The Western Conference Finals begin this afternoon and although the San Antonio Spurs, first and second round series both went six games they eventually did what Gregg Popovich teams always seem to do, adjusted their game plan, and proceeded to smother their opponents. Their second round duel with the Houston Rockets ended with the Spurs dismantling Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden, which led the entire Houston offense to have a system malfunction in the 114-75 Spurs victory. They did this in spite of the fact that their own MVP Candidate, Kawhi Leonard was out nursing ankle and knee injuries. Alas the Golden State Warriors are far better than the Houston Rockets, boasting two former MVP winners in Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, bonafide all-around shooting guard Klay Thompson who would score thirty a night with any other set of players around him, and Defensive Player of the Year Candidate (and occasional low blow specialist) Draymond Green all in their starting five. With all of that talent and Coach Steve Kerr’s tactics (Kerr himself has missed games due to spine surgery complications) Golden State has mechanically dismantled both of their opponents in the playoffs so far going 8-0 through the first two rounds to set up a matchup that is arguably just as interesting as the Warriors-Cavaliers Part III that seems to be coming to fruition.
If the Warriors are to win: They will need all of that firepower to coalesce into an unstoppable force, which is a lot easier done against the Portland Trailblazers turnstile of a defense or against a Utah team battling a thousand injuries while having the offensive power of a water gun than it will be against the Spurs formidable team defense. They should also try to attack Kawhi Leonard while they have the ball to test the former DPOY and see whether or not he is fully healthy which may sound underhanded but all is fair in love, war, and basketball strategy. An important qualifier to the verb attack is that the Warriors (specifically Draymond Green, who was suspended last year for multiple deliberate blows to opponents groins) should not seek to do so in an unsportsmanlike way. They should also take advantage of a thinner Spurs rotation which is missing Tony Parker who is out with a ruptured quadriceps tendon.
If the Spurs are to win: they will need Kawhi Leonard to be healthy both for his contributions defensively and for his twenty plus points a game as well as his potential to draw Draymond Green as a defender which will let the other Spurs players breathe a little easier. LaMarcus Aldridge should look to exploit the Warriors lack of a true rim protector beyond Green to attack in the post and get some easy buckets. The biggest key will be the old chess master Gregg Popovich concocting one last strategic masterclass against a coach far his junior (Kerr actually played for Popovich from 1999 to 2001 and again for the 2002-2003 season).
Hopefully, this series turns out to be better than the otherwise boring first two rounds of the playoffs, because if not the only basketball for roughly the next two weeks that would be intriguing otherwise is the soundbites from the infinite well of entertainment known as LaVar Ball. Whoever wins this series 1) should do so in seven games (I am not confident one way or the other as to who the victor will be for a change0 and 2) should on paper beat the Cavaliers, Wizards, or Celtics in the NBA Finals.
