Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors – Game #15
Lonnie Walker IV and Dejounte Murray will look to slow Stephen Curry (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will look to continue their strong play on the road tonight when they face the Golden State Warriors. The Spurs, who have an overall record of 8-6, are 6-2 on the road. They’ve won five of their last six games away from the AT&T Center.
The Spurs are slightly ahead of the Warriors in the standings, who enter tonight’s affair with a record of 7-6. Unlike San Antonio, Golden State has been slightly better at home (4-3) than they have been on the road (3-3)
The Spurs Face Stephen Curry Once More
Due to injuries and the pandemic, the Spurs haven’t gone up against Stephen Curry since March 18th, 2019. In that game, Curry had 25 points and eight assists but San Antonio notched a 111-105 victory. The Spurs were led by DeMar DeRozan (26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists), LaMarcus Aldridge (23 points and 13 rebounds) and Rudy Gay (17 points and six rebounds).
This season, Curry is averaging 28.2 points for the Warriors — his highest average since he scored 30.1 points per game back in the 2015-16 season. However, with Klay Thompson out for the season with an achilles injury and Kevin Durant now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State has gone from championship favorite the last time the Spurs played them to a darkhorse team looking to sneak into the postseason in a stacked Western Conference.
Balance is Key for the Silver and Black
This season, the Spurs have seven players averaging more than ten points per game.
DeMar DeRozan: 20.7 points
Dejounte Murray: 15.4 points
Patty Mills: 14.7 points
LaMarcus Aldridge: 14.4 points
Keldon Johnson: 14.2 points
Lonnie Walker IV: 13.1 points
Rudy Gay: 11.4 points
That’s impressive, especially because San Antonio has been without Derrick White for all but 23 minutes this season. White, who averaged 11.3 points per game last season, is arguably the team’s best passer.
Spurs at Warriors: How the Spurs Can Win
If the Spurs want to extend their road winning ways, they will need to slow down Stephen Curry. This season, the Spurs have rotated defenders when going up against superstars — and that’s likely to be the case again tonight.
Last game, a 125-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Dejounte Murray was the main defender against Damian Lillard in the first half. In the second half, that job was given to Lonnie Walker IV. Patty Mills also spent time on Lillard. Expect a similar strategy this evening versus Curry with the hopes of at least tiring him out by the fourth quarter.