Thunder vs. Spurs Preview: Don't Tip Your Hand

<p>The Thunder and Spurs will likely toss their reserves in for heavy minutes on Tuesday.</p>

Tuesday, April 12th 2016, 7:26 am

By: News 9


The Thunder and Spurs will wrap up their seasons on Tuesday in San Antonio as the two teams continue prep for potential long postseason runs.

San Antonio (65-15) recently lost its first home game of the season, falling to the Warriors 92-86 on Sunday night. The Spurs actually played their starters in an attempt to maintain their perfect home mark, but were beaten anyway. It would be hard to imagine coach Gregg Popovich sending the troops out there again, even if it means entering postseason play on a four-game losing streak.

UPDATE: Manu Ginobili is resting on Tuesday night and Boris Diaw is out with a groin injury.

Don't expect the Thunder (55-26) to take advantage, however, as Oklahoma City's stars could use the night off, as well. Don't expect to see a lot, if any of, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

UPDATE: Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka didn't travel with Thunder to San Antonio, will rest for playoffs.

There's a very high probability that these two will meet in the Western Conference Semifinals. Neither team is likely to be challenged in the first round, leaving the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds primed for a showdown.

While there's a lot of familiarity between the two, don't forget that this is Billy Donovan's first year in the NBA and he might not be as familiar with the Spurs as, say, Scott Brooks was. So don't expect Popovich to tip his hand by playing his whole roster.

The outcome of this one matters as little as any game all season. Just get out of there without any injuries and call it a day.

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