Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors

Oracle Arena
Feb. 22nd, 9:00 PM Spurs Time
TV: ESPN - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI

The Golden State Warriors are one of the surprises of a relatively shocking season. This preview was going to be loaded with information regarding some of the Warrior's big names, and some of their smaller ones. (that is not a dig on Steph Curry's height, I was referring to people like Carl Landry) However, analysis is unnecessary because barring some freak circumstance like Pop showing up wasted and under the impression that he is in fact Thor the Thunder God, the Spurs got this.

Why am I so confident? Because the Warriors are showing up to play the Spurs wearing pajamas. Now stats can be nebulous at times, and somewhat confusing. Also one can always manipulate certain stats to support their opinion. Like for example DeJuan Blair is totally a better player than Lebron James because DeJuan shot 100% from the field against Chicago, while Lebron only shot 61%. However, the stat I am about to lay down is simple and totally not subjective. The stat is this: 0 teams have won a National Basketball Association game wearing pajamas. The official company line from Adidas is that the Warrior's new uniforms are in fact not pajamas but " adizero NBA short sleeve uniform system". First off: what in the raging f*** is an adizero? Is that like some kind of horned animal similar to an antelope? And then "system"? Really Adidas? You are going with "system" on this one? What is next? "Uh the Warriors will also wear the unicornseven NBA open-toe footwear system." (Also known as flip flops.) So don't let this Orwellian doublespeak fool you. Adidas is paying a truck load of money to make an NBA basketball team wear t-shirts. And not just t-shirts, but tight t-shirts tucked into over sized pajama trunks. Now the powers that be at Adidas are not stupid. They unveiled this cray cray idea with much market savvy. First they snuck in these uniforms in the middle of the season, in order to avoid the annual uniform scrutiny from sports websites. The official photo unveiling the uniform is also brilliant. It is of Harrison Barnes (A young and in shape dude) jumping in the new uniform (to make it look more stretched out) and behind a yellow background. (to hide the fact that the shorts are a different shade of yellow than the shirt) I for one can't wait to see a much more rotund Andrew Bogut slouching on the court in those digs. The only reason that these uniforms exist is so that Adidas can make more coin flipping the jerseys. And I get it. I love the Spur's jerseys, but I am not about to go buy a few avocados at the local grocery store wearing an over-sized silver and black tank top.
One might say "what is the big deal? Just one team is wearing these uniforms, and only for a few games. "Well the big deal is that it is only a matter of time before other teams start wearing t-shirts form fitting sleeved jerseys. If the Warriors sell enough of these, then other teams are going to want in on the action. Therefore it will only be a matter of time before the Spurs will be required to play games wearing t-shirts. Now playing ball in t-shirts is not as hindering as playing ball wearing ski boots, but still it is a step down from the wonderful freedom of motion that comes from not wearing sleeves.( no matter how "form fitting"they are) So chalk this up as an automatic win for the Silver and Black.

Game Analysis:
Imagine some alternate dimension where the Warriors will not be playing this game wearing pajamas. In that alternate dimension, the game would be a tough one. The Spurs are on the wrong side of a back to back. The Warriors are a scary good team this year. Klay Thomspon, Stephen Curry, and David Lee form a fearsome trio. Then there the aforementioned Barnes is playing great ball in his rookie year. When Andrew Bogut is healthy this team goes from being curiously good to being downright horrifying. That being said the Warriors have been lackluster in Feburary. They lost six games in a row to good teams. (Except for Dallas which is more like a "meh" team.) Also Andrew Bogut is inconsistent at best this year. He is still great at rebounding but that is about all that he has contributed so far this season. It looks like it might take a while for him to get back to form. In this alternate dimension look for the Spurs to outplay the Warriors when the reserves are on the floor. Jarrett Jack has been incredible this year and he is practically a shoo-in for the 6th man of the year award. However, the rest of the Warrior's bench leaves much to be desired. Furthermore the Spurs have an embarrassment of riches at the guard positions to match up against Mr. Jack. Also there might be a few times where Mr. Jack will meet Mr. Leonard, which will not work out well for the Georgia Tech alumnus. All in all in this alternate dimension the Spurs still have the advantage, albeit by a much smaller margin

Lineups Starters PG: Tony Parker SG: Danny Green SF: Kawhi Leonard PF: Tiago Splitter C: Tim Duncan Key Bench Players Manu Ginobili Boris Diaw Stephen Jackson Head Coach Gregg Popovich			Lineups Starters PG: Stephen Curry SG: Klay Thompson SF: Harrison Barnes PF: David Lee C: Andrew Bogut Key Bench Players Jarret Jack Richard Jefferson Festus Ezeli Head Coach Mark Jackson

The Warrior's perspective can be found here @ Golden State Of Mind.

Get your San Antonio Spurs tickets here!

Game Prediction: Spurs by 100 (Spurs by 5, in an alternate dimension where the Warriors are not wearing pajamas.)

As always Tony must dominate Fisher, and NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate.