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| © Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports |
And that’s no joke -- crazy as it might sound considering the surreal season the defending champions are having.
The Spurs, already on the Warriors’ heels (55-5 for Golden State vs. 52-9), got even better Friday when they agreed to sign veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin. The 33-year-old scorer okayed a buyout with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, then zeroed in on the opportunity to help the Spurs win a sixth title since 1999.
"I appreciate the other teams for inviting me into their organizations," Martin told USA TODAY Sports in a text message. "But at the end of the day this just felt right!"
Not long ago, Martin was considered one of the league's most productive and efficient scorers. His career-high came five seasons ago (23.5 points a game) while with the Houston Rockets. He averaged 19.1 points and 20 points a game, respectively, in the past two seasons with the Timberwolves. In his 12 seasons, he has averaged 17.6 points (43.8% shooting overall, 38.5% from three-point range, 87% from the free-throw line), 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
But in terms of helping an elite team work toward a title, Martin’s 2012-13 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder is the most applicable comparison: While coming off the bench, Martin — who averaged 14 points on 45% shooting overall, 42.6% from three-point range and 89% from the line — was a key part of a Thunder team that went 60-22 in the regular season and fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in five games in the second round. Oklahoma City lost point guard Russell Westbrook just two games into the first round against the Rockets with a torn meniscus.
The Martin signing isn’t the only Spurs boon of late. Veteran guard Manu Ginobili is expected to return next week after missing a month due to a testicular injury that required surgery. And if Martin can recapture his form while fitting in with the Kawhi Leonard/LaMarcus Aldridge/Tony Parker/Tim Duncan/Ginobili group that already has the third-best offense in the league (109 points scored per 100 possessions), then even the seemingly unstoppable Warriors may have reason to worry about San Antonio. If they weren’t already.
Despite the enormous level of well-deserved hype surrounding the Warriors, the surprising truth is the Spurs have been winning at a higher clip since Dec. 2 (.884 winning percentage compared with .878) while proving to be the superior defensive team. The Spurs are not only tops in the NBA when it comes to defending (96.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), but also significantly ahead of the fifth-rated Warriors (101.6).
In terms of a potential clash of hoops titans in the postseason, the sample size to this point is too small to handicap it. The Warriors dominated the only meeting so far, 120-90 at Oracle Arena when San Antonio (which played without Duncan) allowed the Warriors to shoot 51.8% from the field and gave up 37 points to reigning MVP Stephen Curry.
The Warriors and Spurs next meet March 19 at the AT&T Center and then April 7 at Oracle Arena with a final match-up three days later back in San Antonio. The race to the title that will ensue from there, it seems clear, may be far more compelling than most might assume.
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