We're edging closer and closer to the NBA Finals each and every week, and the Western Conference will begin their process to deciding who their representative will be in the Finals when the Golden State Warriors take on the San Antonio Spurs later today.

The Warriors are the current hot favorites to advance to the NBA Finals for the third season in a row thanks to their recent form in the playoffs of winning their first and second round series 4-0 each. The Spurs have an 8-4 record in this year's postseason after losing twice to the Memphis Grizzles in the first round, and the Houston Rockets in the second.

San Antonio has had a couple of scares throughout playoffs so far, which has been in large part down to their defense underperforming. This was especially notable during their series vs Rockets when their pick-and-roll defense allowed the team plenty of looks from deep.

Speaking about this prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Golden State's Steph Curry told reporters that he hopes the Spurs play the same type of defense against the Warriors when they meet.

The two-time NBA MVP said, according to NBC Sports: “I hope they do that for us. Please do it. Do it.

“We have a lot of scorers that can do it in a lot of different ways. You don’t want to fight their defense and try to keep doing things that they trying to take away. You kind of want to go to spots that the defense gives you, so you can make those plays and try to make it as easy as possible on yourself.

“But I feel like we have the versatility to be able to attack those pick-and-rolls. Whether it’s the guy with the ball ending up with the basket or if you’re able to drive and kick, just try to make the right reads.”

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is too experienced to allow his team play this type of defense against the Warriors, so expect him to make some sort of adjustments to deal with the threats the team has such as Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

However, with the way Golden State are playing this season, it looks like San Antonio will just be another obstacle they'll be able to eventually overcome, whether that be a sweep or a seven-game thriller. Popovich may have to be at his coaching best in order to change that outcome.