This game is bound to be a blast, tbh. Golden State is a really fun team to watch this season, as are the Spurs, both teams with their mix of stars (or quasi-stars in our case
) and young guys that are improving on the go. I'll predict the Spurs to win by about 7 points.
Things to look forward to:
- Can the Spurs contain Steph? He'll probably be mainly guarded by Dejounte, but I don't like DJ in this matchup, since he's much better at playing passing lanes or disrupting offenses than he is chasing someone like Steph through screens and around the court. This would be an EXCELLENT time to really throw Vassell into the fire - he's great at slipping through screens and has the speed that is required to keep up with Curry. We'll see what Pop does.
- A real test for Keldon. He'll probably be matched up against Draymond tonight, and Green, while a s of himself on offense, is still a very productive and savvy defensive presence, and he'll give Keldon trouble. Can our star-in-the-making power (and finesse) through the challenge and score at will? Or will he be looking at a 2-7 FG outing?
- Wiseman. He's young, raw, and god damned good. He'll be trouble for LMA, for sure, and also a problem for our guards on defense with his length and athleticism. He's also a good rebounder, so the Spurs will have to rely on another beasting night from Poeltl if they want to win the battle on the glass. Knowing GS, long rebounds instead of short ones at the rim will be key; the Spurs haven't shown much proficiency in learning to capitalize on these long rebounds so far, so I'm not too hopeful on this end. We'll see.
Lastly, I want to rant a little: this game starts way too late! Bill will laugh at me, I know he has it worse, but seriously, it'll be 12PM where I live (and tipoff is never on time, either). Folks gotta sleep, SMH. Go Spurs Go!