NBA: 5 Things We Learned From Warriors-Spurs Part 2
4. Pace And Size Mattered
We’ll get to LaMarcus Aldridge in more detail in a minute, but suffice it to say that the Spurs were able to slow down the tempo to a grind and capitalize on their size advantages against Golden State’s Lineup of Death — with or without Tim Duncan having an active role.
The chief advantage came in Aldridge having a MUCH better game than his first outing against the Warriors, but Gregg Popovich’s decision to insert Boris Diaw into the starting lineup — relegating Duncan to just the third game of his career where he came off the bench when available — paid dividends as well.
And the Warriors haven’t won a regular season game in San Antonio since 1997. That’s 33 straight losses.
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) March 20, 2016
Diaw finished with a well-rounded 14 points (6-of-7 shooting), eight rebounds and two assists, making the Dubs pay with his versatility and, let’s face it, his size down low. Andre Iguodala wasn’t available to ground the Warriors’ small-ball lineups and not having Andrew Bogut hurt on the boards, but the Spurs made the Dubs pay, out-rebounding them 53-37 and pulling down 14 offensive rebounds.
That not only gave the Spurs extra possessions, but it prevented Curry from pushing the tempo and getting into any kind of rhythm. In a half-court game, San Antonio has a chance of out-executing the Warriors, and they used their size and slowed down the tempo to prove it Saturday night.
Next: No. 3