Nothing much has gone right for the San Antonio Spurs in the first three games — all definitive losses — to the Golden State Warriors in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Now Steve Atwater Jersey , with the prospect of a second consecutive four-game playoff sweep by Golden State, everything has to go right for the Spurs to even extend the series past Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
San Antonio will be behind the eight ball even before the game tips off as the team announced Saturday that coach Gregg Popovich will again be missing from the sidelines as he remains with his family in the aftermath of his wife’s death Wednesday.
Popovich did not coach the Spurs during their 110-97 loss to Golden State in Game 3 on Thursday, handing those duties over to first assistant Ettore Messina.
Messina will also be at the helm Sunday as San Antonio tries to stay alive and push the series to a fifth game Tuesday in Oakland. But even those chances are slim, and it’s all but a given that the Warriors will win the series and move on to the conference semifinals.
The Spurs lost Thursday because they didn’t shoot well, a theme throughout the first three games of the series. San Antonio shot 42.5 percent from the field and made only 7 of 33 from 3-point range. That poor performance from beyond the arc came after a 4-for-28 showing from long distance in Game 2 on Monday.
“Our guys focused in and we came in and we played,” said Spurs All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the team in Game 3 with 18 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s been the same thing. We just aren’t making shots that are there.
“They’re (Warriors) doubling and doing their things. We have open shots, but they just aren’t going in. Our guys are competing, following the game plan, and trying to give ourselves a shot, but when don’t make shots, it’s always tough.”
Tony Parker added 16 points off the bench for San Antonio in Game 3 Jeremiah George Jersey , bit most of those points came in garbage time, when things were already out of hand.
The teams could not have had a more contrasting series over the first three games, as for everything the Spurs have done wrong, Golden State has done right. It’s been a totally dominating performance so far for the defending NBA champions, even without guard Stephen Curry — who is out rehabbing a knee injury.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors in Game 3 with 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists. Klay Thompson added 19 points, and Shawn Livingston hit for 16. In all, six players scored in double figures for Golden State.
Thompson said the Warriors’ success in the first three games has been predicated on their willingness to go the extra mile on defense.
“We rely on our defense when we’re not making shots,” Thompson said. “Our defense can be a constant for us and dictate how far you play. If we get open looks, they’re eventually going to fall.”
Durant and Livingston rolled their ankles in the fourth quarter of Game 3, adding some suspense, at least on the injury front Chris Harris Jr Jersey , for Sunday’s game.
“They’re going to be OK,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Durant and Livingston. “Shaun’s was probably a little worse than Kevin’s. Both sprained ankles, but I think they’ll be all right.”
The Detroit Lions have spent a lot of time and money trying to improve their offensive line.
Frank Ragnow represents the latest investment.
"It starts up front," Lions general manager Bob Quinn said. "That's kind of what we believe in."
Detroit drafted the Arkansas center with the No. 20 overall pick Thursday night, hoping he can boost their lackluster running game and keep franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford upright more often.
"Those are two things he's paid to do and he does both of them equally well," Quinn said. "He played his best games against the best defenses."
The Lions ranked last in the NFL last year in rushing offense and have been among the league's worst on the ground offensively in recent seasons. Their one-dimensional offense and banged-up line led to Stafford being sacked 47 times last season.
Ragnow will have a chance to start as a rookie, likely next to guards T.J. Lang and Graham Glasgow if he plays center. He may also play guard, giving Detroit an option of playing Glasgow at center.
"He's a guy who can help us most the quickest," Quinn said.
Quinn has used the draft and free agency to bolster the offensive line, using his first pick as a general manager two years ago to take Ohio State tackle Taylor Decker No. 16 overall and Glasgow two rounds later. Last year in free agency, Quinn spent big to sign Lang and Ricky Wagner.
And now, Quinn has committed to bolster the line even more by using a first-round pick on a center and choosing to address needs on the defensive line later in the draft or free agency.
The 6-foot-5 Carlos Hyde Jersey , 312-pound Ragnow is a big and powerful lineman, who ended his 42-game career without giving up a sack. He had a season-ending ankle injury last year, limiting him to seven games.
"The rehab process went way smoother than I expected," said Ragnow, adding his ankle is healthy. "It was a very routine surgery."
The Minnesota native played in nine games as a freshman in 2014 and became a full-time starter at right guard as a sophomore. He moved to center as a junior and thought entering NFL draft after grading out as the top offensive lineman in the country by Pro Football Focus.
Ragnow chose to stay in college and was a second-team preseason All-America player, but injury stunted his shot at winning awards. His father, Jon, died of a heart attack during the 2016 football season.
"He was my best friend," he said. "He was my biggest fan. Especially right now, it's bittersweet. I'm just going to keep trying to make him proud."
Despite the loss, he continued to play and was stopped after a game by Alabama coach Nick Saban, who lost his father to a heart attack while in graduate school.
"Embrace the memories and the good times that he had with his father because that will be something he can keep with him forever Jerry Hughes Jersey ," Saban recalled telling Ragnow.
The Lions have second- and third-round picks Friday along with slots in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds on Saturday. They went into the draft without a sixth-round selection, giving it up last year to acquire offensive tackle Greg Robinson from the Los Angeles Rams. Robinson started six games for the Lions, who released him in November.
The Lions had relative success a year ago in the draft, getting contributions from seven players it selected.
Detroit won three of their first four games last season and had a 6-4 record, but had setbacks in three of five games to fall out of the playoff picture and the late-season slide cost coach Jim Caldwell his job. Quinn hired Matt Patricia to lead an NFL team for the first time, reuniting with a coach he worked alongside with the New England Patriots for a dozen years.
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