NBA: Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Golden State Warriors stay in Texas following back-to-back games against the Dallas Mavericks, only now they have two consecutive events vs. San Antonio Spurs. A few years ago, this matchup would feature two championship contenders, but now, these teams are fighting to reach the playoffs. The Spurs are in a bit better situation when looking at the record, but that could change easily knowing their current strength. Golden State is led by fantastic Steph Curry, while on the other side, the hosts have several players with an equal contribution. DeMar DeRozan is the only one who slightly stands above the rest of the crew.

Preview

Golden State Warriors (12-11, TBA) had a neutral record in Dallas, winning the first game against the Mavs, 147-116 and losing the second after a tight finish, 134-132. The latter one saw Steph Curry pouring 57 points and 11 three-pointers. It was the ultimate proof that the two-time NBA MVP is back, and that his injury that forced him to skip the last campaign is long gone.

Now, once talking about injuries, the Dub Nation is overwhelmed with the same this year. The latest name added to the long list of hurt players is the No.2 pick from this year’s draft, James Wiseman. He has a wrist injury and won’t play on Monday night. Since the year started, Wiseman would post 12.2 points per game, with 6.1 boards in 21 minutes.

Apart from him, Kevon Looney, Marquese Chriss, Eric Paschal, and Klay Thompson are all out. But even so, the Warriors are among the most efficient teams in the league, with 114.5 points per game. Meanwhile, they allow almost the same number, 114.2.

San Antonio Spurs (13-10, TBA) have two straight victories, one against the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-108 and the other against the Houston Rockets, 111-106. It is a major boost following two easy losses to the Memphis Grizzlies, who were more than dominant against the five-time NBA champs. Plus, it earned them the top spot in the Northwestern Division.

DeRozan is the only player with 20+ points, eclipsing that line for 0.5 points. Apart from him, seven more players average a double-digit number of buckets, but we already wrote about that in the past previews.

San Antonio defeated the Rockets after a tough ending that saw the hosts taking the lead for the first time with 3:29 to go. Wall and the rest of the hosts were close to shocking the rivals.

However, DeRozan wouldn’t allow that with a couple of points in the finish. He had 30 points scored, only one missed free throw, 11-of-12, with eight boards and seven assists.

Head to Head Games

Warriors and Spurs met once this season, on January 21, with the Dub Nation hosting and routinely defeating Gregg Popovich’s side, 121-99.

Prediction

The Warriors are on the road trip, and this will be their third straight road event. On the other hand, they have solid Spurs across the court, who are playing much better at home than on the road, and against better teams. We saw that once they defeated the Celtics, Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, etc. On top of everything, GSW has injury problems, which is problematic once you need a full roster for consecutive road challenges. That’s why we back up San Antonio to win here.