Game 5, Spurs 109, Warriors 91. Spurs Take 3-2 Series Lead

I didn’t get the chance to post after Game 4, which was a bad shooting game for both teams.  As you know the Warriors won 97-87 in OT to tie the series at 2-2.   The Spurs shot a miserable .355 overall and just .259 from 3PT range.  Worse was the .560 free throw percentage.  

The Spurs started good, scoring 26 in the first quarter and I thought it was going to be Manu Ginobili’s game since he started hot, but he ended 8-18 for the game.  It went bad from there, scoring 19, 17, 22 in the final 3 quarters, ending with the 3 points in overtime.  

Sportscasters talked about Andrew Bogut being the difference collecting 18 rebounds.  Good number, but if the Spurs hit their shots (and they had open looks) there would be no rebounds to grab.  More troubling was his 5 offensive boards, which Harrison Barnes equaled with 5 o-boards of his own.  Barnes was the difference maker, scoring 26 points and collecting 10 rbs.  Barnes averaged just 13.1 during the season.

Warriors really didn’t shoot too much better as a team (.380), but went .389 from 3PT range and .800 from the free throw line…that’s the ball game right there.  

On to Game 5…I really can’t figure anything about this series as it changes so much from game-to-game.  Spurs got hot in this one…home sweet home I guess.  .519 from the field and .476 from 3PT range.  Kawhi Leonard went 7-8 (17 pts), his 2^nd super-efficient game (I wish Popovich would run more plays for him).  Although Tim Duncan started hot (3-4), he ended the game 5-13.   Tony Parker got back to being Tony Parker(9-16, 25 PTS, 10 AST).  I said it in my last post, on offense, everything is easier for everyone else when Parker has his game going.  Pop had a little wrinkle for this game with Parker giving up the ball early, and then running off several screens before getting the ball back to run the offense.  It gave Parker more room to operate. 

You can say that the Warriors shot poorly, but the .467 they shot for the game is better than their .458 season average.  The Spurs (.481 season ave) should out shoot the Warriors…maybe not by this much, but they still should out shoot them.  The Spurs weakness is the boards and rebounds is where the Warriors have the advantage.  It makes sense that if the Spurs hit a high percentage they lessen that advantage…then it comes down to offensive rebounds.  Spurs held their own in Game 5, grabbing 8 O-RBS to the Warriors 7.  

Barnes was big for the Warriors again.  He has been impressive in the last two games.  In Game 5, he led the Warriors in scoring with 25 (10-18 shooting).  Barnes has that mid-range jumper that has become a lost art in the NBA.  His post-up game is good and he took advantage every time the Spurs switched on a screen, posting up the smaller player. 

 I’m beginning to think that Leonard and Danny Green are the keys to this series…both on offense and defense.  While Steph Curry and Clay Thompson had off nights, I think Leonard and Green had something to do with it.  On the offensive end, when they are hitting threes, it spreads the Warriors defense and opens things up for Parker.  Leonard even did a Barnes imitation a few times in Game 5, posting up Curry when they switched on the pick-n-roll with Parker.  I've seen Leonard post up players bigger than him...posting up on a guard is easy buckets. 


So does this end in Oakland in Game 6 or are we back in San Antonio for Game 7?  The previous five games has showed us that the Warriors have bounced back every time the Spurs have gone up a game....I just have a gut feeling that the Spurs end this tomorrow.


Warriors know they have to win, but even if they do, have to go back to SA and win again.  Pressure is on for them, Curry isn't 100%, and they aren't really as good a shooting team as this series and the media are presenting them to be.  Jarrett Jack (.507 in this series, .452 for the season), Bogut (.594 - .451), and Draymond Green (.453 - .327) are shooting way over their season averages.  In fact, everyone on the Warriors but Curry and Carl Laundry are shooting over their season averages in this series (also David Lee, but he's playing limited minutes).  Meanwhile, for the players getting double-digit minutes for the Spurs, only Leonard is shooting better for the series (.570) than his season average (.494).

The averages have to catch up sometime...might as well be Game 6.