May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dunks over 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

Now Kawhi you know that was not a nice thing to do to Harrison Barnes, but boy am I glad that it happened.  Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs dominated game five this past Tuesday night and now turn their attention to game six tonight at Oracle Arena.  The place will be electric a we know, television will have that damn noise meter flashing on the screen from start to finish.  As the Spurs have proven before, game three, they can win on the road and silence the crowd.

It is now time for San Antonio to close this series down.  We have talked about the job they have done on the defensive end containing both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but another area to take from their game five performance was their offense.  Tony Parker

May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (4) dunks against the Golden State Warriors during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the AT

looking like he is back to his MVP-form controlled the game through-out on his way to 25 points.  Parker showing and proving that he is the top point guard in the league, made it look easy with his penetrations and finishing at the rim.

Every Spurs fans wish came true in game five as Danny Green showed up on the offensive end of the floor.  Green has been non existent on the offensive end but has done a tremendous job defensively.  Tuesday night, he gave an all-around performance but did not take all the credit for his play.  He credited it to Parkers play.

The Warriors have their backs against the wall.  San Antonio has hit that switch, and there looks to be no way to stopping them.  They know it.  Curry and Thompson are struggling, that is apparent.  Harrison Barnes and Jarrett Jack are carrying the scoring load and doing what they can.  One thing for sure, a team that rely’s on jump shooting cannot win a championship.  You have to have other intangibles.  Warriors are lacking the inside game.  Warriors have proven, they can play and will fight.  They are a young team but as most young teams, when they feel they are backed against a wall, they fold.

When San Antonio plays ‘their’ style, they are a hard team to figure out.  Every player on the Spurs roster knows their role.  When they enter the game, they don’t do more than they need.  Ball movement and team play is what has this team on a quest for another title.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Point Guards
Tony Parker – Stephen Curry
Shooting Guards
Danny Green – Klay Thompson
Small Forwards
Kawhi Leonard – Harrison Barnes
Power Forwards
Tim Duncan – Carl Landry
Centers
Tiago Splitter – Andrew Bogut

Key Bench Players
Manu Ginobili, Cory Joseph, Boris Diaw – Jarrett Jack, Draymond Green, Festus Ezili

Head Coaches
Gregg Popovich – Mark Jackson

GAME AND BROADCAST INFORMATION
When:  Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 9:30 PM (Spurs Time)
Where:  Oracle Arena – Oakland, California
Television:  ESPN  Radio:  1200 AM WOAI (Local)

For perspective on the Golden State Warriors, head over to Fansided’s Blue Man Hoop.

May 10, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) hugs shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) after the play against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter of game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors 102-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

We here at Air Alamo would like to wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day!

We’ve got about an hour before tip-off to Game 4, so let’s discuss what the Spurs keys to victory are for this afternoon’s game.

Keep Golden State’s Guards In Check

The reason this is “Golden State’s Guards” instead of just Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson, is because if Curry misses the game, Jarrett Jack will get the start. Jack may not be the shooter Curry is (but then again, who is?) but he has torched the Spurs before, as we saw in the regular season overtime thriller, where Jarrett Jack had 30 points and 10 assists in 42 minutes.

May 10, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter of game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Even if Curry does play, Parker’s calf injury has him slightly hobbled, so Danny Green would have to continue his excellent defense on Curry. In Game 3, the Spurs held “The Splash Brothers” of Thompson and Curry to a combined 12 of 37 shooting. Realistically, I wouldn’t expect that to continue, but as long as San Antonio continues to contest jumpshots, anything is possible.

Limit Offensive Rebounds

Something that’s been a problem all series long is the number of offensive rebounds the Warriors have gotten. Even when they’re missing jumpshots, San Antonio keeps getting caught out of position on the glass, leading to easy offensive rebounds and second chance points. In Game 2, the Spurs had 8 offensive rebounds, while the Warriors had 16. And those 16 offensive boards led to 18 second chance points. Limit the offensive rebounds and you can prevent Golden State from getting second and third opportunities to get their shooters involved.

Ball Movement and Intensity

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a hundred times. The Spurs offense relies on constant motion to free shooters and confuse the defense. And as long as the Spurs are moving around and passing the ball, the offense will succeed. Sharing is caring! Or something.

And of course, remaining aggressive on defense is a must. The way the Spurs swarmed to Golden State’s shooters in Game 3 and rotated to help was masterful and must continue. San Antonio answered every run the Warriors went on with a run of their own on Friday, and that’s not possible without getting stops on the defensive end. The last thing the Spurs need is to get into an offensive shootout with Mark Jackson’s team.

It’s now or never for the Spurs. The opportunity to put this series away is there, and history is on the Spurs side. This statistic courtesy of NBA History’s Twitter account:

ABC 3:30 pm/et Spurs: 16-3 all-time in best-of-7 series when led 2-1 @eliassports

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 12, 2013

Is there anything we missed or something we should add? Let us know in the comments. And as always, Go Spurs Go!