West’s passing Golden
David West checks in to start the second quarter, and the rest of the Warriors know to have their hands up and ready to catch his passes because they will come fast and right on target. He has a knack for finding the open man before the man is even open, somehow seeing a play develop before it has even developed.
For all the years West yearned to be part of the great San Antonio Spurs franchise, he finally got that chance last season. Now, he is facing them from the other side with Golden State and doing his part to chase a championship. His old coach, Gregg Popovich, believes West has found a perfect fit in the Bay Area alongside Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the others, as hard as it is to see him in another uniform.
“We’ve got a lot of experience and guys who have seen just about every sort of mix you can find in the NBA, so that’s been the joy, also just sort of figuring out what works for us defensively with all the different moving parts we have,” said West, a 14-year veteran who returns to San Antonio for tomorrow’s Game 3 of the Western Conference finals with his new team up 2-0.
“Personally, I expected us to take a little bit longer. That was a surprise just how well we meshed.”
The 36-year-old West is a big reason why. He has experienced a special twoyear stretch deep into his successful NBA career, finding an important role with the Warriors’ second unit that strives to take the pressure off while maintaining the high level of the starters.
“Ah man, one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” forward Draymond Green said after yesterday’s practice. “He’s a special person. I didn’t know he could pass as well as he does, he’s as smart as he is, on and off the court, just a brilliant person, someone who always has your back. Anybody on the team, he’s riding for you. It’s just been great having D-West here. Hopefully we can keep him for much longer.”
West always wanted to play for Popovich in San Antonio, then once he’d done so decided to move on to Golden State. It seemed like the next intriguing move to be part of the Warriors’ roster of superstars. Still, the Spurs miss him. “He was wonderful. He’s a class act. He’s a contemplative guy. He thinks about things,” Popovich said. Elsewhere in the NBA — LeBron James made the AllNBA first team for a recordtying 11th straight season, matching Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone. He was joined by Houston’s James Harden, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis. Utah’s Rudy Gobert was the second-team center, joining Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Third-team selections were Washington’s John Wall, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan. ... The deadline for 7-foot6 Central Florida center Tacko Fall to make his NBA decision is fast approaching, but he’s still uncertain. Fall worked out with the Orlando Magic, the latest stop on his pre-draft tour. “It has been really stressful just really thinking about it,” Fall said. “It’s a great decision, the most important decision.”