Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs Early Preview & Prediction

Feb 22, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) fouls Golden State Warriors point guard Jarrett Jack (2) during the overtime period at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeats the San Antonio Spurs 107-101 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors have beaten the third-seeded Denver Nuggets and will move on to the second round again. Another upset and everyone is going nuts at Oracle.

“Who’s the next competitor? We’ll take them on! Oh, it’s San Antonio.” Yes Warriors fans, that’s right. The Warriors are going to be playing San Antionio in round two in the NBA playoffs. It may be good because the Spurs aren’t flashy, but it’s not hard to forget that they were the second seed in the regular season.

Right now, the Spurs might be the second best team that’s still in the playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder are crippled, and the Miami Heat, as usual, are unstoppable. How suiting, however, that the Spurs have gotten an incredibly long rest to prepare for the Warriors.

It’s unfortunate for the Warriors because they’re trying to make it to the NBA Finals, as they’re rolling right now. If they win one road game, again, they can win the series.

That may be a little problematic, however. The Warriors have not won in San Antonio since Tim Duncan was drafted. To put that in perspective, Duncan is one of the oldest players in the NBA at 37 years of age. The Warriors have the longest road losing streak against one team in the NBA, and that’s concerning.

Not only is it not a guarantee that the Warriors are going to win all their home games, but it’s certainly not a guarantee to win at least one road game. It’s going to be a tough series for the Warriors, but again, facing adversity is what they do best. It’s not going to be hard, considering that the Spurs are old. But watch out, however, as the Spurs have guys that have been there before, and they seem a little more thirsty than this young team that has been awfully careless lately.

Our predictions are shaky, at this point, at best. The Spurs are good on so many levels, but in the playoffs, the Warriors have the potential to be so much better. San Antonio is much more vulnerable at home than the Nuggets are, and the Warriors, on the other hand, can be road Warriors. It’s going to be interesting, as Spurs fans aren’t exactly energizing either. The Warriors could take the crowd out of the equation.

Again, it all comes down to coaching and who executes better. Considering that Gregg Popovich is one of the best coaches of all-time, I think Mark Jackson is at a disadvantage here. You never know what they’re going to pull out of thin air, though. Jackson and his Warriors are pretty sneaky guys.

Preliminary Prediction: Spurs 4-2