The San Antonio Spurs head to the Staples Center on Saturday night to take on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles.
When: Sunday May 3, 01:00 (UK time)
Watch live: Click here to watch on BT Sport online!
The momentum in this series has swung back and forth with each game, but the advantage is certainly with the Clippers as they head back home for the decider.
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have been huge for Doc Rivers throughout the series, but he has also received key contributions from various players at key times of games.
DeAndre Jordan remains an issue both in a good and bad way with his presence in the paint coupled with his poor free-throw shooting. However, he will be expected to have an impact on Saturday night to see off the defending champions.
The Spurs have looked sensational at times with their ball movement and team basketball, but it hasn’t been consistent enough while they have struggled to get stops on the defensive end.
If they are able to correct those issues then they will be confident of stealing yet another road win in this series, and this will be the most important of all given that it will give them a spot in the Western Conference semifinals where the Houston Rockets await.
Provided that this is a close game and the pressure is turned up on the Clippers, it could spell trouble for them as they have continuously shown a lack of grit to get over the line in the post-season.
If they haven’t learned their lesson from their previous mistakes then more heartbreak could be on the way, but Rivers will have faith in his players to execute the game-plan and finally get past the reigning champions. However, this is the perfect occasion for Tim Duncan and Co. to turn up the pressure and get through.
Prediction: Spurs to win in an overtime thriller.
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