With one team is coming off a first round sweep and the other an exciting six-game series, the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors are set to square off in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The teams split their regular season series with two wins each.
San Antonio made quick work of a short-handed and aging Los Angeles Lakers team, sweeping them easily in four games by using penetration from the guards to create wide open looks and easy layups. The Spurs were led by the play of Tony Parker, who appears to be fully recovered from a sever ankle sprain that he suffered in March while averaging 22.3 points in the series.
Veterans Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan also were key in the opening series, with Duncan contributing 17.5 points and Ginobili averaging 11.3 points in just 19.5 minutes off the bench.
Golden State was paced by Stephen Curry in their first round series against the Denver Nuggets, and Curry solidifying himself as a bona fide rising star in the six games. Curry’s ability to take over games with his jump shot, handle, and passing skills was the deciding factor in the series, with Curry averaging 24.3 points and 9.3 assists on .468 from the field, .434 from three-point range and shooting a perfect 21-21 from the free-throw line.
Curry wasn’t the only Warriors player to step up in the first round, as Golden State also got key contributions from Jarrett Jack (18.8 points per game), rookie forward Harrison Barnes (14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds per game), center Andrew Bogut and key reserve Carl Landry.
San Antonio won’t have the same advantages against the Warriors that they enjoyed in their series with the Lakers. While Curry may not be a great defender, he is quicker and more capable than Steve Blake and Darius Morris, who Parker was matched up with in the first round. Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard also won’t have an edge athletically in this series, as he will be going against Barnes, who is just as athletic, maybe even more so than Leonard.
The key to this series will be the play of Bogut and the availability of Warriors forward David Lee. Lee led the NBA in double-doubles during the regular season but missed almost all of the first round due to a right hip flexor injury that was suffered in game one.
If Bogut can contain Tim Duncan and the Warriors role players can continue to play at a high level, Golden State may have a chance to push the Spurs to six games. But ultimately, it may be San Antonio’s experience and the veteran coaching of Gregg Popovich that has the biggest impact and lead to the Spurs taking the series.
