NBA Playoffs 2017: Warriors vs. Spurs: 3 takeaways from Game 1
The Golden State Warriors completed a huge comeback against the San Antonio Spurs for the Game 1 victory in the Western Conference Finals.
It was just how the Warriors drew it up before the game. Get down by a lot early at home against the Spurs and mount a huge comeback on the shoulders of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. It was a tale of two halves in this game. The first half featured the Spurs’ indefensible system, with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way to a 62-42 lead after two quarters.
The second half was all about the Dubs, as Curry rained threes all over San Antonio and brought the Warriors back into the game. Durant rode shotgun, being the Robin to Curry’s Batman, as they led this comeback win. Leonard came into the game battling an ankle injury and in the third quarter, he re-aggravated it on a few different plays. Leonard tried to play, but eventually returned to locker room and never returned.
It was 78-55 at the time Leonard went into the locker room and the Warriors knew it was their chance to get back in this game. By the time the third quarter had ended, Golden State was only down 9. San Antonio was struggling to create offense without Leonard and the Warriors’ ball pressure was downright scary.
It came down to the wire, but as soon as the Warriors closed the third quarter only down by single digits, most fans knew that the Dubs would likely win this game. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors were getting easy baskets with Durant and Curry, while the Spurs were struggling to score with Aldridge and Dejounte Murray.
Curry had one of his breakout games, scoring 40 points on 14-for-26 shooting, with 7-for-16 shooting from three-point range. Durant was a perfect sidekick, adding in 34 points on 11-for-21 shooting. On the other bench, Leonard was efficient, scoring 26 points in 23 minutes on only 13 shots. Aldridge was effective, scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
The Warriors take Game 1 after playing an ugly first half. Below is the box score from Game 1and three takeaways.
3 Takeaways
This series will come down to Kawhi Leonard’s ankle. The Spurs were absolutely rolling in the first 29 minutes of the game with a healthy Leonard. San Antonio was playing typical San Antonio basketball, with good ball movement and shooting. They were up 23 points, 78-55, and looked like they were on their way to a miraculous Game 1 victory. Leonard went down after Zaza Pachulia landed on his ankle and didn’t return to the game.
The Spurs looked like deer caught in the headlights after the Klaw left the game. They were struggling to get offense going and often resorted to late shot-clock heaves at the rim to get baskets. This is an obvious takeaway, but the Spurs are done without Kawhi Leonard. It’ll be tough to win this series with Leonard, but if he doesn’t go, they’ll likely get swept.
San Antonio has Jonathon Simmons and Kyle Anderson to step in, but those guys won’t replace the offensive and defensive mastery that Leonard possesses. For the Spurs’ sake in this series, they better hope they can get Leonard healthy for Game 2.
Someone please find Klay Thompson. File a missing person’s report for Klay Thompson, because he wasn’t at Oracle Arena for Game 1. It was a concern heading into the series, as the Splash Brother hasn’t been performing up to his standard. It wasn’t any different in Game 1 against the Spurs.
Thompson finished the game with six points on 2-for-11 shooting, going 1-for-3 from three-point range. The biggest cause for concern isn’t even the fact that Thompson missed so many shots, it’s that he’s hesitant to take 3s. Look at this game, he only attempted three 3s, when he passed up on open shots in numerous occasions.
The Warriors will need Klay Thompson to be more effective the rest of this series if they want to continue to be successful. He’s an integral part of their offense and so far, he’s been relegated to “2016 NBA Finals Harrison Barnes” status.
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Playoff Steph has arrived. So far in the playoffs, Stephen Curry has been solid. He’s been effective shooting and contributing to victories, but he hasn’t been Chef Curry. In past years, Curry would have a signature moment in the playoffs to show he can hang with the best of ’em in the NBA. Today was that game for Curry. In that third quarter, Curry was raining on the Spurs parade, shooting 3s from all over on the court and bringing the Warriors back into the game. He finished with 40 points and seven three-pointers in the game.
When Curry’s at home, pointing to the crowd and celebrating, you know that Chef Curry is cooking. He constantly got the big man on the switch and Aldridge or Gasol couldn’t stay with Curry as he drove them crazy with his handles. This was an effective game plan for the Warriors and expect it to continue the rest of this series.
The Warriors climbed back in Game 1 and completed the third-biggest comeback in NBA Playoffs history. Game 2 will be on Tuesday night back at Oracle, with the Spurs look to avenge this heartbreaking loss.