This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As the Jazz fight through injuries and growing pains, the promise of a better tomorrow out there just beyond present reach, there's something else to embrace right now, today, the next day and the day after that, something already grown but, somehow, still getting better.
The Spurs and the Warriors.
The two best teams in the NBA will meet Monday night, staging the first of a few regular-season matchups, all of which will be examined for hints about what might come in May.
Barring any kind of crazy upset, what's coming in the Western Conference playoffs will be a series for the ages, a series better than anything any contest between the West and the East would conjure in the Finals. Not only have the Spurs and the Warriors separated themselves from the rest of the league, including the Cavs, widening that gap with every passing week, they are historically good, the kind of good that should grab and hold and conjure every basketball fan's attention and appreciation.
Something extraordinary is happening here.
And there could be even more to appreciate as the line tightens on this thing, pressure being applied on and from both sides, as the season's stretch run opens.
Golden State guard Klay Thompson said in a recent interview that the Spurs are making the Warriors even better than they would be otherwise, just by being who they are, by playing at a ridiculous level. And it seems that motivation is going both directions.
"It pushes us," he said. "It definitely makes us better, knowing that they're behind us. They're playing great. It's going to be fun when we see them [on Monday]. There are some good teams behind the Cavs in the East, but not a monster like San Antonio. But that's going to make us better, to be honest with you."
So the beast complements the monster, all against the background of two questions swirling around one another and, ultimately, colliding: How much better can these teams get? Who is the best?
They have a combined record of 78-10. Neither has lost a home game this season, with the Warriors sitting at 20-0 and the Spurs at 24-0. That's one of the reasons the results of the regular season will play such an important role in what comes next. Whichever team gets home-court advantage will have more than a slight edge in the postseason.
The beast's castle is Oracle Arena, the site of Monday's game. The monster's fortress is AT&T Center.
The Spurs, in particular, have been unbeatable of late, having won 13 straight games, gaining momentum as LaMarcus Aldridge and David West blend in with the traditional core, all the guys who never go away, getting acclimated to a team-first environment that has sustained a hungry attitude for the past two decades. Their margin of victory over opponents is 14.5 points, and that average has been stretching the past month. Over one extended span, they were thrashing teams by nearly 20 points per game.
Utilizing a kind of group think on the floor that is a joy to watch, San Antonio ranks sixth in the league in points per game, averaging 104.3, mastering an enviable efficiency, making better than 49 percent of its shots, which leads the NBA. That would be impressive enough standing alone, but add that it leads the league in defense, too, allowing 89.8 points, and impressive then shifts into darn-near impossible. Teams' shooting percentage against the Spurs is 42.6, a defensive stat that also is the league's best.
Offensive firepower stirs fear in the hearts of opponents, but defensive prowess straight intimidates teams.
Golden State's offensive options are legendary, led by Steph Curry, who is playing at a pinnacle with room for only one. The Warriors lead the league in scoring, averaging nearly 115 points, and their efficiency is only a notch off the Spurs, making 48.6 percent of their attempts. Their defense isn't bad, either, although it is compromised statistically a bit by their pace of play. They rank second to the Spurs in point differential, holding a 12.1 advantage over the rest of the league.
We can break these teams down any which way we want, but watching them play is the real testament to the success they're having. Curry, Draymond Green, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes and the rest against Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Aldridge, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and others, is nothing short of a basketball connoisseur's delight.
Either one of these outfits, without the other, would win an NBA title. Being pushed and measured, one against the other, is a throwback to the '80s Lakers-Celtics showdowns, a bouncing bit of nirvana with Spalding written across it: The Spurs, with all their previous championships waiting to be added thereto, and the Warriors, defending a title that didn't bring them enough credit.
LeBron will face the aftermath of the throwback and that, too, will be nice.
But everyone should stop and recognize what's going on, what the Western Conference is hatching right before our eyes — two teams with great individual talents playing selflessly together in a manner that the likes of Red Auerbach — and any other of the old-timers and purists — would not only have embraced, but that would have caused him to reach for and light up a Blackstone just to revel in the glory of his game. He always saw smoking that victory cigar as a sign of in-your-face fulfillment and relaxation and celebration.
Yeah. What's happening here is that good.
GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.