Friday night’s Spurs-Warriors matchup already had plenty of juice, and the NBA Cup only adds to it. San Antonio and Golden State both enter Group C at 1-0, with the Warriors holding a plus-17 point differential and the Spurs at plus-15. In a tournament where head-to-head result comes first and point differential can still matter, every possession carries extra weight.
That’s true even with Steph Curry’s status hanging over the game. Curry left the Rockets game in the first quarter with what Steve Kerr said was an abdominal tweak, and the Warriors coach didn’t sound optimistic when he told Anthony Slater, “Concern is high,” Golden State’s coach told Anthony Slater.
Kerr also said he doesn’t know the extent of the injury. Curry went for an MRI, but there were no results to speak of yet.
The Spurs shouldn’t let that uncertainty soften their approach. They just got a warning shot against Chicago, when the Bulls led by as many as 22 on Wednesday before San Antonio flipped the switch, outscored the one-win team by 19 after halftime and pulled out a 124-119 win for its tenth straight victory. The Spurs clearly have another gear, but they also showed how dangerous it can be to start flat.
Golden State, meanwhile, has been plenty dangerous regardless of record or reputation. The Warriors opened 0-3, then ripped off eight straight wins before Wednesday, beating the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Lakers along the way. That’s a far cry from the 37-45 team they were last season.
A big reason for the surge has been Yaxel Lendeborg, who now leads the NBA’s latest rookie ladder. He’s averaging almost 22 points, seven rebounds and nearly four assists, and he’s the only rookie posting those kinds of numbers.
Brandon Podziemski has also been steady, putting up 17 points a night on 48% shooting from the field. Add in a team that owns the fifth-best offensive rating and the 11th-best defensive rating, and the Warriors are not the kind of opponent San Antonio can treat casually, with or without Curry.
If Curry is available, the game should have the kind of fireworks fans have been waiting for. If he isn’t, the Spurs still need to bring the same edge, the same pace and the same attention to detail they found after halftime in Chicago. Friday is not the night to get comfortable.
In Other News...
Wembanyama Just Gave Spurs Fans Another Unreal Moment To Debate
Victor Wembanyama keeps finding new ways to make the ordinary look absurd, and his latest highlight came in the third quarter against the Bulls. The Spurs big man launched into a two-hand dunk from the free-throw line, the kind of play that instantly turns a regular night into another entry in the growing Wembanyama highlight reel.
It also came in the middle of a game where he was already stuffing the stat sheet, with San Antonio ahead in the fourth quarter and Wembanyama sitting on 32 points, eight rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Given the way he has been playing all season, with elite production on both ends and a shooting touch to match, the only real debate left is how many more moments like this he can still create before the league runs out of ways to react. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have A DeAaron Fox Problem They Cant Ignore
DeAaron Fox has been one of the Spurs most important creators since arriving from Sacramento, and the ball is in his hands more often than ever. He still leads San Antonio in assists, which speaks to how much the offense has leaned on him to organize possessions and get others involved, but the scoring punch that once made him such a difficult cover has not traveled with him.
Fox is averaging 13.9 points per game this season, a steep drop from the level he showed when the Spurs acquired him. The bigger concern is not just the number itself, but the way it has come about: he looks less aggressive hunting his own shot, and that shift has put his offensive role under the microscope while also raising questions about how the league will view his trade value if this version of him sticks around. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Hot Start Still Leaves One Big Tobias Harris Question
Nine straight wins have given the Spurs plenty to like early, but the one major piece they have not yet been able to factor in is Tobias Harris. His absence has left San Antonio to keep sorting through a rotation that is already working, even as the veteran forwards expected return looms as a potential boost in size and shooting.
Harris is the kind of addition that can change the shape of a lineup without forcing the Spurs to tear up what has gotten them off to such a strong start. The open question is where he fits once he is available, since his role could be determined by the coachs decisions and could land anywhere from the starting five to a more defined bench role. [Read more 🡒]