How to watch Warriors vs. Spurs

Golden State basketball is on the way! Come join our game thread and chat about tonight’s matchup here.

The Golden State Warriors finish up this recent homestand with a Saturday night matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. The game will be played at 5:30 PM PT in San Francisco and can be watched on NBC Sports Bay Area.

Previously with the Warriors:

Golden State lost another heartbreaker on Thursday night, suffering defeat by the Chicago Bulls, 125-122. It was a competitive back-and-forth game, however, as it’s been the theme all season long, the Warriors struggled to close things out in what was their 20th loss in a clutch game this season. They are now 18-20 in such games, leading the league in most clutch games played this season.

The bigger news coming out of the game was the ankle injury to Warriors’ superstar Stephen Curry. He exited the game late in the fourth quarter after landing awkwardly on his right ankle. Fortunately, his MRI the following day revealed no significant damage to his ankle, however, he is still expected to miss some time before returning to the court.

What to watch for tonight:

While the Warriors are dealing with the injury to Curry, the Spurs are dealing with an injury to their best player as well. Rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama is ruled out for tonight’s game due to an ankle injury he suffered last week. San Antonio was already the Western Conference’s last place team with him, so his absence will be a significant loss for tonight’s matchup.

Having said that, the big thing to watch going into tonight’s game will be how the Warriors adapt to Curry’s absence. Although nobody can ever replace the impact of the Warriors’ two-time MVP, the team is fortunate enough to have another future hall of fame point guard on their roster in Chris Paul. The seasoned veteran has played great since returning from a hand injury of his own and seems the most likely candidate to replace Curry in the starting lineup.

Paul’s slower, more methodical approach to the game is a big contrast to the team’s free-flowing style with Curry in the starting lineup. Defense, shooting, and a good lob threat are more important when Paul is in the game as he uses these type of players to pick defenses apart with his high basketball IQ. His high on-ball usage also means that a secondary ball handler won’t be needed as much, especially without Curry there to attract attention off-ball. Because of this, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see head coach Steve Kerr go with Klay Thompson back in the starting lineup, while rookie Brandin Podziemski comes off the bench to lead the second unit.

Whatever they decide to go with, the Warriors will need to make it work tonight because there are less than 20 games left in the regular season, and the team has a lot of catching up to do in the standings if they want to avoid being in the play-in tournament.

It should be a fun game. Enjoy the basketball Dub Nation. GO WARRIORS!!!

Projected Starters

Warriors: Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green

Spurs: Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Jeremy Sochan, Zach Collins

How to watch Regular Season Game #63

Who: Golden State Warriors (33 - 29) vs. San Antonio Spurs (13 - 50)

When: Saturday, March 9th, at 5:30 p.m. PT

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, California

TV: NBC Sports Bay Area (available on fuboTV)