Sure, but one game doesn't make you historic defensively. GS was playing their 9th game in 14 days and were without three key rotation players. Wake me when they do it three more times. Also, some of the Spurstalk pundits like to talk about how the Warriors have been slipping defensively since the All Star break. Yet the Spurs vaunted offense, currently T-6th in the league could only muster 90 points on 41% shooting against a team that featured zero rim protection. If the Spurs expect to hold the Warriors to below 85 points for an entire series in order to win games, they're in for a serious reality check.
I thought the defense was fantastic. Sure the pace had an effect on how many shots the Warriors took, but at the same time, those shots they got to take were defended really well. It was amazing defense, combined with pace dictation that produced the 79pt output by the Warriors.
Great Defense...helped dictate the slow pace. In this case, it's not one or the other.
All the haters on social media and NBA analysts are all saying the same thing after the loss: the Spurs won't be able to play defense like that in a 7-game series.
A serious reality check is the fact that the Cavs have no shot at beating the Warriors either. The Cavs don't look much better on both ends of the court. If the spurs don't make the finals, fine. But everyone pretty much expects the Cavs to get beatdown by the warriors in the Finals. Cavs have no chance. I would even put the Raptors over the Cavs, at this point.
It's not really one game... as Mel pointed out above:
We basically locked up the best defensive rating for the season back in December. That's how good defense was to start the season.
It's true we had up and downs throughout the season, that's pretty normal, but this team really is capable of playing historical defense when they really execute. It doesn't guarantee anything, it just means that at their peak, they're historically good at it.
It's barely getting talked about, because the media, their fans and their closet fans, had their litany of excuses lined up and in a general sense, have already decided that the Spurs can't beat the Warriors. Even if they beat them in the playoffs, the narrative will be that the Warriors lost. Also, most people don't know much about team defense.
This game was a defensive masterpiece though. This was not a case of "they missed shots they normally make". Of course, there was some of that, just like there has been in every basketball game ever played, at any level, because that's inevitable. They flat out struggled to generate good looks and the only rhythm they had was thanks to shoddy third quarter officiating.
You may be right but I'm not convinced yet. Let's see how they do against OKC and GS on the road.
Just wanted to point out that it doesn't matter if the Clippers are reeling for that number to work. They've been reeling for quite some time, but, win or lose, most other teams can't hold them to those numbers.
You may be right but I'm not convinced yet. Let's see how they do against OKC and GS on the road.
And I should add, I did put the condition of "when they execute". They don't do it every game, and that's something they'll need to do consistently during the playoffs. There's also the fact that on the road, even if you execute, sometimes the whistle won't let you do it. But, there's no reason not to try, because the tools are there to be special on that end, and if they do manage to do it, they'll be hard to beat.
Elite Defense > Elite Offense
Defense wins championships. Everyone knows that...especially Spurs fans.
Unless someone gets injured or breaks down its possible. The guys doing the heavy lifting are young and have played in the postseason or are NBA Champions, who the heck they think they are talking about? Now if Tony has a malady then yea, that is too bad indeed. Really the team switched a lot, it wasn't taxing on a singular person exclusively. Now GSW is very capable of hitting tough shots and play with fire, them having a better games is a possibility, but defense has been our calling card all season and the guys seem very motivated.
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