Familiar foes set to face off in Western finals
San Antonio coach warms up for Game 1 today against Golden State with mind games
OAKLAND, Calif. — Leave it to Gregg Popovich to play mind games ahead of the Western Conference finals.
So, what will he do to prepare his defence to stop the high-flying Warriors?
“Pray,” Popovich quipped Saturday before the Spurs departed Texas for the Bay Area. Stephen Curry could only chuckle at that one. “Gamesmanship,” Golden State’s Curry said, “I love it.”
Popovich doesn’t have his old coaching pals Mike Brown or Steve Kerr fooled. Brown spent part of last season working unofficially alongside Popovich and is now coaching Golden State in place of the ailing Kerr, who attended practice Saturday for the first time in more than three weeks as he recovers from his latest procedure to repair a spinal fluid leak that left him with debilitating symptoms.
“That’s Pop,” Brown said with a laugh. “He’s doing a lot more than praying right now. He knows what he wants to do against us.”
As dominant as the Warriors have been sweeping through the first two rounds of the playoffs, praying might not hurt either.
Kevin Durant doesn’t care who is on the court for San Antonio — he knows Popovich will have his group ready, complete with a few surprises in the playbook.
Tony Parker is out the rest of the way with a leg injury. Kawhi Leonard is not 100 per cent because of a tender ankle. Tim Duncan is long retired.
“They’re a machine,” Durant said. “They just keep going at you, no matter who’s on the court. They run their system. Similar to us, I feel like, where a guy goes down, somebody steps in.”
San Antonio thoroughly dismantled James Harden and Houston 114-75 in Game 6 on Thursday behind LaMarcus Aldridge’s 34 points and 12 rebounds to close out the series.
Golden State has barely been tested this postseason, going 8-0 against Portland and Utah.
Sure, it was nearly seven months ago when the Spurs came to town and thoroughly spoiled Durant’s much-hyped debut — a 129-100 whipping in the season opener — with the Warriors after his departure from Oklahoma City.
“That seems like years ago to be honest,” KD said. “Both teams have gotten so much better.”
Here are a few things to watch when the series opens today at Oracle Arena: KAWHI’S TOUGHNESS Leonard had just a few days to get healthy after hurting his ankle in Game 5 against Houston on Tuesday.
Popovich said he went through a full practice Saturday.
“He’s a soldier, man. He’s a fighter,” Durant said. “If he’s out there, he’s not going to make any excuses.” POP’S DISCIPLE Out of work last season, Brown spent much of his time attending Spurs meetings, practices and games in an informal capacity with his good friend Popovich. Kerr then hired Brown as an assistant last summer.
“Mike who? I don’t know a Mike Brown,” Popovich joked. “Mikey’s done a great job. Steve was really smart in hiring him. He didn’t hire him for this reason, Steve didn’t want this to happen, but they know each other well. Mike knows the program well. Steve is right there with him, in his ear. They’re doing things the way they’ve done it for awhile now under Steve’s leadership.” MORE REST The Warriors again are well-rested and healthy for the next round of their championship chase.
Durant, for one, feels great after dealing with a left-knee injury that cost him 19 games late in the regular season then a nagging left calf during the Portland series.
San Antonio will have to try to keep pace from the tip.
“We didn’t have much time to practise. It was a long series, an exhausting series, and now we play at noon, but we’re here,” Manu Ginobili said. “We’ve got to prepare as fast as we can.”