San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors Game 2 Preview
Where: ORACLE Arena, Oakland
When: Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 9:00 PM ET
Line: San Antonio Spurs (+14) vs. Golden State Warriors (-14); total: 208.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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Betting on the San Antonio Spurs (0-1)
Who said Kawhi Leonard is incapable of showing emotions? The usually stoic Leonard had pain written all over his face in Game 1, when he rolled his ankle after taking a jump shot. And now, the Spurs might be concerned more of Leonard’s ankle more than they’re thinking of their Game 1 113-111 loss to Golden State.
Leonard, who finished the opener with 26 points, injured his ankle after landing on Zaza Pachulia’s foot in the third quarter. He wasn’t able to return to the game and his absence appeared to be all the Warriors need to make an 18-0 run to get back in the game after trailing as many as 25 points.
The Spurs might force Leonard to see action in Game 2 if there’s a glimmer of chance he could play through the pain but if Leonard ultimately sits, then the team will have to dig deep in their lineup and seek for production. Manu Ginobili and Jonathon Simmons provided ample firepower off the bench in Game 1 with 17 and 12 points, respectively, but Pau Gasol and Patty Mills will have to wake up. Gasol and Mills combined for only 10 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 28 points but he settled for some fade away jumpers at the post when he could have just used his size to overpower his defender. That made him a subject of ruthless memes but also served as a potential talking point for Gregg Popovich, who’ll surely elaborate the need for Aldridge to be more aggressive in mismatches in the next film review.
The Spurs covered the 10-point spread in Game 1 and are now 2-0 ATS in their last two outings.
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (1-0)
Take down some notes, Greece, as the Warriors just showed how to erase a big deficit. With Stephen Curry unleashing a second-half fury, the Warriors were able to score a huge come-from-behind victory in the series opener.
Curry scored 19 of his game-high 40 points in the third quarter and Kevin Durant went 11-for-21 from the field for 34 points. Zaza Pachulia added 11 points but the Georgian scoring that many again isn’t something to expect. Instead, the Warriors will have to see Klay Thompson get back his touch after going 2-for-11 and finishing with a paltry six points in Game 1. A potential absence of the Spurs’ Leonard could make Thompson’s life on offense easier.
The Warriors relied on their outside shooting and open-court brilliance to win Game 1 and they will look to excel in those areas again on Tuesday. Golden State had 11 threes in Game 1 and outscored the Spurs on the fast break by 20 points (32-12). So far in these playoffs, the Warriors are scoring 115.0 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting (37.8% from deep).
Golden State is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in its last five home games against the Spurs.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State (-14) goes up 2-0 in the series with a 114-108 win in Game 2.
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