San Antonio Spurs

Steph Curry warns the Spurs’ defense ahead of the Western Conference finals

Published May. 14, 2017 11:01 a.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

The Golden State Warriors have yet to be challenged in the playoffs, sweeping through the first two rounds. But as the Warriors prepare to take on the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, Steph Curry dared the Spurs to continue playing a similar style of defense they used in beating the Rockets.

The Spurs’ bigs didn't always hedge out in pick-and-roll situations despite the Rockets’ array of shooters, giving Houston some pretty clean looks from deep. Curry would love to see that continue in the West finals.

“I hope they do that for us,” Curry said, via CSN Bay Area. “Please do it. Do it.”

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich likely will adjust San Antonio’s defensive schemes against the Warriors, who led the league in scoring in the regular season. Golden State arguably has the greatest collection of shooters in the NBA, with Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green leading the way. Daring them to shoot from beyond the arc could be a recipe for disaster, but the Spurs were one of the few teams in the league to have some success against the Warriors in the regular season, beating them two out of three times.

But the Warriors appear to be playing their best basketball of the season, leaving many to believe San Antonio will be just a speed bump in Golden State's pursuit for a third straight trip to the Finals. For the Spurs to have a chance, Kawhi Leonard will have to be close to 100 percent. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year missed San Antonio’s closeout Game 6 win over the Rockets on Thursday due to an ankle injury, but the Spurs say he will play in Sunday’s Game 1.