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DG

V3rd3

Just when I'm pissed at Parker for taking an early shot, he comes up with a move like that. DG with the nail.

13 in a row!

Magic Tiago keeps the streak alive.

No Timmy, no Manu, no problem.

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Magic Tiago keeps the streak alive.

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Tiago played a hell of a game tonight. 17 and 14 and some terrific defense.

Officially clinched a playoff spot with tonight win.

Indiana and Miami both lost.

13

My Spurs.

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GS is an annoying Playoff matchup. I'd prefer to avoid them even though we would beat them.

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So I stated during the game last night that playing Golden State makes me nervous because of their ability to shoot the ball. Much like last year's second round series, there will be games where the splash bros get hot and there's not much that can be done. However, we're 3-0 against the dubs this season, with two of those victories being shorthanded. So what's the common theme?

Game 1, November 8: Spurs 76 Warriors 74
The Warriors shot 40% from the field and committed 19 turnovers. They did shoot 40% from 3 (8-20), but 5 of those 8 makes came from Toney Douglas (now with the Heat), and Klay Thompson went 1-5 from deep. Steph Curry didn't play in this game.

Game 2, December 19: Spurs 104 Warriors 102
Spurs played this game without the Big 3, while GS was at full strength. The Warriors shot a respectable 46% from the field, and Curry and David Lee both went for 30+. However, they only shot 25% from 3 (8-31), with all of their 3s only coming from Curry (6-16, 37%), Thompson (1-7), and Douglas (1-3). The Warriors also committed 24 turnovers.

Game 3, March 22: Spurs 99 Warriors 90
Duncan and Ginobili didn't play, while Igoudala didn't play for GS (although he'd been a non-factor in the previous two meetings). The Warriors shot 40% from the field and only 20% from 3 (3-15), with Curry and Thompson each going 1-4 and 1-3 from distance. Another high turnover performance from the dubs, committing 18 turnovers.

What can we conclude from all of this? The Warriors average 103.5 points per game, and the only game they came close to matching that number was game 2, where we played without Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker. To go along with limiting the amount of points they're scoring against us, in two games they shot below their season average of 46% from the field and in two games they shot well below their season average of 37% from 3. The one game they shot their season average, they were 25% from distance, and the one game they shot 40% from 3, they were only 40% from the field. So the Spurs are doing a really good job of defending the jump shooting Warriors and forcing them into lower percentages than normal.

The other thing that sticks out is the number of turnovers the Warriors commit against the Spurs. Golden State averages 15 a game, while San Antonio only forces 13 a game. I would imagine the Spurs ability to help out on shooters coming off of screens has helped create the high number of turnovers in these three games.

The last thing that stands out for me is the struggles of Klay Thompson. He's scored 11, 13, and 16 in each of the games, and hasn't been very successful from 3. He went nuts in last years playoff series until we switched Kawhi onto him. I don't remember the first two games, but last night Kawhi didn't guard Thompson very often. I think Pop has him figured out, and has found ways to limit him without having to put our best defender on him. The only two players who had success shooting 3s against the Spurs, Curry and Douglas, are both point guards. So, it would appear Pop is content letting the ball handlers get theirs, not allowing for the rest of the team to be set up for good looks, impacting Thompson in particular.

[This message has been edited by West Texan (edited 3/23/2014 2:07p).]

Would love the dubs as a second round opponent. Agree that I would prefer to avoid them first round.

They aren't as good as last season which is clear and I doubt they ever have a stretch shooting the ball like they did as a team last season ever again tbh.

The oracle is still a really tough place to play and the long flight times makes it an undesirable matchup for the first round... Much like Portland.

I hope we get Dallas or Phoenix.

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However, we're 3-0 against the dubs this season

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I thought the regular season didn't matter

Spurs are 16-1 since all star break.

I want Dallas badly. Best possible first round matchup, IMO.

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However, we're 3-0 against the dubs this season

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I thought the regular season didn't matter

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It's certainly not the end all, but I found two short handed victories on the road over a solid team interesting.

I found 2 road wins against a full strength "best team in the nba" interesting too.

http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/san-antonio-spurs-to-replace-two-of-the-big-three-in-2015/

Someone is way jumping the gun with this article.

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I found 2 road wins against a full strength "best team in the nba" interesting too.

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Don't get me wrong, I think San Antonio could beat Houston in a seven game series, but I've said on multiple occasions I'd rather face the Clippers in the second round than the Rockets.

I'd have to agree at this point but the Clippers are playing really well and are putting up very impressive numbers in all the advanced statistical categories that tend to mean something come playoff time. Houston seems to matchup pretty well against us and they have a lot of confidence when facing the Spurs which accounts for a lot. Both would be tough outs and there's pros and cons for both.

As of today though I would probably say I would rather face the Clippers.

I mentioned it before in this thread but I found it interesting that Sean Elliott recently said he would rather face Houston than the Clippers come playoff time. Someone who watches every minute of every game much like some of us.

Watching how bad the Sixers are makes me feel really bad for Brett Brown. He took that job knowing they were tanking, but holy crap they're awful. On the bright side, it lets guys like Ayres and Daye get extended minutes and more rest for our starters.

Daye is looking great.

Philly is awful, but Austin Daye is really showing some good stuff on the offensive end. He moves well without the ball, he's a decent passer, and obviously is a heck of a shooter. He's very limited defensively because he doesn't have the foot speed to defend wings and he's not strong enough to defend big guys, but he's got insanely long arms and can block and contest shots. I think he could develop into a solid situational stretch 4.

Corey Joseph is not good. I'm glad Patty beat him out of the regular rotation.

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Corey Joseph is not good. I'm glad Patty beat him out of the regular rotation.

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He's played better this season than he is tonight. He could certainly be a rotation player on other teams, but for us he's good to bring in for defensive situations.

Austin Daye with 19 points through 3 here tonight. Too bad we can't play philly every game, he'd be an all star.

14 in a row. Tony, Splitter, and Green didn't play. Austin Daye is your leading scorer with 22.

Joseph is 10x the defender patty is. If you don't realize that you aren't paying attention or have some sort of bias.

Patty is the better player though. He's obviously way better offensively and his added weight/strength makes him less of a liability defensively once the playoffs start. The playoffs are a different beast. He won't be getting backcourt steals when those games start. That's not defense, that's just a gimmick.

Nice to see Daye play well. Rather dress him than Ayres.

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Nice to see Daye play well. Rather dress him than Ayres.

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This.

All hail Daye