To get ready for tonight’s regular season Spurs opener, I talked to Poor Man’s Commish, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Let’s Go Warriors blog.
I asked him a few questions as a preview of tonight’s matchup.
How is this team coming together after all of the roster changes over the offseason?
There are still some chemistry issues such as Steph throwing a pass to KD expecting him to zig when he zagged but they’re not major issues.
The Warriors are currently favored by nine points. With Danny Green out, do you think the Warriors have a chance of extending that more with one of their better defenders injured?
It’s really hard to measure the games by points favored, but with Danny Green one would think that there is one less close out expert out there on the floor. Depends who the Spurs have in mind to replace Green.
Who wins the Spurs – Warriors game opening night?
— Paul Garcia (@PaulGarciaNBA) October 23, 2016
What are you expecting to see from this Spurs team that also looks plenty different from last year, and what should Spurs fans expect from the Warriors that they may not see coming?
Let’s be honest. Warriors fans aren’t really thinking about the Spurs at all going into this. Duncan may no longer be there but things might not change much except from a defensive standpoint. But against the Warriors, Duncan probably wouldn’t have made that much a difference defensively. So we’re not quite sure what to expect, although an outburst by Kawhi wouldn’t be a surprise. On the flipside, the Spurs might be surprised by the development of young bench players Patrick McCaw and Kevon Looney when the bench units are in.
Is there one aspect of the Warriors (or a strength the Spurs have) you think the Spurs could specifically have success at attacking that could have an impact on the game?
LMA! But he better be on so that the Warriors are taking the ball out of the baseline on a made basket rather than in transition on a rebound. He would need to dominate. Also Kawhi shutting down KD somehow would be somewhat disruptive.
What are you most looking forward to seeing tonight?
If there’s continued incremental improvement on chemistry such as limiting turnovers, plus if the Spurs can limit the explosive Warriors plays that make Oracle go crazy.
Who comes away with the win tonight and by how much?
My success rate with predictions is about as good as my ability to pick the fastest line at the grocery (i.e. not great) but I’ll say Warriors by double digits because I’m not sure the Spurs will be able to limit those explosive plays.
Thanks to Poor Man’s Commish for participating in the Q&A. Make sure to follow him on Twitter and visit his site for more Warriors coverage.
