The Golden State Warriors will face the San Antonio Spurs without Kawhi Leonard on Saturday.
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With the Golden State Warriors struggling as of late without Kevin Durant, the battle for the top seed in the Western Conference has become serious. The San Antonio Spurs are right on the tails of the Warriors and have a chance to overtake them. The two sides will meet in a pivotal battle on Saturday night in San Antonio.
However, the Spurs are going to be without their superstar forward for the battle. The team officially announced on Friday, that Kawhi Leonard has entered concussion protocol and will miss the game against the Warriors. Leonard suffered a head injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
Kawhi Leonard has entered the NBA's Concussion Protocol. He will not play in tomorrow's Spurs-Warriors game. pic.twitter.com/hVrGV1IAhN
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 10, 2017
With a huge battle between the two teams with plenty of playoff implications on the line, this is certainly an interesting hand the Spurs have drawn. There isn’t a team in the entire league that does more with less than San Antonio and now they will really face their biggest challenge yet without Golden State.
Leonard’s recent play had pushed him into the MVP conversation and the way he leads by example with his play has made the team around him better. Golden State on the other hand is trying to figure out how to deal without Durant.
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The turnovers have become a major issue for the team this season and Wednesday night’s loss to the Celtics highlighted some of the troubles the team is having. They know the stakes that are on the line at San Antonio and that a win over the Spurs would give them some separation as they try and race toward the top seed in the Western Conference.
Without Durant or Leonard on the floor, this is going to be one of those battles with plenty of hypothetical questions after. Those questions don’t matter in the now, as Golden State has to pick up this win on the road.