San Antonio Spurs/Golden State Warriors Game 4 Analysis
16 Wins A Ring Writers offer 3 different perspectives on Game 4 results: Golden State 129— San Antonio 115
Golden State Analysis by: David Brandon
What Worked:
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant both had extremely efficient shooting nights, getting it done no matter what looks the Spurs threw at them. Curry was 14 of 24 from the field and Durant was 10 for 13. The ball movement was excellent all game long, with players finding the open man just about every time down to the tune of 30 assists.
There weren’t a lot of well-contested looks, particularly when Pau Gasol was on the floor. The Warriors got an open look just about every time they could run at him, whether it was on a slow switch by Gasol or a good switch that left just enough of a seam for a player like Curry to get to the rim.
In addition, the combination of incredibly cold shooting for San Antonio (particularly in the first half) and smothering rim defense from Green and Durant meant the Spurs couldn’t ever get a toehold to mount any sort of run. The Dubs blew up action at the rim with regularity, including one of the highlight plays of the night, a Durant chase-down double block of Dejounte Murray.
Lessons Learned:
After a great game last go-round, JaVale McGee was mostly a non-factor tonight. It seemed like the Spurs made it a point to wall off the easy lobs he feasted on previously, and every time he got in the paint there were bodies there. He ran the floor hard, but it looked a little bit like he was struggling with his wind. One shot caught him taking really quick, shallow breaths, like his asthma was bothering him. Something to keep an eye on in the next round.
Klay Thompson continues to be mostly ineffective. That’s probably due to how hard it is to keep 3 all-world scorers going with touches. Klay never really had much of a chance to get in a rhythm. It remains to be seen if he will in the next round, and they might need him against the Cavaliers.
It’s surprising how far the Spurs played off West at times tonight, particularly on pick-and-pop. It’s something to watch in the next series. West is an excellent mid-range shooter, but in a lineup where you have to pick between such potent poisons as Curry, Durant and Thompson, West may need to take a larger role off the bench to punish their match-up in the Finals if they choose to sag off.
Iguodala was still a net positive for the game, but looks a fair bit diminished from his dominant play in previous years. He needs to be able to turn it on in the next round, particularly on the offensive end. His shooting wasn’t dialed in at all tonight, though he didn’t get a lot of touches. He was 0 for 2 from outside the arc and 1 of 3 at the line.
Turnovers continue to be a bit of an issue. The Dubs turned it over 17 times tonight, with 5 of those being from Durant and 6 from Curry. Against the diminished Spurs it didn’t matter, but in the likely Cavs rematch it will be something to watch.
There isn’t much to take away from this round, because the only competitive minutes we really saw were in the first half of Game 1 before Kawhi went off. This was a much better team polishing off an injury-ravaged opponent and taking care of business exactly the way they were supposed to.
The Warriors have gone 12–0 so far in the playoffs, breaking out the brooms for every opponent so far. Their first challenge lies ahead.
San Antonio Spurs Analysis by: Rich Condon
What Worked:
San Antonio was able to force a lot of Golden State turnovers, 17 to be exact, which led to 22 San Antonio points. Despite struggling from the field, and getting blocked twice on the same play by Kevin Durant, Dejounte Murray turned in a very promising performance. Murray finished with only 9 points (2–7 from the field), but chipped in 7 assists and 5 steals.
The 20-year old out of Washington was extremely active all night, jumping passing lanes and was able to get to the rim with regularity. He struggled to convert when he got there, but that should come with time.
Kyle Anderson led all Spurs with 20 points off the bench. Anderson, who has been spectacular in the last few Summer Leagues will need to start to step his game up next season against the big boys. Tonight was an encouraging sign.
Finally, Manu Ginobili, in what may have been his final game, finished with 15 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Coach Popovich decided to start Manu, something which hasn’t happened in the playoffs since 2013.
Lessons Learned:
The Spurs couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half. The Warriors continued to swarm LaMarcus Aldridge with double-teams, who had another ineffective game as the Spurs first option. Aldridge finished with 8 points on 4–11 shooting.
Patty Mills needed 13 shots to score 14 points, capping off a poor postseason with a final poor performance from the field. Jonathan Simmons was even more inefficient that Mills, needing 15 shots to score 13 points. Danny Green was also mostly invisible on the evening, finishing with 9 points on 3–8 shooting.
Bottom line: more than anything else, injuries proved to be the undoing of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. And that sucks. The Spurs needed the two-way impact of Kawhi Leonard and the playmaking capablities of Tony Parker on offense. Hell, they could’ve used David Lee’s contributions off the bench in Game Four. The Spurs at full strength would’ve been a formidable opponent for the Warriors, and we were robbed of what could’ve been an all-time great playoff series. Whether it was a dirty play or not:
Thanks, Zaza, you blew it.
Neutral Analysis by: Cory Hutson
Why Golden State Won:
Almost every game this series, the combination of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant has overwhelmed the Spurs, and that was very much the case throughout the clinching game. Throw in an efficient 15 points from Draymond Green, and there was little chance of the Spurs keeping up.
One encouraging improvement throughout the series was Golden State’s defensive rebounding, a problem in the first couple games but much better on Monday, when they recovered 81% of available misses. They’ll need to keep that up when they (probably) meet the Cavaliers in the Finals.
Bonus “Things to be worried about going forward”: Curry and Durant need to get their turnovers under control. Klay Thompson’s shooting has been positively frigid throughout the playoffs. Also, despite losing their best scorer, San Antonio’s offense was respectable in most of the games this series. LeBron James offers little margin for error.
Why San Antonio Lost:
As far Game 4 went — we could really say this about just about any game the Warriors have played, really — it all came down to the Spurs’ inability to contain Golden State’s offense. Once again, the NBA’s top seed scored at will, shooting over 50% from the field, much of that coming right at the rim, or for Durant, from midrange. Nobody on the Spurs, in their current state, could hope to contain him, or any of the rest of Golden State’s superstar scorers.
For the series, we’ll never know how much Kahwi Leonard’s absence hurt the Spurs’ chances. If you extrapolate the 24 minutes he played in Game 1, you imagine we lost the chance to see an epic battle between arguably the two best teams in the NBA. It’s also possible that the Spurs take the first game, but nothing more.
Regardless, it has to be among the most, if not the most painful injury any team suffered these playoffs. There shouldn’t be much controversy surrounding their decision to sit Leonard for nearly the entirety of the Western Finals, given the reputation of the organization, and especially given the strength of their opponent, but it’s hard not to ask what would have happened if Leonard could have given it a go. Fortunately for Spurs fans, the phrase “There’s always next year” is more optimistic than most fan bases could hope for.
