NBA Match Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors
Only a week after their first meeting, the San Antonio Spurs host the Golden State Warriors at the AT&T Center on Wednesday night for their second of four matchups this season.
Topping the Western Conference Standings this season, the Spurs are having one of their best seasons so far. If their 8-1 record on road was not impressive enough, the Spurs have an outstanding 9-2 mark at home.
Their longest winning streak at home came in November when the Spurs won six straight games over a span of four weeks. The blip in their home record came at the end of last month when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks by a margin
of nine points. Determined to turn things around, the Spurs again managed a two game winning streak last week looking to extend it in the three home matches this week.
Having suffered only one defeat the Spurs finished last week with a 3-1 mark. Meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers in an away match last Wednesday, the Spurs’ perfect road score for the season was tainted. Having enjoyed eight
straight victories on the road, the Spurs were the only team in both conferences to go without road losses. This perfect running was however cut short by the Clippers, when they thrashed the Spurs at the Staples Centre.
However, in the spirit of turning things around, the Spurs bounced back after their road loss to win two straight home matches. Their recent victory came on Sunday when they hosted the New Orleans Hornets for the second time this
season.
Although their point guard Tony Parker scored only 19 points, he was able to lead seven of his teammates in double figures against the Hornets. The team’s excellent performance left Coach Gregg Popovich extremely pleased with himself.
Talking about the game he said, "I thought that our team defence was very good from the beginning to the end of the game. It's one of the few games this year we've had really consistent defence for the whole 48 minutes. That was the best part of the game
to me, because to be an elite team we've got to do that more and more."
Next to their impressive season, the Warriors’ run so far pales in comparison. With more losses than wins this season, the Warriors are in bottom four in the conference standings. Standing at a disappointing 3-9 on road this season,
the Warriors’ total an 8-13 mark this season.
Finishing last week with no wins, the Warriors registered an embarrassing 0-3 mark for the week. Their latest defeat came last night when they visited the Dallas Mavericks for the first match this week. Losing 100-105 to the Mavericks,
the Warriors registered their defeat in their seventh of the last eight road matches.
Their defeat against the Mavericks puts them on a two game losing streak. Since their visit to the Spurs is the last of their short road trip this week, the Warriors’ are hoping for a better finish to what has clearly been a disappointing
run so far.
In their latest defeat, the Warriors tried to turn things around coming back from a 23-point deficit before finally succumbing to a 5-point defeat. Warriors’ coach, Keith Smart believes his team has what it takes to win matches.
Talking to the press after the Mavericks’ matchup, he said, "We're right there with a lot of the top level teams. We'll turn the corner if we play with this kind of effort."
Although the Warriors’ are ready to take on the Spurs tonight, they do suffer from a psychological c*m statistical handicap. The Spurs currently lead the head to head score 1-0 this season bringing their total win count against
the Warriors to twenty-four straight wins. Armed with the statistics and the talent, the Spurs look to extend this lead tonight. The Warriors should be ready for a tough match and be willing to bring their A-game if they are to have any hopes of defeating
the conference toppers.
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