NBA Playoffs....The Champs are here

We finally got to the main course of the NBA season. We went through the soup & salad course (pre-season), moved on to the appetizer (regular season) and now on to the entree. The NBA playoffs is here and the started with a resounding statement by the defending champs. Golden State, which had struggled to a 7-10 finish to end the season, showed why they are a strong contender to defend their title. The Warriors came out with suffocating defense, excellent ball movement and sharp shooting and beat the San Antonio Spurs, 113-92 in Game 1 of their first round matchup. A lot was made of GSW missing Stephen Curry and wondering if they would be able to get into playoff assassin mode and they did that from the opening tip. This performance is what we have come to expect from them, especially over the last four postseasons. Steve Kerr dusted of Andre Iguodala and inserted him into the starting lineup and as usual with Andre, he produced in the postseason. His stat line was modest (3 pts, 7 rebs, 4 assts), but he was instrumental in spearheading a stout defensive effort, which was lacking down the stretch of the regular season. From opening tip, San Antonio, without Kawhi Leonard, had to exert so much effort on the offensive end to get a shot attempt. Golden State allowed just 17 points in the first quarter, 41 in the first half and ended up allowing just 92 points on the afternoon. San Antonio's leading scorer, LaMarcus Aldridge, struggled against GSW, shooting just 5-12 as well as being in foul trouble. Offensively the Warriors used their typical ball movement (32 assists on 44 made field goals) to create open looks, especially for Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Thompson was unconscious yesterday, scoring 27 points, while shooting 11 of 13 from the field (5 of 6 on threes). KD did a little of everything scoring 24 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. Draymond Green was his usual swiss army knife self, scoring 12 points, dishing 11 asssists and grabing 8 rebounds. But above all, the Warriors got a great performance from center JaVale McGee. McGee scored 16 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. His energy on the defensive end to start the game set the tone for the Warriors defensive effort. San Antonio, without Kahwi, really didn't have anyone else to shoulder the offensive load against a hungry Warriors team out for blood. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich put it best when he said "we looked like his team looked like deer in headlights." The Spurs will have to regroup for Game 2, but it seems the Warriors have flipped the switch and showed why they've won 2 of the last 3 championships.