Golden State Warriors Vs. San Antonio Spurs By The Numbers

As the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs approach an inevitable showdown, we take you inside the numbers.

More from Golden State Warriors

• Warriors unlikely to draft Anthony Edwards due to character concerns
• Warriors: September minicamp mimics NBA bubble
• Warriors: Eric Paschall named to NBA All-Rookie first team
• Warriors reportedly eyeing a wing in the 2020 NBA Draft
• Warriors: Is the team destined to trade its No. 2 overall draft pick?

The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are on a collision course. Both teams are in the middle of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history and they are the only two teams in the association with single digit losses.

While they are quite obviously, the two best teams in the NBA, it was clear the Warriors have been the front runners in that category for a majority of the season thus far. But with two losses coming in the past four games, the Spurs have closed that gap and have raised the question — which team is actually better?

Questions like these can never be truly answered. The Warriors and the Spurs will meet for the first time this season when the Spurs travel to the Oracle Arena on January 25th. It is a match up that has been highly anticipated for a while now — and the schedule makers made us wait for it.

Whether by accident or not, the Warriors will have finished up two regular season series against Western Conference teams as well as eight regular season series against Eastern Conference teams before even seeing the Spurs once.

While there has been plenty of time for injuries to happen or players to start getting some mid-season rest, the game on the 25th is shaping up to be a game that will feature both teams at full strength. And unless Gregg Popovich pulls some of his regular shenanigans, we can expect that none of the big names will be getting rested that night.

With that being said, who has the upper hand in this clash?

With a marquee match up like this, it is hard to argue that the victor is indicative of the better team. If these teams played 100 times, it could be 50 to 50 by the end of it. But what do the stats say? Lets start with the obvious — the record.

The Warriors shot out of the gates on fire, winning their first 24 games — an NBA record. Since then, they have lost four of the next 18 games played, but still hold the NBA’s best record at 38-4. The Spurs however, never fell all that far behind. While they did lose the opening game of the season, they have only lost five games since then and are currently on an 11 game winning streak.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

As it stands now, the Spurs are only two games back of the Warriors in the standings, and the meeting on January 25th could cut that deficit in half.

Now let’s get down to the nitty and gritty. They say numbers don’t lie, so what do the statistics say? According to hoopstats.com, the Warriors and Spurs are either one, two, or three in a lot of the major categories. When it comes to the offense, the Warriors have the upper hand. They rank first in the league with a 138.9 offensive efficiency, while the Spurs come in second at 129.0. On the defensive end it’s the Spurs who lead the league with a 34.7 defensive efficiency, while the Warriors come in at 30.0.

Something will have to give next Monday.

We all know that both teams thrive on ball movement, and the stats show that. The Warriors rank first in team assists at 28.7, while the Spurs come in at third at 25.2 assists per game. However, the gap between them and the second place team (Atlanta), is very slim. The Spurs are 0.5 assists per game shy of the number two spot and may get there by the time Monday night rolls around.

Another area where these two teams are neck and neck is the simple ratings system. According to basketball-reference.com, the simple rating system (SRS) takes into account each team’s average point differential as well as their strength of schedule. That way, if you are blowing out bad teams, rather than winning close games against top teams, this rating system will rank it. According to the SRS rankings, the Spurs are currently ranked first, while the Warriors are ranked second.

One area of concern for the Warriors might be the second unit. While the Warriors are known to be one of the deepest teams in the league, the Spurs are perhaps regarded as the deepest team in the league. Currently, the Spurs bench ranks first in both offensive and defensive efficiency, assists, steals, and field goal percentage.

The highest the Warriors rank in any of those categories is third — in both assists and steals. When it comes to efficiency, the Warriors’ bench ranks fourth in the league for offense and sixth for defense. Meaning, the Spurs’ second unit will likely have a decent advantage.

Unlike the bench, the Warriors have a clear cut advantage when it comes to the starting lineup. It is no surprise that Golden State’s starters rank first in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Spurs in those categories rank 10th and second, respectively. Even on the defensive end, the Spurs are a full four points behind the Warriors.

Golden State is also first in assists per game while the Spurs sit in the bottom half of the league at 21. To top it off, the Warriors’ starters outscore the Spurs starters by nearly 17 points per game.

Next: The Issue of Jason Thompson

When you look at this match up as a whole, it is clear that there is not one team with a distinct advantage. Whatever the outcome is on Monday night, no rings are given out in January, and it’ll take a lot more to grab one in June.

It seems as if these two teams are on a collision course for the Western Conference Finals, and if that happens, not very many people will be complaining for it will be compelling.