emotional control at times; against the Thunder, perhaps you could bait Russell Westbrook into taking too many shots or move an overly aggressive defense around until it broke; against the Heat, maybe you could beat their lack of size and rebounding under the basket with Duncan and hope it led to kick-outs and open 3s.
But finding a weakness against the Warriors seems damn near impossible. They’re like a Rubik’s Cube that unexpectedly manifests a new color scheme and shape-shifts into a triangle before sprouting an arm and punching you in the face over and over again. Like, OK, damn. Just stop already. I give up.
And yet, that team that took the floor at Oracle wasn’t the Spurs. The discipline, the pace, the spacing, the calm under a storm of pressure — none of the characteristics that have defined Gregg Popovich’s teams were visible. And more obviously, the characteristics of Tim Duncan’s team.
San Antonio’s franchise cornerstone wasn’t courtside to watch the debacle along with his bench mates, and his presence was sorely missed in every aspect of the game. All the open lanes to the rim, backdoor alleys and slivers of space the Warriors found and exploited are much more difficult to traverse when Duncan is anchoring the paint, and the miscommunications leading to blown defensive rotations are much fewer and farther in between. The Spurs allow a league-leading 55.7 percent shooting on just 25.3 shot attempts per game inside the restricted area, per the NBA’s statistics site; On Monday, Golden State took 30 shots at the rim in the first three quarters alone.
Offensively, while Duncan’s role has certainly changed, he’s nothing if not a calming influence. When things get chaotic, the Spurs know they can trust him to slow the pace and calm things down, as well as make a smart decision with the ball that rarely results in a turnover — last night’s murder weapon. And things did not truly begin to unravel until the second quarter. Even as San Antonio threw the ball away every other time down the court in the opening frame, it managed to keep things tight. Perhaps a healthy Duncan would’ve only made the final score a bit more palatable, but you have to imagine his team would’ve had a fighting chance.
Still, the issues from the blowout are larger than just that. Aldridge’s disappearance on both sides of the court was alarming. He seemed lost offensively, getting pushed around by Green and forced into ugly shots and careless turnovers. He seemed overwhelmed by the speed and magnitude of things, something that can’t be the case given the role he’s expected to fill.
On defense, he was the object of the Warriors’ affection, finding himself in pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll while still having to act as the last line of defense without Duncan in the game. SportVU stats tell us the Warriors were 2-of-5 at the rim when Aldridge was defending, but the problem with this data is, too often he wasn’t in position to block their path, leaving a clear lane to the basket. The more damning number: Golden State was 10-of-16 from inside the restricted area while LMA was on the court.
Aldridge wasn’t brought to San Antonio to be the defensive anchor, so too much criticism in that capacity isn’t fair. His role — and he’s filled it quite well this year — is to use his mobility to extend out on pick-and-rolls, disrupt ball-handlers and challenge spot-up shooters. When the Spurs are at full strength, he and his backcourt teammates know they have Duncan waiting at the rim. This dynamic completely changes the way you play defense, and San Antonio was left with a major void. Not one part of the Aldridge, David West, Boris Diaw triangle is equipped to handle Timmy’s responsibilities, and that can create a domino effect that can lead to the avalanche we saw last night.
Golden State is the clear-cut favorite to win a second straight title right now. That much can’t really be objectively argued. But the Spurs constructed a roster over the summer they believe can challenge for another ring. As is the case with all teams in the NBA, when you’re without someone as crucial to what you do as Duncan is, the margin for error grows increasingly slim; when you’re playing under those circumstances against THAT player, and THAT team, in THAT arena, that margin is practically nonexistent. Once things start to snowball, even the best teams in the league can look overwhelmed.
And maybe the season is already over. Maybe the Warriors are too good for everyone else in the league. Nobody would be surprised if that were the case. Hell, they didn’t even deploy their Death Lineup last night because there was no need.
But let’s wait and see. Let’s see if the Spurs can commit 15 turnovers instead of 25 next time. Let’s see if they can hold that team to 42 points in the paint instead of the 52 it dropped on Monday. Most importantly, let’s see if one of the greatest players to ever play the game can make even a little difference.
The Warriors are who we thought there were. The question now becomes, are the Spurs?
