2018 NBA Playoffs: Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs preview

1. Do any of those matchups matter?

Gregg Popovich has experimented with all sorts of lineups, rotations and minute distributions this year. Given his team’s underdog status in this series, that trend is more likely to increase than slow down. He might go big, with an Aldridge-Pau Gasol frontcourt. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker could be the team’s closing backcourt, while Rudy Gay could take step in at either forward spot.

The Warriors’ go-to lineup will be slightly more predictable, with Thompson, Durant and Green all locks to close games. The fourth and fifth players, however, could be any combination of Cook, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and any one of the team’s myriad centers.

If the starting lineups discussed earlier stay as such, the Warriors will have a terrific chance at a sweep. That Spurs group is just too limited offensively, and without Leonard, lacks anyone to stand between Durant and everything he wants. However, if Popovich can find the right wrinkles (a Ginobili-Green backcourt could be tough for Thompson and Cook, for example), this thing will get slightly more interesting.