The San Antonio Spurs (56-13) will host the Golden State Warriors (30-40) tonight and will be
looking to continue their dominance over the Warriors in San Antonio. The Warriors have not won a game in the Alamo City since 1997.
This will be the last meeting between the two teams this season with the Spurs currently holding a 3-0 series lead. In thelast meeting, the Spurs won 113-102 in Oakland. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 20 points. Tony Parker chipped in with 18 points and 11 assists.
It will also be a meeting of two of the best offensive teams as the Spurs average 103.4 points per game while the Warriors average 103.1 points per game. However, the Spurs only allow 97.1 points per game and the Warriors allow 105.9 points per game.
To discuss the game tonight, I turned to fellow Bloguin blogger, Joshua Russell of Warriors Court by far the best Warriors site in the Internet.
In this Q&A Joshua talks about the Warriors yearly struggles in San Antonio, how Golden State can turn things around, will the Warriors snap their losing streak, and more.
Mike: The Warriors have not been able to win a game on the Spurs’ home court since 1997. What will it take for the Warriors to end the San Antonio curse?
Joshua: In short, a miracle. Seriously, for the Warriors to beat the Spurs in San Antonio, it will have to take monster games from nearly everyone wearing a Warriors uniform and it would take the kind of defensive effort that the Warriors seldom employ. If I were the Spurs, I would feel pretty darn confident that the streak will stay in tact.
You wrote recently how the Warriors are like an abusive spouse. What do they need to do to turn things around?
Two major things: 1. They need not only a commitment to defense, but they need the players who can execute that defense. Right now, they have neither and certainly no consistency. 2. They need a legit, back to the basket big man. Their center, Andris Biedrins, has been a severe disappointment this season and it has really shown how glaring of a need this is for the Warriors moving forward.
The Warriors have two good guards in Steph and Monta, but at some point it seems like the Warriors may have to settle on one player, especially since both appear to be two guards in a point guards body. Which player would you build around?
I think if I had to choose, I would build around Stephen Curry. Monta has definitely shown what kind of a player he can be – which to me, is near All-Star level. But Curry is closer to being a true point guard, has a tremendous outside shot and I think fills more of a need for the Warriors. However, Curry has more trade value than Monta does around the league so the Warriors may have to trade Curry to get back more in return.
The Spurs and Warriors are sixth and seventh offensively this season. Should we expect a high scoring game?
I would say yes, although the Warriors only dropped 77 points in Dallas yesterday so I think high scoring for the Warriors isn’t necessarily a given these days.
David Lee seems to be a Spurs-killer whether he’s with the Warriors or Knicks. Will his matchup with Tim Duncan be the key matchup for the Warriors, or could it be Curry-Parker or Ellis-Ginobili?
I think the Ellis-Ginobili is more of a key. If David Lee is a Spurs-killer, then Ginobili is the Warriors-killer. Ellis doesn’t always commit to defending throughout the game but he is going to have to in order to give the Warriors a chance.
Do the Spurs extend the streak or do the Warriors do the unthinkable and win in SA?
Unfortunately for the Warriors… yes they do.
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