Today's games illustrate the Spurs' biggest advantage over the Warriors

[Ditty]

That's why Curry is an "MVP" candidate. When Tim was winning MVP's it was tough for us to win any game ourselves. Warriors are going to be screwed if Curry, even Thompson isn't 100% by playoff time.

[TheGreatYacht]

Of course Kiwi s turn this into a Kiwi is the team, not Tim thread lol.

Fact is... Spurs depth > Gay Area worriors depth

Also... Spurs defense > Gay Area worriers defense

And... Spurs have LMA as a go to guy, GS has Gay Thompson and Brandon Bass Jr

[spursistan]

injuries are catching up with the Dubs..Kerr will be soon back on the bench and he will end the nonsense of trying to catch reg season records..their season hinges on Curry ankles..

[YGWHI]

And... Spurs have LMA as a go to guy, GS has Gay Thompson and Brandon Bass Jr

So the Spurs without Kawhi have LMA as a go to guy and GSW without Curry have Thompson and Brandon Bass, but how do you think that we have the advantage since you say Thompson is a lot better player than Kawhi in playoffs...

[TheGreatYacht]

So the Spurs without Kawhi have LMA as a go to guy and GSW without Curry have Thompson and Brandon Bass, but how do you think that we have the advantage since you say Thompson is a lot better player than Kawhi in playoffs...

Because I'll take my chances feeding LMA the ball against their midget lineup over "I'm the best SG in the league but shoot 4-15 without an alpha" Thompson

Lets not compare grapes and raisins, at the end of the day they are basically the same

[YGWHI]

they are basically the same

So you're saying that Kawhi and Klay are basically the same player.... Nice.

[SpursBig3s]

the Warriors tbh. Cry babies. "Im NBA's best SG", proceed to fold when he had the best oportunity to back that up.

THIS. What a completely asinine statement

[YGWHI]

At least this time it's not "Klay is a way better than Kawhi" now are almost the same...

[Spurtacular]

They were also missing Barnes, Ezel and Barbosa just to be fair.

The only Barnes they need is the one named Matt to be fair.

[Emperor]

The only Barnes they need is the one named Matt to be fair.

[GSH]

GS won't be playing with the Steph we know against the Spurs as long as Kawhi/Green aren't in foul trouble.

That's a damn good observation - I hope. Here's something I think people should consider:

Compare this year's Spurs team exactly as it is vs. this year's Warriors team exactly as it is... EXCEPT include the 2012-13 Steph Curry.

I think that's fair, since it was his fourth year in the league, so he was past his rookie contract, and he was healthy that season. If you look at it honestly, there's no chance that the Warriors would be 29-2 right now. Curry's PER-36 scoring is 31.6 points this year vs 21.6 points in '12-'13. His TS% this year is .680 vs .589 in '12-'13. He's playing fewer minutes per game, which is keeping him fresher for the end of games when he's so deadly.

Bottom line, Curry is playing at a ridiculously high level. It's his performance that has put them over the hump in so many games this season. The Spurs don't have to totally shut him down. If they can just make him less efficient, more like the Curry of just a few seasons ago. If they can shut down and outscore the GS bench, and force GS to keep Curry on the floor more, so that he doesn't have his legs as much at the end. That could be enough to make the difference.

The 2012-2013 Steph Curry was pretty damned good. But with that Steph Curry, this Spurs team can get past the Warriors I think. I don't know if that can be done. But the Spurs are the only team with the defense that might be able to do it.

[rasuo214]

I think the biggest difference was the Spurs played the Suns and the Warriors played the Mavs. The Spurs probably beat the Suns even if they benched the entire SL the Suns are basically the Sixers of the west right now.

But that right there also illustrates the biggest advantage for the Spurs, the Spurs can win a game with their bench and 3rd string guys (Sixers game by 50 without Tim, Kawhi and Manu), I don't think the Warriors could.

[Horry Hipcheck]

The Spurs played against Phoenix without Tim Duncan, their franchise player, and proceeded to annihilate the Suns by 33.

The Warriors, on the other hand, played in Dallas without Steph Curry, their franchise player, and proceeded to get annihilated by the Mavs by 23.

The Spurs' biggest advantage over the Warriors is that they are much less reliant on a single player. If one Spurs player is unable to go due to injury, they have enough depth and talent across the board to still win games by a considerable margin. By contrast, if Curry gets injured, the Warriors are toast.

To be fair, Tim is not the centerpiece of the O like Curry is up in Oakland. If this were any time in the early 2000s, and Tim got injured or sat out against a playoff team, you can bet your ass the Spurs got walloped. I'll agree that Curry is more valuable to the Dubs than any single Spur is to their team, but losing Leonard would give the Spurs some issues to work past.

[SouthernFried]

Chicago couldn't have won as much without Jordan either. Miami without LeBron. Spurs without Duncan. etc...etc...

Can the Spurs beat GS WITH Curry? That's what I'm interested in seeing.

[Perry Mason]

To the terrible posters who laugh at the comparison, it isn't perfect by any means, but I laugh at your downplaying of Duncan. Your precious advanced stats rate him as the leagues best defender and one of the top 10 "impact" players in the league.

Kawhi has more regular season impact, but it's much closer to Duncan than you think. And when it comes to playoff leadership, see the 2015 Clippers series for our best and most consistent player.

[z0sa]

Spurs in 2003 would be ed with Tim Duncan just like the Warriors of this season.

[ceperez]

D-West

Correct. He's the designated hip checker. He's review this film now:

[wildbill2u]

Long way to go for both teams to be worried about who's going to have an advantage IF (not when) they meet in the WCF.

[spursistan]

looking back, Spurs winning the ship 2014 in dominating fashion without having a top 10 player in their roster will remain one of the greatest feat in NBA history..i think the legaacy of that run will be more cemented in few years to come..

[Thomas82]

The Spurs played against Phoenix without Tim Duncan, their franchise player, and proceeded to annihilate the Suns by 33.

The Warriors, on the other hand, played in Dallas without Steph Curry, their franchise player, and proceeded to get annihilated by the Mavs by 23.

The Spurs' biggest advantage over the Warriors is that they are much less reliant on a single player. If one Spurs player is unable to go due to injury, they have enough depth and talent across the board to still win games by a considerable margin. By contrast, if Curry gets injured, the Warriors are toast.

+1

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Spurs are still completely clueless in the clutch. Warriors know who they're going to every time down the stretch.