NBA Games of the Week: The best playing the best
By Chazz Scogna
Saturday, Feb. 10: San Antonio at Golden State, 8:30 p.m. ET
It’s truly, truly amazing all the things that have to happen for the Warriors to look somewhat fallible. For one, have them catch an opponent’s best shot for 50 straight games. Then have their frontcourt depth zapped by injury. Then have them play three games in five days, with two of them coming on back-to-backs and on the road. Then, on the first half of the back-to-back, make sure the game runs long enough — and have them traverse time zones so they lose more time — that they don’t get to their next city until 4 a.m. Then have the Warriors play about 15 hours later against a team who is 10th in offensive rating with a scorer who plays some of his best games against them and a big man who can help bully the zapped frontcourt.
Accord to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, Saturday against Denver was the first time the Warriors lost a game heading into the the fourth quarter with a lead since October. They also allowed 38 points, the most allow in the fourth since Mar. 2016. Steve Kerr said his team was “mentally fried.” That sounds about right.
As for the Spurs, they just keep chugging along on the road to another 50-win season, though they haven’t had their best player for much of the season.
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What’s strange about the Spurs is, for the first time in what feels like ever, there may be a strain in the Spurs organization. The Gregg Popovich-LaMarcus Aldridge clash was well-documented and resolved, but it’s existence seemed unimaginable on a team like the Spurs. Couple that with Kawhi Leonard’s potential rumblings, and it’s amazing that, a franchise who’s been led by a player like Tim Duncan all these years, could make us think they were immune to the same issues that plague all teams with disgruntled stars. If anything, it adds to the lore of Duncan and the stability he brought to that franchise. It’s not a black eye to the Spurs or Leonard or Pop or Aldridge that this could be happening. It’s just how it goes.