San Antonio — He sat behind the Spurs bench Saturday wearing a sharp suit and a
frown, a clashing of styles and moods. Kawhi Leonard is watching these
conference finals like plenty of other spectators, feeling deflated over what
could’ve been.
Same can be said about Isaiah Thomas, who earlier in the day was declared done
for the playoffs by the Celtics, now heavy favorites to falter in Cleveland on
Sunday and join the Spurs in an 3-0 series hole.
Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the two unbeaten teams in the playoffs are
also the two healthiest. The Warriors and Cavs have managed to dodge any and all
serious injuries over the last seven weeks and that’s suddenly the best news for
an NBA postseason that’s lacking in suspense and drama.
Really, now: How annoying would it be if, on their way to clinching the
conference crown, one or more of the stars on either the Cavs or Warriors comes
up lame and deprives the league of a championship series that many have waited
seven months to see?
Twenty-four hours after the Cavs wiped out the Celtics by 44, the Warriors
followed up with a decisive win by a dozen points over the more stubborn yet
weakened Spurs. Golden State then became the third team in NBA history to start
the playoffs 11-0.
Leonard didn’t play and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
held Leonard out Monday as well. Pop is more interested in the long-term health
of his stars, and therefore, why risk re-injury in a series that smells done?
His team was plucky in Game 3 without Leonard anyway, which is no surprise,
until Kevin Durant (33 points, 10 rebounds) took control in the middle quarters
and that was that. Even worse for the Spurs, reserve forward David Lee landed
funny and limped off the floor, never to return, his status for the remainder of
the series now questionable as well.
And so the inevitable Finals collision course, fueled by excellence and aided by
misfortune remains in effect. The Cavs and Warriors are leaving no doubt in
their respective conferences and making no apologies for it.
“So you’re saying it’s not been fun watching as a fan?” said Durant.
When two teams are a combined 21-0 and have never been pushed heavily and
currently competing against opponents who are shortchanged by injuries to their
best players, then yes, perhaps fun is in short supply.
“If I was on a team that’s up 40 points, you’ve got to give them credit for
being up 40 points,” Durant said about the Cavs’ win Friday in Boston. “They
went out there and dominated. So that’s what you want to do every time you step
on the court. So there are years you have great playoff series, four or five
Game 7s, then you have years where you see these playoffs. As players, you want
to go out there and win as much as possible and play as great as you can.
Whatever happens with the score happens. So we leave that to the fans who are
upset.”
He then added some advice that won’t go over well at Sunday brunch with the
networks and the league office:
“If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
Popovich said that, after consulting with the Spurs’ medical staff and Leonard,
who suffers from a sprained ankle, the decision to keep Leonard benched was made
collectively. That allowed the Warriors to exploit the situation and creep one
win closer to the West title. Other than a flashback from 39-year-old Manu
Ginobili, who delivered 21 points, the Spurs offered no one who put a scare into
the Warriors.
The Spurs and their weakened state leave the Warriors mainly concentrating on
their few lingering in-house issues:
Can Klay Thompson regain his touch? He scored 17 points Saturday, yet the
mammoth offensive output from Thompson, missing for much of the playoffs,
remains elusive.
“What’s most important is we’re 11-0 and trying to make it 16-0,” he said. “I
always feel I’m close. It’s going to be very difficult, but we are on the way
and we’ve just got to stay patient and not worry about statistics. I almost
averaged 25 a game in the postseason last year and look what it did for us. We
lost.”
Can center JaVale McGee become an X-factor should the Warriors indeed meet the
Cavs in the Finals? The strategy was to get McGee going quickly in Game 3, and
it worked; McGee scored on lobs and managed 16 points (but only one rebound) in
limited minutes once again (12).
Is Andre Iguodala refreshed after his knee setback? There were no minutes
restrictions on Iguodala in his first game back from tweaking his knee and his
18 minutes in Game 3 came and went without incident. This was important, since
Iguodala could see plenty of LeBron James in a few weeks.
What about Steve Kerr? He joined the team on the trip to San Antonio, a good
sign for his progress from his back complications, and while he’s hesitant to
discuss his condition or his odds of returning to the bench, his mood and
spirits seemed good. Meanwhile, Mike Brown is still pulling a Luke Walton as the
replacement coach and the Warriors haven’t missed a beat.
Otherwise, all signs are vital and vibrant with the Warriors, for the most part.
It wouldn’t be realistic to think the Warriors haven’t taken notice of the
events in the other conference and the bulldozing being done by The Other Team.
That’s only natural to suggest the Warriors and Cavaliers are taking notes on
each other, because they see what we all see.
“We know what the situation is,” said Steph Curry, “but a good team focuses on
what’s in front of them. I’m obviously going to be watching the game tomorrow.
I’m a fan of basketball, (to) understand what’s going on in that series. But it
doesn’t matter until we get the fourth win in this series. Cliche answer, but
it’s the truth.”
The painful truth is the Celtics and Spurs were at a talent disadvantage against
the Cavs and Warriors even when healthy, and their chances in the conference
finals took a nosedive when their best players went down and out. The Warriors
took another step toward a clean sweep on Saturday and might be in position to
finish the job without seeing Leonard for Game 4.
If winning the series in four games is the ultimate goal for the Warriors, then
doing so while staying healthy runs a close second. To quote Curry: Cliche
answer, but it’s the truth. Especially in this postseason.
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications
for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and
follow him on Twitter.
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