Keys To Victory: What Spurs Must Do To Win Game Six

May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) defends Golden State Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes (40) in the third quarter in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

The keys to victory for the Spurs is to play like they did in game five.  That’s it. End of post.  Should get a lot of hits for this one.  You didn’t really think I was going to leave in that way did you?  Yes, it would be excellent if the Spurs came out and had a carbon copy performance as they did in game five, but we know the Golden State Warriors will have their adjustments in place.

As always, for San Antonio, you can always state that their priority is to keep the ‘Splash Brothers’ at bay.  They have done that plenty of times and have proven once and for all that they are the best defensive team in the league as well as having the best coach that always makes the right adjustments.

May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) and guard Tony Parker (behind) defend against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

Before we dive into what the keys for Game six, lets take a look back at game five’s and see how well we called it.

Rebound.  San Antonio out-rebounded Golden State, +2.  It’s not much but still they managed to keep them off the boards, especially the offensive boards.  Check!

Ball Pressure.  San Antonio forced 14 turnovers.  They made life miserable for both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.  They combined to score 13 points on 6-for-21 shooting from the field.  Check!

Pick-N-Roll Defense.  What the Spurs were lacking in game four they did a much better job in the next.  The bigs for San Antonio showed much sooner and did not sag off as their teammates were being screened.  Showing big and having the shooters put the ball on the floor and make another decision helped the Spurs out.  Check!

Free Throws.  They are the easiest points to get.  San Antonio made the most of their chances going 19-for-25 (76%).  I am starting to think that these guys read Air Alamo!  Come on, one can hope.  Get off my back.  Check!

Get On The Floor.  Winning the 50/50 balls are something that teams fight for.  During game five, I saw Parker hit the floor, get up and run a break.  That is what we want to see.  Spurs hustled up and down the floor, stole the ball and made every opportunity count.  Check!

That was a look back at what we talked about before game five.  Now lets talk about game six.  CLOSE-OUT Game.  To early?  I have confidence in the team.  Here we go:

It All Starts With Tony Parker.  He has proven time and time again that he is the motor that runs this team.  When Parker is having a great game, everyone else on the team gets involved and makes plays.  In game five, Parker put

May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) takes a shot against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

it all on the floor and towards the end of the game, looked to be getting exhausted.  He finished with 25 points and 10 assists in almost 35 minutes of playing time.  He took advantage of knowing the Warriors’ Curry was not at 100% and attacked the rim.

Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.  These two came out in game five and did what every Spurs fan was hoping for, especially Danny Green.  Known for shutting down the duo of Curry and Thompson, Green and Leonard both came out looking to score.  Leonard had a posterizing dunk on Harrison Barnes (why did you even jump) and Green and himself a few highlights as well.  Leonard added 17 and Green 16 in the win.  Repeat performance please.

Block Out The Crowd.  They have proven they could do this in their game three win but tonight Oracle Arena will be as loud as it ever has and we surely will be notified by ESPN and their loving noise meter on the screen.  San Antonio is a great team and can block out what is going on around them.  They can’t get caught up in what is going to go on in the arena tonight.

Sharing Is Caring.  In their dominance that was game five, San Antonio went back to their roots of sharing the ball.  They finished with 30 assists as a team (Parker leading the way with 10).  When they share the ball as well as they did, this team cannot be stopped.  They have a lot of great passers and players with a great IQ for the game.