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Somewhere in between herculean and impossible lies the task awaiting the San Antonio Spurs.

The Golden State Warriors—San Antonio's dancing partner in the 2017 NBA Western Conference Finals—are hard to handle at full strength, going 8-0 this postseason and 23-1 since mid-March.

The Spurs are not at full strength. Starting point guard Tony Parker didn't make it out of the conference semifinals versus the Houston Rockets, suffering a playoff-ending ruptured left quadriceps tendon. All-Star leader Kawhi Leonard missed their second-round clincher with a sprained ankle.

Lloyd Christmas doesn't like San Antonio's on-paper chances. But writing off head coach Gregg Popovich and the Alamo City's finest never seems a sound strategy no matter how insurmountable the odds appear.

What would need to happen for the Spurs to pull off a shocking upset? Great question, which we'll examine in detail here. Catastrophic injuries could obviously shift the balance, but we're focused on the strategic choices and heroic performances that must take place for San Antonio to find a way through this colossal challenge starting Sunday at Oracle Arena.