The Golden State Warriors finally have their opponent set in the Western Conference Finals. After sweeping the Utah Jazz, the Warriors were waiting patiently while the Spurs and Rockets battled it out.
The Spurs got the better of the Rockets, even without Kawhi Leonard, and took down the Rockets in game 6. This series has tons of superstars in it, but there are four key players to watch in this series.
Draymond Green
Draymond Green is in for a tough series against the San Antonio Spurs. He'll have the job of guarding LaMarcus Aldridge all series, and probably will have to guard Kawhi Leonard on any switches.
Green is a big player to watch in this series because when Draymond is playing well and contributing to the team, the Warriors are dominant.
Green is the motor of the team and the in particular motor on the defensive end. If Green is dominant on defense in this series, then the Warriors will be successful.
Danny Green
Danny Green came alive in their series against the Houston Rockets. When Kawhi Leonard went down, Green came up big contributing 7 points in a game five overtime win over Houston. In this series against the Warriors, Danny Green has to bring his A-game.
His defensive presence against Klay Thompson will be crucial all series long. He may switch onto Steph Curry a bit, and he'll need to work on that end.
On offense, he needs to be the knock-down shooter we have seen in the past. If he isn't, the Spurs could be in big trouble.
Patty Mills
With the exit of Tony Parker, Patty Mills has stepped up to the task nicely. Mills isn't nearly the facilitator that Parker is, but he brings a lot of scoring to the team. The Spurs lose a lot of scoring off the bench since Mills is starting now, but he needs to make an impact on the offensive end for San Antonio.
Defensively he isn't bad, but he won't be someone who can lock up Stephen Curry. Doing his best to have at least Steph take tough shots would be ideal. Steph will hit those insane shots, but you just have to live with them.
Klay Thompson
This is the series for Klay Thompson to go off. Now that Kevin Durant is here, Klay's defensive tasks aren't as hefty as they were before.
This allows Klay to be more of an offensive specialist in this upcoming series. Thompson has been good in the playoffs, but we haven't seen him be as electric as he was in the past. This series is a big statement for him. While the Spurs worry about Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, Klay will go a bit unnoticed.
