The Golden State Warriors lead in the Western Conference is slipping. For whatever reason, Golden State continues to lose games in inexplicable fashion. Although this team is without question the most talented squad in the NBA, they have now lost three of their last five and are just a couple games up on Houston for the top spot in the conference.
Now, one of the Warriors’ biggest rivals comes to town. The San Antonio Spurs have not been able to keep up in the Western Conference arms race, but this is still one of the best teams in the NBA. They are always going to win 50 games and compete for the title with Gregg Popovich on the bench running the show. San Antonio will look to keep Golden State’s bad time going.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, February 10, 2018, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The game will be televised live on ABC. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Saturday schedule.
Opening NBA Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
San Antonio has been a decent team to bet on this season. The Spurs are 29-25-2 ATS overall, despite not having covered in four of their last six. However, this team has not been a great one to back on the road. That’s because Popovich knows he has a team full of veterans that constantly need to rest and have their minutes managed. It’s a lot easier to justify that on the road than it is in front of your home crowd.
Under has been a sharp bet in San Antonio road games all year though. The under is 19-9 when the Spurs are away from home.
Golden State’s struggles have meant that this team has lost you a good chunk of money if you backed them. The Warriors have failed to cover in seven of their last ten, and they easily could have failed to cover in all of them. They have to cover lofty spreads every time they step on the court, but they seem to only care about the win at the end of the day.
Key Injuries
To make matters worse for San Antonio, some of their biggest contributors are battling injuries heading into this one.
We all know the story with Kawhi Leonard at this point. An array of injuries has meant very limited time for him this season, but he is expected back very soon at this point. Although he won’t be playing against the Warriors, he could return as soon as Monday night. If he does, he will almost certainly be on a minutes cap.
Rudy Gay joined Leonard on the injury list two weeks ago, and he has at least two more weeks to go until he returns. He suffered a heel injury, further constraining Pop’s choices. Gay is a small forward, just like Leonard, and was receiving starter’s minutes without Kawhi in the lineup.
Finally, there’s the status of young point guard Dejounte Murray. He was supposed to take a big step this year for the Spurs, but he has failed to do that. Murray is still a key contributor though. He rolled his ankle on Thursday night and is considered a gametime decision.
Key Stat
Golden State is going to fire away from three all game long. Without some of its most agile defenders, the Warriors are going to be able to get a number of good looks against the Spurs. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson can all shoot the rock, and each player is averaging six threes a game. Look for them to shoot even more in this one.
Free NBA Betting ATS Picks
Don’t be surprised to see Popovich essentially punt this game and rest his key guys. He understands the NBA season is a grind, not a sprint, and does not care for putting on a show on national television. For that reason, I think it’s unlikely to see Murray play, and Golden State will beat an injury-depleted Spurs team.
NBA Betting Odds: Warriors 113, Spurs 100
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