Warriors vs. Spurs Nov. 23 7:30 on FSN

Notes:

Ike Diogu could be seeing his first action tonight, but is a game-time decision. Mickael Pietrus is out for 3-4 weeks depending on severity of knee sprain.

Michael Finley might be in tonight (groin). Brent Barry is out with a bad back.

Other Comments:

Nothing much to say but I hope the W's pull up an upset against an inside/outside, half-court/open court championship team that can play both ends of the court very well.

Tim Duncan sets the tone offensively and defensively and provides presence in the post. Bruce Bowen will be a factor on the hot hand. Ginobilli is hard to contain and is a very good defender and clutch performer. Tony Parker is hard to contain going to the rack and is a pesky defender. Rasho Nesterovic and Tim Duncan make it hard to finish inside because of their shotblock presence. The bench includes a talented and clutch bunch of vets like Nick Van Exel, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, and has a lot of foreign talent like Beno Udrih, Frabricio Oberto. They've also got Nazr (Nozzy) Mohammed who is strong on the boards.

The W's are facing a team that can play any style of ball with depth and talent. Tony Parker might be too quick to contain, so we might opt for an Aaron Miles/Monta Ellis for defensive purposes and make Fisher or Baron Davis the shooting guard. Cheaney/Richardson could move to small forward but that would leave Ginobilli free and easy to shoot over much shorter players, unless the small player were to guard Bruce Bowen. Chances are, they might just throw in Finley for more offense at SF or match by throwing in Nick Van Exel at shooting guard and bump Ginobbilli up to SF... The Spurs' depth is going to be a nightmare if their starting 5 doesn't finish us off first...

The only weakness the Spurs have is they have streaky shooters, which was one of the reasons why they went out and got Brent Barry at pg/sg.

Let's hope that Baron Davis doesn't get injured because I can see him doing what other Warriors have trouble doing, which is attacking the rim.

Post all your comments about the Spurs game here.

 

Well, the Spurs are not invincible. They CAN lose games. Why not lose one of them to us at home? The only hope we have is if our shooters are hot and their shooters are cold...

 

Improbable but, how about avenging the double OT loss last year?

 

Don't be suprised if our halfcourt game breaks down and we start running and stop playing defense. Zarko could see some time playing center and hopefully opening up the offense will allow him to play his high % game from the high post. He's great from that 20 foot spot at the top of the key where he can pump fake and dribble around a defender, or he can shoot the long 2, or he can dish to a cutter. Zarko is high basketball I.Q. with excellent passing ability so it makes sense for him to run the offense through him as a high post center, even though defensively and on the glass he's a chump. He makes up for with his length, big hands, and athleticism though.

 

Wow, Pietrus is out 3-4 weeks?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kensaku:</div><div class="quote_post">Wow, Pietrus is out 3-4 weeks?</div>
Mercury News reports it's 4, but Pietrus thinks it's sooner than that.

Most knee sprains take about a month, I think. So Pietrus is being optimistic or he knows his own body or he's a doctor.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, the Spurs are not invincible. They CAN lose games. Why not lose one of them to us at home? The only hope we have is if our shooters are hot and their shooters are cold...</div>

We are such a streaky team though. The team they lost to was the Dallas Mavericks and the Washington Wizards. The Wizards played some great ball early on, and the Mavs are still playing great ball. We haven't been able to beat the Mavs yet all year last year. Hopefully Duncan plays like he did during that Wizards game, but I don't think it was Duncan, Ginobili or whoever that was the Warriors' bane. It has always been Tony Parker. He just is a hard little bastard to contain. 6'2, 177 lbs, but can finish in the lane like a much bigger player. I hope we stick Ellis or Miles on him because there isn't a guy that can stay in front of him. He's like A.I., TJ Ford, Telfair, Speedy Claxton, etc.

 

I saw Parker at the end of last year (Eva Longoria was right down from me, pretty sweet) and he has the whole package. He's quick to the lane, has a pretty floater and can stick the J with regularity now.

The Warriors just have to score to win. The Spurs win because they play great team D. They can score with Ginobili, Parker and Duncan but if you can beat their D they can be had.

Our best hope is that Baron, JRich and Murphy (on the wing, not inside) have big games and Dunleavy is aggressive and comes in with 15-20. Plus, maybe Zarko and Fish can outscore their bench. At least we are at home.

 

this is the statement win we've sorely been lacking this year. Goin to the game so I'm hyped up.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting jzblaze:</div><div class="quote_post">this is the statement win we've sorely been lacking this year. Goin to the game so I'm hyped up.</div>

Wouldn't it be nice?

Not only could it be a statement for our team, but it could be a statement for our players like Baron and Jrich for their belonging on the All Star team this year...

 

The key to this game, and pretty much the key to any game the Warriors play this year, is how they shoot from the 3. They've become the Celtics, circa 2001, a total "live by the 3, die by the 3" type of team.

San Antonio is pretty good at defending the 3 (12th in the league in 3P% defense at .321%). That doesn't really matter though, because the Warriors have so many 3 point threats that no defense can shut them all down. It's not like Pop can send Bowen out to shut down Richardson or Davis and that's it. When the W's go small with Davis, Fisher, Richardson, Dunleavy, and Murphy, all 5 guys are 3 point threats. So it's really up to the Warriors to make shots or not.

But...

...San Antonio is one of the best rebounding teams in the league with a +3.5 rebounding margin and the Warriors are one of the worst at -4.6, so the Warriors aren't going to get many offensive rebounds. If the Warriors aren't making shots, or are just average, those long rebounds on missed 3's are going to turn into a lot of fast break points by Parker and Ginobili.

I dunno, I think we could analyze it all we want, but what it all boils down to is that the Spurs are the better team. But when the Warriors are hitting from 3, they can beat any team in the league on most nights. If the Warriors have a night like they did in Milwaukee, they're going to win. If they don't, the win one, lose one, trend will continue.

 

yeah beware Van Exel, i'm sure he'd looove to have a big game. Hopefully Eva will be there jumpin around.

 

Man, I can just see it.

Monty: Welcome back and enjoy your first game Ike. Now, go and defend that Duncan guy.

Diogu: Ah man. Why couldn't I come back against Nets? Even Murphy dominated inside against them.

Yeah, like WT said, 3 pts shooting has to save us. I don't expect us to win, but since we live and die by 3 pts, maybe sizzling hot 3 pts can save us against world champ...

 

I thought we were playing against Spurs. It seems like last year's Suns are playing offense for them. At least, we are not getting shut out in our own offense...

 

Game over guys, only a true Warrior fan will concede at this moment.

 

We are so getting out rebounded...

21-7