The San Antonio Spurs have long been one of the best teams in the NBA, but a rash of injuries to their top players is making it tough to be in the hunt this season. San Antonio is currently the No. 5 seed in the West and can get as high as No. 3, but they are also only two games from falling out of the playoffs completely.
The stretch run is pivotal for San Antonio but it’s going to have an extremely hard time winning next time out in a game on the road against the Golden State Warriors. Golden State has been dominant since the All-Star Break and the home court will make it an extremely big favorite in NBA basketball betting odds.
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Odds Analysis
The Spurs are 37-27 straight up and 30-30-4 against the spread. San Antonio is 14-17-2 against the spread on the road this season. The Spurs are 9-9-1 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
The Warriors are 49-14 straight up and 28-34-1 against the spread. Golden State has gone 14-16-1 against the spread at home this season. The Warriors have been the favorites in sports betting in each game this season and that will remain the case at home against San Antonio.
Injury Report
Kawhi Leonard — The Spurs’ small forward has missed nearly the entire season with a quadriceps injury, but there is some optimism he can return later this month for the stretch run and the postseason. Even if it takes Leonard a couple of weeks to shake the rust off, his return would be huge for a team that is lacking a star.
Leonard was in the MVP race a season ago and is one of the best two-way players in the entire NBA. San Antonio was able to stay afloat for awhile without him, but injuries to LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol further depleted the team and it has really struggled lately.
Leonard won’t be around for this one, but if he can get back soon the Spurs would be a team none of the top seeds want to face in the early rounds.
Previous Meetings
The Warriors won the first two matchups between these two teams pretty easily behind a strong effort from Klay Thompson each time. Thompson had 27 points in the team’s 112-102 win over the Spurs back in November while Kevin Durant added 24 points and Steph Curry had 21 points.
Thompson also led the team in scoring the second time around against San Antonio, scoring 25 points in the team’s 122-105 victory on February 10th. Ten of those 25 points came in the third quarter where Golden State pulled away.
As a team, Golden State shot 56.5 percent from the field and also added 12 three-pointers. San Antonio was led by LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson who each finished with 20 points apiece, but just couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Warriors have been playing really well of late but so have the Rockets, so Golden State still trails by a game in the race for the best record in the NBA. Golden State will keep the pressure on by winning this one going away.
The Spurs have a great coach and a solid defensive system, but there are not enough high-end players available to stick with the high-flying Warriors. Look for Golden State to bomb away from the three-point line and pull away for the victory. The Warriors could also be the team to cover unless the NBA basketball lines are too high.
NBA Odds: Warriors 117, Spurs 104
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