Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors - Game 4

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors

Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
May 12, 2013, 2:30 PM Spurs Time
TV: ABC - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI

I nearly killed myself yesterday. (Relax, it was accidental. I'm very happy to be alive, thank you very much.) It was Saturday, I had some work to do in my yard, errands to run, that kind of thing. Oh, and I was also smoking a brisket. A pretty generic Americana Saturday. The problem came when I was having trouble keeping my smoker at the correct temperature. It just wasn't staying hot enough. That happens over a 10 hour cooking session. So in a moment of brilliance, I decided that I just needed to get some more charcoal, and in order to help that charcoal get burning I'd douse it with lighter fluid. Lots of lighter fluid. I'm generally of the opinion that a lot of lighter fluid is better (and more fun) than less lighter fluid.

I get all the charcoal in the smoker and go to town with the accelerant. Then, thinking of how brilliant this idea was, I go to light the charcoal. To my utter surprise and amazement the fumes of the lighter fluid caught fire first and my smoker became a temporary flame thrower. Of course the only place for that flame to go is out the place I was lighting from. There's nothing quite like seeing a ball of flame coming at you.

I jumped back only as a reaction and then began to pat myself down like a frisky TSA agent who enjoys their job a bit too much. Finding that I was not, in fact, on fire, I looked to make sure my smoker hadn't taken flight. All was safe.

I'm sitting here typing this with my now-hairless arms, singed nose hair, and well groomed eyebrows (as my wife put it), not to mention some light burns on my face and arms. But I'm happy to report that the brisket is done. And it was amazing. Which would have been quite conflicting for all concerned, if I'd died in the fire. I can imagine all of my family, mourning my loss while eating the last meal I'd ever prepare. Telling each other things like, "It's such a tragedy he'd gone." and "I know, he's missing this fantastic BBQ."

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I feel a little bit the same way as a Spurs fan. San Antonio ran into some trouble in Game 1 of this series and then got scorched in Game 2 by a really hot team, but also by their own poor play and bad decision making. Game 3 was a much more evenly played game from the Spurs. They cooked their opponent with quality play throughout the game.

San Antonio can certainly improve upon their Game 3 performance. There were still plenty of open shots missed and offensive rebounds given up (16 to be exact) on Friday night. I fully expect Manu Ginobili to start scoring a bit more efficiently and I hope to see those open deep looks drop. The real key will be if the Spurs can keep up that defensive intensity.

All that said, this series isn't over. I fully expect the Warriors to come out full of piss and vinegar and really try to take it to the Spurs. Their crowd will be in a lather and the young team will likely feed off of that. The Spurs will need to withstand that fireball of scorching hot shooting and slowly, evenly play their game. And if they do, they'll have a strangle hold on this series.

My motto for this weekend: It's better to get singed than cooked.

Lineups Starters PG: Tony Parker SG: Danny Green SF: Kawhi Leonard PF: Tim Duncan C: Tiago Splitter Key Bench Players Manu Ginobili Boris Diaw Matt Bonner Head Coach Gregg Popovich			Lineups Starters PG: Stephen Curry SG: Klay Thompson SF: Harrison Barnes PF: Festus Ezeli C: Andrew Bogut Key Bench Players Jarrett Jack Carl Landry Draymond Green Head Coach Mark Jackson

Warriors perspective can be found here: Golden State Of Mind

Game prediction: Spurs by 8, as I enjoy leftover brisket on Mother's Day. That's right, it's Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there.

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.

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