Not discounting Golden State- if GS wins tomorrow, SA is in for a rough game 7.

But I was concerned how great Memphis has been playing (8 of 9). I went back and looked at the Spur-Grizzly games this year (boxscores), and was pleasantly surprised how well Duncan and Splitter did against their frontcourt- shooting a high percentage while limiting Gasol and Randolph to relatively poor shooting. I think Memphis was below 40% and Spurs frontline over 50%.

Now, the trading of Rudy Gay in January is a factor. He was the one guy for Memphis that shot well against the Spurs. But, they've seemed to gelled now since his departure and other role players are stepping up.

Still, SA lost two very close games @ Memphis- 2 pts and 3 pts I think. Won 1 close one in SA and won one by a large margin.

One of those close losses on road was without Duncan, Leonard, and Ginobili.

All in all, I think the Spurs will match up pretty well. OKC hung pretty tough with a severely hampered team. I think Spurs will have a lot more weapons to bring to bear, and a much better game plan. They won't let Randolph just back them down and spin left for short lay-ins.

There will be a lot more pressure on Memphis now that they are at a stage they've never been.

Spurs in 7.

[This message has been edited by AnalogyAg (edited 5/16/2013 1:00a).]

quote:

---

They won't let Randolph just back them down and spin left for short lay-ins.

---

That's what I always tell myself too...
And then he just does it anyway.

Yeah, I seem to remember Randolph torching the Spurs not too long ago, where anything he threw in the direction of the basket somehow found its way through the net. I think it depends on Memphis players at the 1-3 spots. THe Spurs and Grizz will be fairly even down low, assuming Gasol/Randolph/Duncan/Splitter play their norm. If the Spurs win the battle of the guards, namely Parker vs. Conley, they have a chance.

Going by recent performances / injury status, I'm leaning towards Grizzlies in 6, assuming SA gets past Golden State.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 5/16/2013 6:58p).]

Spurs in 6.

I disagree. I think Memphis represents the west, no matter who wins the SA/GS series. Memphis looks to be the real deal. Not saying SA isn't great, because they are. I just think Memphis has too many weapons

And yet the Thunder were in every game.

[This message has been edited by ganondorf (edited 5/16/2013 7:07p).]

Spurs in 6

The Thunder were still a damn good team even without Westbrook. Why wouldn't they be in every game? With scorers like Durant and K Mart along with defense from Ibaka and Perkins, I'm not understanding why that is a reason for me to think less of Memphis who just beat them in 5 games

I am really tempted to bump the Grizzlies Spurs thread from 2 years ago.

Without Westbrook the Thunder were on their last legs and shouldn't really be in any game since Durant isn't ready to carry the team solo. They barely got past Houston.

I feel like Memphis should have dominated Miami Heat style.

quote:

---

I am really tempted to bump the Grizzlies Spurs thread from 2 years ago.

---

I remember nearly all the spurs fans were really pessimistic about that series, none of us felt good about it.

Oh and it was 2 years ago.


[This message has been edited by Cave Johnson, CEO (edited 5/16/2013 8:23p).]

I remember it quite differently but that's ok.

Actually this is a terrible matchup for the Spurs. The only other worse possible matchup for the spurs would be the Mavericks

lol, smack from 2 years ago. I'll start my own: how many trophies has Memphis hoisted?

It is all in good fun Ganondorf. Just trying to make it a little more interesting.

Of the guys who really played in that series, and are no longer playing on the teams.

Antonio McDyess - Retired
Dick Jefferson - Still playing in playoffs for GSW
George Hill - Still playing in playoffs for IND
Steve Novak - Still playing in playoffs for NYK

Shane Battier - Still playing in playoffs for MIA
Sam Young - Still playing in playoffs for IND
Greivis Vasquez - NOH
Hamed Haddadi - Suns


Thats a lot of guys still playing in the playoffs from that series.

Dick Jefferson cracks me up everytime I read it.

Actually I think Battier's shot in game 1 (I think it was game 1) at the end probably ended up being one of the biggest reasons Memphis won that series. Also, no one ever mentions from that series about how Manu was playing with one arm. That was the year he broke his elbow in a meaningless last regular season game against Phoenix, was it not?

If Tony Parker was at 100% health like he was a couple months back, I'd be picking the Spurs in 5 in this series (again assuming the Spurs take care of GS). But I think he's far enough away from that to really give the Spurs their best chance.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 5/16/2013 9:17p).]

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 5/16/2013 9:17p).]

quote:

---

I feel like Memphis should have dominated Miami Heat style

---

I know what you are saying but blowing teams out just isn't in the Grizz's "makeup" it seems. I've watched them a lot this year and its almost as if when they get a decent lead on a team, they lose a bit of focus and start doing things out of their normal gameplan like taking a lot of jumpshots on offense and not playing as intense on D. They just seem to play their best when its a tight grind it out game.

The flip side is that I don't think Memphis played their best basketball during the OKC series and still won in 5 games, really should have swept it.

Yeah, close games or not, the Grizz won in 5 games. Can't do any better than that without sweeping somebody.

^
That is some hard hitting, deep analysis. Other than a sweep, the best you can do is lose one game. Riveting.

What's riveting is that spurs fans are already talking about beating the Griz when they haven't even beaten GS yet.

its also riveting that you are grouping all spurs fans based on a couple posters.

This thread in general is riveting

Good call Summit. I understand your butthurt that the Spurs have a chance to look forward to an opponent. The Rockets at least can look forward to the offseason.

I mean, Royce White has a chance to seize the starting PF spot. Talk about suspense.

But hey, you finally had a chance to taste relevance after some time off. Enjoy it, you earned it.

houston - is it ok to discuss this now?

Well, it's ok to discuss this if the team wins more than 3 games. Because that means that you have won 4 games, which means you've won enough games to get to win more games.

Don't any of you guys understand how a best of 7 series works?

Shooting at games SA, MEM, SA, MEM (home games in bold):

Randolph: 5/21, 8/15, 4/11, 4/11 = 21/58 = 36%
Gasol: 10/16, 4/11, 4/6, 6/14= 24/47= 51%
Conley: 5/13, 5/15, 3/7, 11/17= 24/52 = 46%

Splitter: 2/5, 5/7, 5/6, 6/8 = 18/26 = 69%
Duncan: 11/17, 5/14, 9/17 = 25/48 = 52%
Parker: 11/20, 10/21, 6/11, 9/19 = 36/71 = 51%

[This message has been edited by AnalogyAg (edited 5/17/2013 1:53a).]

In 4 games vs SA this year, Gasol averaged 14.5p/6r/1.3b
ZBo averaged 14.3 and 10 on .362 shooting


vs Memphis, Duncan averaged 19.7p/12.7r/3b/4a
Parker averaged 26/6 on 51/50/90 shooting


I think the Spurs are going to be alright.

Typical. I discuss my opinion that the Griz will win the series and the Spurs fans come out in droves to personally attack me. And you say that I'm the one who is butthurt??

^ Wow, Summit! All anyone has to do is read the thread above to see a) no one is attacking you (much less "in droves"
b) the rest of us are discussing facts about the matchup; and
c) you keep making numerous posts trying to bait people.

You appear to be a sad little man who imagines the world turns around you. Quite delusional.

Once it was mentioned that Memphis didn't have a "dominating" victory over OKC, I point out that they won in 5 games, and the only way they could have had a more dominating performance is if they had swept. And the SA boys come on here acting like I don't have a clue about basketball and I have "riveting" analysis.

Sounds like a personal attack to me, but carry on.