Spurs at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins in the regular season last year but could not finish it off with a second straight NBA championship, prompting the club to add the best free agent on the market over the summer. Kevin Durant will make his regular-season debut with the Warriors when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Durant joins fellow NBA MVP Stephen Curry and All-Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in an offense that led the NBA in scoring last season, and the four thrived in brief spurts on the floor together in the preseason. “All in all, things are coming together,” coach Steve Kerr, tempering expectations, told reporters. “We’re not there yet, but we probably shouldn’t be there yet because we’re only a few weeks into this thing.” The Spurs were Golden State's closest challengers in the Western Conference during the 2015-16 regular season but fell in the conference semifinals and lost future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan to retirement after the playoffs. San Antonio filled that empty spot in the frontcourt with 36-year-old Pau Gasol and 33-year-old former Warrior David Lee.
TV: 10:30 p.m. TNT
ABOUT THE SPURS (2015-16: 67-15): San Antonio spent the last week fighting off rumors that All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge was unhappy with his role on the team behind breakout star forward Kawhi Leonard. "I'm winning. Of course I'm happy," Aldridge said on the Jim Rome radio show. "That's why I don't buy into the rumors. I feel like I do my job here and I feel like I've done everything that they've asked. That's why I haven't bought into the rumors." Leonard finished second to Curry in the MVP voting last season and is expected to help fill the leadership void left by the departure of Duncan.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (2015-16: 73-9): Golden State's five-man unit of Curry, Thompson, Green, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes was the most efficient in the league last season and will now upgrade from Barnes to Durant. The move to the Warriors came with some criticism for Durant, though he and his new teammates insist they are shielding the outside noise. “Some people say we're villains," Green told reporters. "I don't think we're really going into it saying we're villains, we need to do this. Who cares? It's like, it really doesn't matter what people try to make you play. It's about getting on the court, getting between these lines and performing."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors went 39-2 at home last season, one off San Antonio's record-tying 40-1 home mark.
2. Golden State also added C Zaza Pachulia and PF David West, who spent last season with the Spurs.
3. San Antonio G Danny Green (quad) is expected to miss the first three weeks of the season.