Boris Diaw believes the still-unbeaten Golden State Warriors “will get tired” eventually, and that when they do, his San Antonio Spurs will be the team best positioned to take advantage.
The Spurs, at 18-5, are the only team in the NBA currently within realistic shouting distance of the 23-0 defending champions Golden State. Were it not for the Warriors continuing undefeated, San Antonio's own run would likely be one of the major stories of the season – their defence is far and away the league's stingiest (92.6 points allowed per 100 possessions), and bests Golden State's league-leading mark of 98.2 from last year by over five and a half points; their plus-11.2 points per game differential compares favourably with the Warriors' plus-10.1 mark from their championship 2014/15 campaign.
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And yet, with the Warriors taking things to even greater heights this year, San Antonio’s quality has mostly lurked in the background.
That’s fine with Diaw.
“It’s certain that the Warriors’ season so far is amazing, as nobody has done it before,” he said in a conference call on Wednesday with French media. “We don’t know when they will lose.”
But, he added, “they may beat the winning streak record but they will start to get tired”.
“Golden State is on fire right now, but I know that we have the capacity to win the championship.”
The Spurs, 2013/14 NBA champions, are on a presumed collision course with Golden State for the Western Conference finals. It would be a riveting series, especially if San Antonio’s offensive gameplan becomes more and more cohesive.
Right now, they are scoring 104.3 points per 100, good for fourth in the NBA but still trailing the Warriors by nearly 10 points.
The promise that comes with LaMarcus Aldridge, a major summer signing, further integrating and the team finding their comfort zone amidst some change is high, said Diaw.
“Roles have changed a little bit. Before, our game strategy was based on Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Now Kawhi [Leonard] is becoming the leader of the team, with the arrival of LaMarcus Aldridge, it’s normal that it’s changing.”
“We knew that it was going to take time. Offensively, it’s great from time to time, it’s difficult at some points but we’re getting there. It’s our defence that helped us to start the season well. We have great moments offensively – when it’s less fluid, it’s normal. We know that it will take time. We will get better and better through time.
“Are we better than last year? It’s always difficult to compare, all I know is that we’re playing well. It’s possible that we are.
“We’ll see. Last year, we lost in the first round of the play-offs. The objective remains the title. We did it two years ago. It’s our objective every year going into the season.”
Particularly with the addition of Aldridge, as well as David West, 33-year-old Frenchman Diaw’s role in the team has shifted. The do-it-all forward is giving way, with his minutes per game down about six and his field goal attempts per game down three. But he has found a way to be more efficient, spotting up for more effective three point looks (42.9 per cent, which would be a career high) and he’s excelling better than ever as a cog in San Antonio’s frenetic ball-movement scheme. His 21.0 assist percentage is the highest it’s been since he arrived from Charlotte in 2011/12.
“Their integration went well, on a basketball level and human level. They have adapted well to the group.
“Regarding my new role, it’s like Tony Parker. Tony used to be one of the first options, now he’s making more assists and he’s the engine in another way. He’s our distributing master. We have more players that can score. So I don’t need to score anymore, I’m just a facilitator.”
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