On Spurs, Warriors and a river vs. a bay

Written by Jesse Blanchard on .

In the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, the Western Conference Semifinals are represented by a city nestled by a bay, and another renowned for its River Walk. Appropriate that both teams be associated with something as elemental as water, given the fluidity of some key components.

Stephen Curry, the fourth-year point guard for the Warriors, is perhaps the best shooter in NBA history. Absurd as that statement might seem for a player so early in his career, given the list of Hall of Fame players who built a legacy on the accuracy of their jumper, Curry certainly at least earns a spot in the conversation.

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Warriors’ Curry and Jack know Spurs present major challenge in second round

Written by Paul Garcia on .

AT&T Center – Coming into the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack are averaging a combined 43.1 points and 16.3 assists per game.USA Today Sports

The San Antonio Spurs’ perimeter defense will have a challenge on their hands limiting the Warriors dynamic shooters as much as possible. On Sunday, before beginning practice, the Warriors guards discussed the Spurs, and Curry gave an interesting reaction to a comment from Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

Before game two of the Spurs’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Coach Popovich said watching Curry shoot reminded him of watching Michael Jordan. When Curry was notified of Popovich’s comment Sunday, he had one reaction.

“Was he drunk when he said that?”

For Curry, he knows the Spurs’ defense will bring him different looks than he faced against the Denver Nuggets. Curry’s hoping he can continue to shoot the ball the way he was doing in the first round. To prepare for the Spurs, Curry said he’s watched a lot of film and even watched how they defended Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul last year.

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Jackson says no pressure on Warriors; discusses Spurs' Parker, and more

Written by Paul Garcia on .

AT&T Center – As the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors prepare to begin the opening game of the second round on Monday, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson doesn’t see his team as having any pressure on their shoulders.

“No there’s no pressure,” said Jackson on Sunday, a day before the Warriors face off against the Spurs. “We’re playing with house money,” continued Jackson, “there’s no pressure.”

Jackson went on to say that most experts didn’t pencil in the Warriors, a number-6 seed, on the list of the final eight teams representing the Western Conference. Jackson said the Spurs have the advantages in coaching, the team, and should be labeled the “favorite” in the series.

“This is definitely a tougher task,” said Jackson of facing the Spurs, “(but) one we’re excited about.”

The Spurs and Warriors went 2-2 in the regular season, and though it’s the playoffs, Jackson says the Spurs know exactly who the current Warriors are.

“Pop (Popovich) and his staff know what we’re trying to do,” said Jackson, “there’s no secrets.”

As for what has changed from the Spurs since the last time the Warriors saw them, Jackson mentioned health and the ability to run the fast break.

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Video: Warriors' Green not worried about 16-year losing streak vs. Spurs

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors will kick off their Semifinal series this Monday in San Antonio -- a city that has not been kind to the Warriors.

Golden State has not won in San Antonio in 16 years which makes Game 1 that much more daunting for the Warriors.

The Warriors arrived in San Antonio yesterday and rookie Draymond Green spoke about the team viewing the trip as a "business trip" and said the team's losing streak in San Antonio is nothing to be worried about.

Check out what Green had to say about the series versus San Antonio.

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Video: Warriors' Curry says Tony Parker least favorite to play against

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors will clash in the West Semifinals which will kick off this Monday in San Antonio.

One of the better matchups to watch will be at point guard as Tony Parker and Stephen Curry will face off and hope they will be able to control the tempo for their respective team in order to advance to the West Finals.

Speaking with Grantland, Curry opened up on which player is the toughest to face and mentioned Parker alongside Russell Westbrook. From describing TP as a "mouse" scurrying all over the court on the screen-and-roll to saying Parker lives in the paint, Curry describes why Tony is just tough to face.

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Jackson talks series with Spurs, Parker, Popovich, and more

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

USA Today SportsThe Golden State Warriors haven't had much time to rest up for the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio will have had one week off from the playoffs compared to Golden State and the Spurs will look to take advantage of that.

Warriors head coach Mark Jackson mentions a few things he's looking forward to and looking into the upcoming series.

Jackson comments on what he'll be focusing on during the series.

The one thing that jumps out immediately is that they’re the No. 1 fast-breaking team in the playoffs so far. You think about the Spurs and you think they execute you to death, obviously Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, Ginobili off the bench and the great role players. But they forced the tempo against the Lakers. I’m sure that was a game plan strategy, but we are going to make sure that…

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Pistons interested in Budenholzer for head coach

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

With the firing of head coach Lawrence Frank, there's a vacancy in the head coach position with the Detroit Pistons.USA Today Sports

Not only have the Pistons organization recruited Phil Jackson to help them with the coaching hunt, they also have an interest on a top San Antonio Spurs assistant coach.

San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer has emerged as a candidate for the Detroit Pistons' head coaching job, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Pistons president Joe Dumars traveled to San Antonio on Wednesday and spent several hours meeting with Budenholzer, the top assistant to Gregg Popovich.

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Spurs vs. Warriors: Key Matchups

Written by Kyle Boenitz on .

USA Today SportsNow it’s official. The Golden State Warriors put away the Denver Nuggets in six games to finish off the upset.

If you’re a San Antonio Spurs fan, you’re probably happy with that result. I think the Warriors are a better matchup for the Spurs than the Nuggets would have been. However, they’re clearly a very dangerous team, playing with a lot of momentum and confidence so the Spurs should not take them lightly.

The biggest test for the Spurs will be stepping up their perimeter defense, but that’s just one of the matchups to keep an eye on.

Stephen Curry vs. Kawhi Leonard (or others)

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Video: Bowen weighs in on Denver's physicality with Curry

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Former San Antonio Spurs forward Bruce Bowen had a reputation as being a "dirty" player when he was in the NBA. Bowen chalked it up to simply tough defense, but he wasn't without his incidents and altercations on the court whenever a player took exception to his brand of defense.

In Game 5 of the Nuggets-Warriors opening round series, Denver was accused of being "dirty" in their defense of Warriors' Stephen Curry. It got to the point where Golden State head coach Mark Jackson felt Denver sent "hit men" after Curry.

Bowen weighed in on whether or not the Nuggets were playing a bit more physical against Curry and in a nutshell, said Denver wasn't dirty with Curry but they were simply trying to limit his effectiveness. The style of defense versus Curry held him to 7-19 shooting, 1-7 from the three-point line, and 15 points.

Denver won Game 5 but is this something the Spurs can do in their series against Curry and his Golden State Warriors? 

Check out what the former Spur had to say and make sure to leave your comments on whether San Antonio should play a very physical game against Steph.

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(Photos) Tony Parker goes to the zoo

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Before the San Antonio Spurs found out who they'll face in the West Semifinals (Golden State) and aside from taking in practice, Tony Parker visited the San Antonio Zoo in his spare time.

From being used as a perch for birds to putting his arm in a hippo's wide-open mouth, it seems Parker has been taking it easy before the second round kicks off Monday.

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