In the Scope: Golden State Warriors x San Antonio Spurs preview

By: J.M.Poulard

Since drafting Tim Duncan, the San Antonio Spurs are 40-5 against the Golden State Warriors. Let that sink in for a moment. Not only have they dominated the Warriors, but they have stood at the top of the standings ever since the former Wake Forest center joined the NBA. As it stands today, the Spurs own the NBA’s best record and will be looking to build on it Wednesday night when they host Golden State.

As you can probably tell from their record, San Antonio (17-3) has played really well so far this season. Also, They have won @Oklahoma City, Vs. Chicago, @Utah, Vs. Orlando, @New Orleans and Vs. New Orleans. Needless to say, they have some fairly impressive wins so far this season. Mind you, what might surprise you is that they have changed their identity to some degree. Before we get to that though, let’s have a look at their bread and butter: their defense.

The Spurs are giving up 97.8 (12^th in NBA) points per game this season on 46.2% field goal shooting (tied for 15^th in the league). Although the shooting and scoring numbers are a bit higher than what we have become accustomed to (for good measure, in their last game at Golden State, the Spurs surrendered 98 points and 47.1% field goal shooting which is right on par with what they have done so far this year), their defense still creates problems for their opponents. Aided by the presence of Tim Duncan as a defensive anchor, San Antonio’s wing defenders are aggressive in their one on one defense; but they also do a terrific job of swiping at the ball when they are in help situations.

The end result is that they get 9.1 steals per game (good for second in the league) on their way to forcing their opponents to 15.2 turnovers on average. Steals are gems because they often lead to easy baskets and the Spurs are no exception as they are currently fifth in the NBA with 17.2 fast break points per game according to Team Rankings.

Mind you, teams that gamble defensively tend to get burned on the back end of their defense. However, San Antonio does such a good job of taking calculated risks that avoid putting their teammates into a position where they must foul. On average, they are called for only 18.8 fouls per game which usually results in 21.3 free throw attempts by their opponents (they are first in the NBA in both measures).  Granted, this is not the vaunted Spurs defense of old, but they are able to get by this time around because of a subtle change they made this season…

San Antonio will always be known as a defensive team; however, this year they modified their offensive identity to better suit their players. Gone are the days in which they just threw the ball into Tim Duncan and asked him to get an automatic two points on the low block or to kick it out to an open player in the event of a double team. Instead, we are seeing a natural progression with this team; a changing of the guard if you will. I liken this change to Magic Johnson completely taking over the reigns of the 1986 Los Angeles Lakers from an older Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Please understand, Manu Ginobili is no Magic Johnson, but the team now goes as he goes. The team has role players such as Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson and George Hill to help in the scoring department, but the guy is none other than the Argentinean. As a result, the traditionally slow and boring Spurs have increased their pace and are now scoring 106.7 points per game (fourth in the NBA) on 46.5% field goal shooting (10^th in NBA). Part of their efficiency can be attributed to the fact that Ginobili, Parker, Jefferson and Duncan all do a great job of getting inside the lane for shots at the rim (Duncan might be the best player at setting ball screens in the NBA). Indeed, the Spurs are 13^th in the league with 42.1 points per game in the paint. And for good measure, to complement their inside scoring, they have the best three point shooting team in the NBA at 40.4%.

In essence, the Spurs present a unique problem to most of their adversaries because they play very good defense and execute quite well on offense thanks in large part to their slashers, shooters and obviously their franchise power forward.

With that said, there are some chinks in the armor that the Warriors can exploit. For instance, Tony Parker has trouble recovering after getting screened and also plays poor one on one defense against quick point guards (Curry lit him up for 32 points on 13-22 shooting in their last encounter).

Also, there are points to be had in the paint against the Spurs. Although they do a great job of helping and swiping at the ball, once their opponents get inside the lane, it simply becomes a matter of converting contested shots at the basket. Given the fact that San Antonio has a fairly low foul rate, they will give up some points in the basket area. Indeed, San Antonio gives up 42.2 points in the paint per game (18^th in the league). So if the Warriors can attack the basket and then pound the offensive glass, they should have a shot at getting a win at the AT&T Center. After losing 40 out of the last 45, something’s got to give right?