Warriors vs. Spurs preview: The Best vs The Best!

The two best teams in the NBA are about to collide in possibly the biggest match up of the regular season as the Warriors host the Spurs! The bad news: someone's going home with a loss after tonight's game.

Team Overviews

"One shall stand, one shall fall." - Optimus Prime

Those mighty words were spoken in Transformers the Movie (1986) When Optimus Prime faced his nemesis Megatron. I've had this game marked on my calendar for months, which seemed like an eternity. That day has finally arrived!

The Warriors are coming off three big wins last week. They dismantled the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-98. They followed that with a beat down in Chicago as the Bulls suffered a 125-94 loss to Golden State. The Dubs closed it out at home Friday night with a 122-110 win against the pacers.

Half court shots galore from our MVP Stephen Curry

Now comes the big challenge: The Spurs are in town. The great news is Golden State is going to have a little help with the return of Steve Kerr who will be coaching from the sidelines. This is big news for the Warriors that gives them an added boost going into tonight's match up. We all know what's at stake here.

The Spurs put their 13 game win streak on the line at the Roaracle. LaMarcus Aldridge is fitting in great with this elite Spurs team. He's averaging 15.9 ppg and 8.9 rpg. He's backed by Kawhi Leonard who's having a great season with 20.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Oh, and then there's those thtee guys Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan who've been running wild and winning championships for quite some time. Everyone in both locker rooms know tonight's game is big.

Oh, and there's this:

INJURY REPORT - Tim Duncan (soreness, right knee) is out for tomorrow's Spurs-Warriors game.

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 24, 2016

Coach Kerr's reply to Duncan's injury:

Steve Kerr on Tim Duncan missing Spurs-Warriors ... He's 57 years old and needs a day off https://t.co/PhDG7O8C7m pic.twitter.com/XiHqaaUU64

— SI NBA (@si_nba) January 25, 2016

Key to the game: Outsmart San Antonio

This starts with the coaching staff. Devise a game plan that will give Golden State an advantage and have the players execute. The talent's in place; it's all about execution.

Highlight Predictions

• Stephen Curry vs Kawhi Leonard. I've read this on Facebook message boards for months: "Kawhi Leonard will shut down Stephen Curry." The last time both teams met back in April 5th, the Kawhi wreaked havoc defensively on the Dubs exposing Steph's weaknesses and scoring a game high 26 points against Golden State. For Curry to come out on top, he's going to need to play smarter basketball and outplay Leonard. We all want our MVP to come out big with this one. It's going to be a challenge no doubt!

• Gregg Popovich vs Steve Kerr. Both these men have led their teams to the best records in the league. One has already put San Antonio in the history books. The other is making a name for himself in Golden State with a championship under his belt as head coach. For Steve Kerr to succeed tonight he's going to need hefty stack of tricks up his sleeve to pull out a win.

• The Fans. There's been great debate among both fan bases via social media on who's got the better team to win a championship. This will be the first of many battles, but it also sets the tone for things to come. Tonight's matchup also give us an idea of each team's strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of time for both squads to adjust and for  the fans' debate to continue. The ultimate bragging rights will belong to the team that wins it all.

Let's get ready to rumble!

Win Prediction: It’s anybody’s game and will be an exciting one! Warriors win by 3 in a stunning overtime victory!

ICYMI: (Posts from GSoM)

Tim Duncan ruled out for Monday night versus Warriors