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| Stephen Curry Mural photo from Thomas Hawk |
The Warriors absolutely dominated the Spurs 120-90. The Warriors forced early turnovers, which allowed them to play their pace and skate through the Spurs. Stephen Curry was the catalyst, as usual, posting 37 points in just under 28 and a half minutes of play. Talk about efficiency!
The Warriors are firing on all cylinders right now. They’re gambling at the right time for steals, consistently draining jumpers and moving the ball brilliantly. It’s tough to watch film and say the Warriors could do better – they’ve been that good.
The Spurs couldn’t get off the snide from the get-go. Turnovers coupled with bad transition defense are a formula for disaster and to top it all off they didn’t hit shots consistently. Luckily for the Spurs this was the first of what will be four meetings with the Warriors. There’s plenty of chances for the Spurs to play better and this is no indicator of how the defending champs will always perform.
@HPbasketball (an account you all should follow if you don’t already!) summed it up best:
there’s a difference between using one game to reach conclusions and acknowledging a game gave no contrary evidence to prior concepts.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 26, 2016
The Warriors played a fabulous game but that’s not to say that in March when the Warriors and Spurs face off in San Antonio it won’t be different. The Spurs are run like a well oiled machine and they will keep churning away. The Spurs will watch loads of film and make the proper adjustments. Don’t ever count out the Spurs until the game clock hits zero.
One place where the Spurs need to really improve is bench scoring. The bench players who came in during the second quarter couldn’t stay close with the Warriors. Keep in mind the Spurs were only down six after the first quarter, but down 15 at half. Guys like Ginobili, Diaw and Mills must score for the Spurs to stay within striking distance.
While this was quite the convincing Warriors W, don’t forget we’re in late January. There’s still a ton of basketball to be played and injuries can always change the entire dynamic of squads. Let’s hope the Warriors and Spurs stay at full strength and can play a competitive game come March.
Tip of the hat to the Warriors making it look easy!