Spurs vs Warriors NBA Handicapping
Rondo. Rose. Paul.
Why do we always forget/ignore/omit Tony Parker from the list when we talk about the best point guards in the NBA?
San Antonio Spurs (44-12) at Golden State Warriors (31-23)
Friday, Feb. 22
Oracle Arena, Oakland
10:30 p.m. EST
Spread – Spurs -3 at Bovada
O/U – 210
Like his team, Parker is ruthlessly fundamental and efficient, often carving you up and serving you for dinner before you have any idea you were even in the oven.
On Thursday night he bended, folded and mutilated Chris Paul and the Clippers. In a mano-a-mano matchup that was mercifully called off after three periods because San Antonio was so far ahead, Parker outscored Paul (31-4), out-assisted Paul (7-3), had 12 field goals to Paul’s 1, and for good measure went 7 for 7 from the foul line.
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“He was unbelievable,” Tim Duncan said in the locker room as Parker was counting Paul’s lunch money. “He just continued to attack, continued to be aggressive, making plays left and right. It was fun to watch. It was fun to watch the whole team clicking like that and playing such a good game, start to finish.”
Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili all played short minutes (none more than 28), which should serve them in good stead tonight when they play the second of a back-to-back set.
In fact, the Spurs are coasting with five wins in a row during a 9-game road trip that had given the Thunder and Clippers some (turns out false) hope that SA would come back to the pack a bit in the Western Conference.
Just the opposite. San Antonio has fattened its lead in the West, and now owns a four-game edge over Oklahoma City in what remains of the race for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Clippers, the only other team with a chance to catch the Spurs, have fallen 6 games back in the loss column. Looks like someone will have to win at least one playoff game in San Antonio to keep the Spurs out of The Finals. [ad-6571516]
Meanwhile, the Warriors were able to end a deflating 6-game losing streak on Wednesday by beating the Suns, but it came at a price. Coach Mark Jackson has had to shorten his rotation, and Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry both played more than 40 minutes against the Suns. Only foul trouble kept David Lee under 40.
It’s hard to see GS not slipping even further – after the Spurs game they embark on a 5-game Eastern swing that includes a nasty Indiana/New York back-to-back.
Free NBA PICK – It’s been a full month since the Warriors have been able to beat a team with a winning record (OKC Jan. 23), and you have to wonder if GS has enough tread on the tires to hang on to a playoff spot.
They were beaten soundly five times in that recent 6-game skid that wrapped around the All-Star break, and GS has fallen to 26th in the league defensively.
No reason the rested Spurs shouldn’t be able to cover 3 on the road.
