The Golden State Warriors were 12 point winners over the San Antonio Spurs in the third game of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday giving them a 3-0 series lead. They can wrap up the series in Game 4 this Tuesday, the 23rd of May.
Kawhi Leonard was unavailable for Game 3 after sustaining an ankle injury in the series opener back in Oakland and is still in doubt for what could be the series decider on Tuesday. Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich has stated that there wouldn’t be much reason for Leonard to play if there’s any chance that he could do further damage when his team already trail 3-0.
Popovich made a similar decision 17 years ago to leave Tim Duncan out of the line-up for the playoffs when the superstar forward injured his meniscus late in the regular season and could once again choose short term heartbreak here over a long-term niggle for Leonard.
Regardless of whether Leonard plays or not, the series is over for the Spurs, who will have to do something that has never been done in the history of the NBA to advance to the finals; come back from 3-0 down to win a series. San Antionio made the margin somewhat respectable towards the end of Game 3 but the outcome was never in doubt for the Warriors, who held a steady double digit lead for most of the game.
We think Pop will take the smart approach here in game four so the Warriors should have no trouble closing this one out without the defensive pressure of Kawhi Leonard. A telling point of the series is the defence that Golden State have played on LaMarcus Aldridge, who has failed to find his groove all series. Even with veteran Manu Ginobili having arguably his best playoffs series in years, the Spurs cant keep up with the Warriors offensively, as the reigning Western Conference Champs have put up 113, 136 and 120 in the opening three games.
TIP: Manu Ginobili OVER 9.5 Points - $1.98 at Sportsbet
With no Kawhi we think they put up another big score here and easily cover their 114-total point line, which is about the only value we can find in the game with the Warriors paying just $1.10 to win.
TIP: Golden State Warriors OVER 114.5 Points - $1.91 at Sportsbet
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