NBA Western Conference Finals 2016/17, Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs: 5 takeaways from Game 1

#5 Spurs flex their bench muscles

Jonathan Simmons provided a real spark off the bench

On a night when Pau Gasol got into early foul trouble and Patty Mills struggled to find his shot, who did Spurs Head Coach Gregg call? The Warrior-Busters.

I’ve talked about the Spurs second unit on multiple occasions and on the biggest stage of them all, boy did they show up. Jonathan Simmons and Manu Ginobili ended up playing more minutes (25 each) than two of the Spurs starters, Kawhi Leonard (23) and Pau Gasol (16), putting up a combined 29 points on an 11-19 shooting clip making some much-needed buckets down the stretch for the Spurs.

Young guards Dejounte Murray and Kyle Anderson also put some work in, playing key minutes to substitute Tony Parker who went down with a season-ending injury in the last series against the Rockets. They destroyed the Warriors second unit, who in total, put up just 13 points. As the Spurs enter the seemingly twilight era of their championship winning days, irrespective of the outcome of this series, it must make Coach Pop relieved to know that he has some young players to lead the way for the next few years.