San Antonio Spurs/Golden State Warriors Game 1 Analysis
16 Wins A Ring Writers offer 3 different perspectives on Game 4 results: Golden State 113 — San Antonio 111
Golden State Analysis by: David Brandon
What Worked:
The elephant in the room is that Kawhi Leonard rolling his ankle and leaving the game in the 3rd quarter is the biggest thing that turned the tide of this game. Without Leonard, a team already missing Tony Parker lost their primary scorer, primary defender and best shot creator. They then ripped off a huge run and went on to win the game despite a remarkable effort from the rest of the Spurs.
The Dubs did an excellent job in the second half of exploiting Gasol and Aldridge in the pick-and-roll. With good, solid screening, Mills was dying on almost every screen Pachulia set, and Curry got whatever he wanted against the slower Gasol. Aldridge did a better job on the switch, but Golden State likes that match-up.
Durant got some run against lesser defenders where he got anything he wanted off the bounce, particularly against Anderson. He was less effective when Mike Brown had him set up in a mid-post isolation situation, but got it done all game long when given the ball with a head of steam. Look for more dribble hand-offs and pin downs for him next game.
The Warriors also had an absurd 42.5% offensive rebounding rate today. That’s so high it doesn’t even look like a real number. It was a terrific effort from the Dubs, but it’s also a massive indictment of the Spurs (especially going small) and their performance on the boards today. Expect that to be an outlier.
Lessons Learned:
They came out really flat in the first half, messing around with some really odd lineups with no spacing, failing to exploit the Spurs bigs. Klay was quite bad overall this game too. He’s streaky, so that’s not likely to last. Thankfully the Warriors have 3 other All-Star players to fall back on in his absence.
The big question for this game was this: where was Andre Iguodala? He played a little in the first half, but spent the second half on the bench with Matt Barnes taking his spot. He sat even when his teammates were up celebrating. It’s odd, and without him the vaunted Death Lineup is missing a key cog.
Game Two Adjustments:
If Kawhi is out, they don’t really need to change anything. All they have to do is play like they did in the second half of the game and the Spurs probably don’t have the firepower to take more than one game off them.
But if Kawhi can still play, they need to really be conscious of pushing the pace whenever possible. The Spurs deliberately controlled the pace of the game, especially while Kawhi was in. Any time the Dubs got the ball and broke free in transition, the Spurs fouled to break it up. And not just light fouls, either: any time a guy went to the rim there were hard fouls designed to stop any attempt at a layup. It helped them get 19 free throw attempts in the first half, but also stopped them from playing the way they like to play.
Game Two Prediction:
Really depends on Kawhi, but I don’t think he’ll be back. Golden State 112 to 98 over the Spurs.
San Antonio Analysis by: Rich Condon
What Worked:
The Spurs were able to control the pace for a good portion of the game. Kawhi was terrific before he was injured, scoring 26 points to go along with 8 assists. Manu Ginobili had 17 off the bench, and Jonathan Simmons continued his postseason breakout with 12 points.
The Spurs were able to stall the potent Golden State offense, and at one point were ahead by 25 points. San Antonio shot a respectable 47.6 percent from the floor, and they assisted on 19 of 40 converted field goals.The Spurs also capitalized on their free throws, hitting 24–28. They’ve had a few bad nights from the foul line in the postseason, and they’ll need to take advantage of every scoring opportunity they get against the Warriors.
Lessons Learned:
Unfortunately, Kawhi re-injured his ankle on a controversial play in the third quarter in which Zaza Pachuila stepped on the ankle as he was attempting to close out on Kawhi:
The injury casts a pall over this battle of the Western Conference titans, as the Spurs will need the presence of Kawhi Leonard on both sides of the floor to have any hope of keeping up with the Death Star Lineup.
Golden State started an 18–0 run after Leonard was forced from the game, and all it takes is one big run to get the Warriors going. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with a full stat line of 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. However, he was a different player without Kawhi on the court. He never looked comfortable, played very stiffly, and missed a majority of his shots as the attention shifted to him.
Patty Mills continued his cold streak, going 1–8 and missing all 6 of his three point attempts, which is something that needs to stop by Game Two. The Spurs need to get more out of Pau Gasol, who was held to only 16 minutes in Game One, mostly because he got roasted in the pick-and-roll by Steph Curry.
Curry and Durant combined for 74 of the Warriors’ 113 points. Both were able to score almost at will, especially after the Leonard injury. The biggest issue for the Spurs, however, was their atrocious work on the defensive glass. They allowed 17 offensive rebounds for Golden State, including two on a key possession late in the fourth, which led to a Curry three to tie the game.
Despite all this, the Spurs still almost pulled out the victory, losing on the final possession of the game.
Game Two Adjustments:
Everything in this series now relies on the health of Kawhi Leonard. Fortunately, Gregg Popovich has seen it all in his 20 years of roaming the NBA sidelines, and should Leonard not play, he’ll have at least a competent game-plan.
Most importantly, regardless of the health of Leonard: the Spurs need to control the pace of the game like they did in the first half of Game One. Long, drawn out possessions that wear the Warriors defense out and negate the transition attack of Golden State.
The Spurs also need to exploit their size advantage over the Warriors, which is extremely hard to do against the small-ball masters. However, San Antonio must corral every Golden State miss and limit the Warriors opportunities.
Finally, the Spurs need to refocus and maintain their famous discipline and eliminate their turnovers. They had 19 in Game One, which Golden State took advantage of, scoring 31 points.
Game Two Prediction:
Regardless if Leonard plays or not, Golden State will come out on top. Pop should rest Leonard in Game Two, which is almost blasphemous to say. However, Game Three is scheduled to be played on Saturday, giving the San Antonio star almost a full week to rehab the injury. A healthier Leonard is more important to the Spurs overall than a victory in Game Two.
Neutral Analysis by: Cory Hutson
Why Golden State Won:
Dominating the game with two impossibly good shooters has always been the plan, and Golden State rode those two shooters to Sunday’s win. Curry almost single-handedly supplied the Warriors’ long range attack, sinking 7 of their 11 3-point makes by himself, while Durant bailed the Warriors out of some tough possessions.
Perhaps it should be expected against a team as disciplined as the Spurs, but for much of the night the Warriors offense didn’t flow the way it usually does, and generated a lot more long 2's than 3's. Durant’s deadly in that offense, but perhaps his greatest value lies in his ability to salvage the possessions that don’t go according to plan.
Why San Antonio Lost:
Kahwi’s injury is the obvious problem, and by the time you’ve hit this part of the recap you’ve probably heard plenty about the 18–0 run the Warriors ran off when he left the game, so let’s focus elsewhere. San Antonio did quite well to find offense from LaMarcus Aldridge and Manu Ginobli, both of whom ran their offense about as well as could be expected under the circumstances. Unfortunately, their production was severely lacking in the point guard position, especially from Patty Mills.
The other major problem: defensive rebounding. Winning a basketball game in which the Warriors are allowed 17 extra chances seems, frankly, impossible, and the Spurs almost pulled it off. Those offensive boards in the final few minutes were especially back-breaking.
Game Two Adjustments:
It’s unusual to say this about the Spurs, but they need to clean up their execution and fundamentals to give themselves a shot, especially if Leonard may be out or hobbled. In addition to the rebounding, the Spurs can’t afford to give up 19 turnovers. Those 17 offensive boards, and those 19 turnovers…those 36 moments in the basketball game are the ones the Warriors thrive in above all others, when they harness that chaos and create open shots around the arc or at the rim. That San Antonio was able to keep the game as close as it was despite those mistakes is borderline miraculous, even with Leonard’s injury.
They also need to attack Curry as much as possible. The blueprint Cleveland laid out was clear: find Curry, and force him to guard every single pick-and-roll by involving his man. Wearing him down with your own offense might be the best way to limit his own.
Game Two Prediction:
The Warriors probably can’t count on all those turnovers and offensive boards again, but they can also probably expect more from players like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. If Leonard does end up sitting for Game 2, it’s very difficult to see how San Antonio can keep up.
…then again, that’s what we all said before the Spurs shellacked the Rockets in Houston, Game 6. Unfortunately, I’m not going to count on that.
