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4 clever adjustments Popovich used to ruin Warriors' debut

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Tim Duncan is gone after nearly two decades, but the San Antonio Spurs remain in safe hands under the watch of resident genius Gregg Popovich.

While all the attention this offseason was focused on Cleveland's elation and Golden State's addition, the forgotten Spurs ducked the spotlight as they quietly retooled for another title push.

San Antonio emerged from the shadows Tuesday by spoiling Golden State's much-anticipated debut with a 129-100 walloping.

The message to Golden State and the rest of the league was loud and clear: The Spurs aren't anywhere close to done - not while Popovich remains at the controls.

Here are four ways the coach stifled the league's top offense:

Using timeouts to slow Curry

The Warriors are known for reeling off short bursts of brilliance where they overrun opponents. Two minutes is usually all they need to swing the tide of the game.

The floodgates are typically unlocked with a trademark triple from Stephen Curry. His threes whip Oracle Arena into a frenzy and the Warriors begin to play with a furious pace. They hunt for turnovers and push after stops to create more opportunities for Curry to exploit his matchup.

Astutely aware of the machinations of Golden State's offense, Popovich put a halt to the game each time the Warriors found their flow. He immediately called timeout after each of Curry's three triples in the first half to drill his team on where they went wrong, and to reset his defense with the proper substitutions.

Popovich never let the Warriors find a rhythm, and kept their vaunted offense in check by keeping a tight lid on the two-time reigning MVP.

Attacking the interior

San Antonio rarely looked to exploit the offensive glass in recent seasons despite almost always deploying traditional lineups with two bigs in the frontcourt.

Duncan's physical limitations made the calculus simple: it was more important to get back on defense than it was to chase second-chance points. Accordingly, San Antonio ranked in the bottom 10 in offensive rebounds in each of the last six seasons.

With Duncan in retirement, the Spurs flipped the script on the Warriors. San Antonio racked up 21 offensive rebounds and delivered a 26-4 smackdown in second-chance points. LaMarcus Aldridge did most of the heavy lifting by hauling in eight offensive rebounds against a tiny frontline of Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.

That's where offseason castoffs Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli were missed the most. Golden State had very little toughness on the interior beyond an overburdened Green.

San Antonio helped its own case by taking shots closer to the basket. Not only did that produce shorter rebounds for the team's interior players to feast upon, but not taking longer shots meant not creating longer rebounds that flow into transition opportunities for the opponent.

The Spurs had it both ways: they got their second-chance points while not allowing Golden State to run it down their throats.

Pressing the bench advantage

Bringing in Durant forced Golden State to sacrifice some depth, and it cost them dearly Tuesday.

The Warriors were outscored 54-16 by the Spurs' bench. It didn't matter how good their top four were - nobody can overcome such a massive deficit from the second unit.

Popovich beat the Warriors at their own game. He switched from the methodical half-court attack employed against the starters to a pace-and-space second unit that caught Golden State's ageing bench on its back heel.

Trusty sixth man Andre Iguodala was a minus-28 in 26 minutes. Pressed into a bigger role, backup guard Ian Clark was a minus-29 in 13 minutes while looking mostly helpless on defense. Veterans David West and Shaun Livingston were also ineffectual, as they posted marks of minus-13 and minus-15, respectively.

Meanwhile, San Antonio got excellent performances from Jonathon Simmons (plus-33), Patty Mills (plus-35), Dewayne Dedmon (plus-29), and Manu Ginobili (plus-22).

Some of this is to be expected. The Spurs had the best bench in the league last season (it was better than most starting units) and the Warriors are trying to rebuild their bench after losing three key cogs in free agency.

Choosing athleticism over skill

Most coaches would give their star offseason import some rope in their debut, but Popovich isn't most coaches.

When Pau Gasol - the successor to Duncan - couldn't keep up on defense, Popovich simply benched him. The big Spaniard only logged 18 minutes before finishing with a measly line of two points and four rebounds.

Popovich opted instead for speed and athleticism over Gasol's craft and guile. He dusted off the unheralded small forward Simmons while sliding Leonard to power forward in a three-wing, one-big alignment. That gave the Spurs enough athleticism to contend with Golden State's smallball units.

It's nothing personal for Gasol; it's only a product of matchups. Popovich had a healthy Duncan sit out against the Warriors last season for no reason other than because Duncan didn't have the requisite speed to sprint around the perimeter.

It takes a great amount of trust and respect for a coach to bench an important starter. Evidently, that rapport has already been forged between Gasol and Popovich.

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