When the Golden State Warriors come to town, the San Antonio Spurs know they're' in for a fast paced game and San Antonio wouldn't want to have it any other way.
These aren't your "boring" Spurs that liked to slow the game down, this balanced mix of veterans and youth has the team thinking a run and gun pace while still defending.
It's an incredibly hard task to have those two mixed in successfully as more possessions mean more points, but the Spurs are defending well as they are 11th in the league in points allowed (96.4ppg) while being third in points forced (104.8ppg).
Those numbers are probably going to be eclipsed in this game and you won't see Tony Parker complaining about it. When discussing the upcoming game with Golden State, he explained how he's looking forward to it.
"It's going to be very fast-paced, which I like. It will be a fun game."
The Warriors are a tough team to cover with their smaller lineups and athletic big men. The Spurs will have to use a few different lineups to try to counter what they're up against while trying to get an advantage on the offensive end. With Manu Ginobili out, there will have to be a few Spurs who will have to try to duplicate what he can bring on the court and that'll also mean that Parker will have to shoulder some of the burden of scoring more than he usually does.
Parker did reveal a strategy San Antonio has to use against the Warriors: 36 year old Tim Duncan who's been playing 10 years younger as of late.
"On offense, we need to go to Timmy (Duncan) inside and then get shots for everyone else."
Duncan may not be as young as he used to be, but he's playing like one of the top 3 big men in the league right now. His 17ppg, 9rpg, and 2bpg are extremely impressive for someone who was supposed to be fading into retirement, but he still proves to be "Old Faithful" when the Spurs need him. Parker knows Duncan's smarts and his fresh legs will make a different against a Warriors team that's shorter and not as aggressive on the defensive end.
The key advantage for the Spurs with Duncan is he would prefer running against a smaller team since it would be less wear on his legs for the game. Duncan's quickness this year on the defensive end will be key and his contributions on both ends will be visible against Golden State. While Parker is hoping to have a fun time against a fast team, he knows there's one key objective they have to keep front and center if the Spurs want to win the game.
"We have to make sure we stop them and play good defense," said Parker
If the Spurs can run and defend a quick Warriors team, Tony Parker might be having more fun than he thought tonight.