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me, not really down with poker analogies
100% agree with this. If that Grizzlies squad gets a nice lead at home, I don't see the Spurs being able to overcome it. They gotta start off the game with really tough defense, smart shots, and please, little turn overs. Turnovers are key. Can't go on any scoring droughts.
me, not really down with poker analogies
If the Spurs get off to a good start can we count on Gregg Popper bringing in 6th man of the year Matty Bonner to freeze the momentum?
It could also be a battle for Memphis.
Obviously if the Spurs come out early hard it will put pressure on them, but more than anything I would rather keep it close then go on a 2nd half run. A 2nd half run with the clock running down in Memphis could crush that team.
I do think they might react well. Thats always a possibility, but I find it hard to believe that the Griz are a team that won't crack.
Exactly
I don't get it...what exactly have the Grizz shown that they will crack? They were in it EVERY SINGLE GAME THIS SERIES in the 4th quarter. The only time they showed even a slight crack---when Ginobili made a blind 2 pointer to get Spurs within 1 and when Neal hit a 3 pointer with 1.7 sec left. Basically--they cracked when the Spurs made impossible/miraculous shots. That's the only way I can see the Grizz cracking again...if the Spurs make so many shots throughout the game and the Grizz are unable to stop them, they may start falling apart.
Grizz have all the confidence in the world. They know they are at home and they know they have the upper hand and they are the only team in this series that hasn't gotten blown out.
This game isn't about the Grizzlies anyways. It's about whether Ginobili and Parker can continue what they did in Game 5 and if Tim Duncan can step up his game and if one of our loser role players (i.e. Bonner, RJ, or George Hill) can step it up on the road. If these things happen, Spurs have a chance to stay in the game and possibly take it. But if even ONE of those things don't happen, it's going to be a disaster and I could see Game 6 being a blowout by the Grizzlies.
Well, you can't underestimate how ONE shot can change a series...and for the spurs to hit TWO of those shots...well...this is the kind that might creep into the grizzlies heads just enough for them to hesitate a little...to just start thinking a little bit in their shot selection...their gambling on defense...their execution on offense,etc...
Maybe the spurs opened the door a little and maybe that little opening caused the spurs to believe a little more...to trust each other a little more...
You never know.
According to sources, Z-Bo can't even sleep last night because of Neal's shot. Of course everyone remembers Fisher's .4 and that shot alone broke the hearts of the Spurs.
Theres more pressure on this Grizz to win this series. I don't know where Battier is getting this house money from. Many people picked the Grizz to win. This isn't GS vs Dallas. Second, the Spurs didn't play their best player for one game. Memphis basically had HCA after that point. Third Memphis was great Post All Star break. Memphis isn't playing with house money. There's a ton of pressure for them to win. They tanked to get the Spurs. That says a lot about their expectations going into it. They're smoking crack if they think they can give this series away and it would be nothing of consequence just because they're an withhold seed. that. They lose this series and they're in the record books for being the wrong side of the biggest comeback in NBA history. , sports history. They're playing with more than house money.
Last edited by mingus; 04-28-2011 at 11:46 PM.
Very solid post.to intelligent females
J/K
In all seriousness, I also think there are no signs as of yet that the Grizzlies are going to crack. They hardly go on scoring droughts, the bring the intensity almost always, and their great defense is always present. They're simply a tough team, and they really don't have too much to lose, they're still an 8th seed overall and don't have to meet the expectations of a 1 seed to not get bounced in the first round. True, they were once up 3-1, but they still have the edge in my opinion. I still believe it's going to be really hard for the Spurs to win this series, and it basically all comes down to game 6 in Memphis.
I don't buy that there is more pressure. They have a bright future with some of their solid young players, the Spurs on the other hand are in win now mode. This is probably their last realistic shot (and I was saying this last year too, about last season).
You even brought up the point that they tanked for the Spurs and their expectations...precisely why it may alleviate their pressure. They WANTED the Spurs for a reason, they liked their chances against them, and probably still do because a home win ends this series. Last game at home was a blow out. Last Spurs win was a miracle, literally. It was several miracles actually. I can't say the opposite is true about the Spurs, that they WANT to play Memphis.
There is more pressure. How many people expected the Spurs to lose to Memphis b4 the series started vs. how many people expect Memphis to lose it after going up 3-1?
OK..I understand, but what's your point? Try to address some of the things in my post.
The Grizz wanted the Spurs, and they've proven a more dangerous team so far. They shouldn't be as worried because they have great go to options in their big men that cannot be stopped. Their defense is always there. Spurs on the other hand almost always go on a scoring drought, due to the combination of persistent tough Memphis defense and tendency for Spurs to go through stretches of bad shot selection and turnovers.
Memphis blew the Spurs out completely in their last home game, the rest have gone down to the wire. You can say they got lucky on the Randolph three, but I wouldn't. Although he doesn't normally take threes, he's still a great shooter for a big man and has a fundamentally sound shot. He's proving it this series. Duncan gave him too much space..I count that as a defensive lapse in that moment of the game. He could have been a foot or too closer to ZBo. He also proved he can hit the outside shot even under pressure this past game. Then the wide open Battier three...a complete defensive mental fart. You just don't get that too often from Memphis. Combination of superior defense and superior inside play will always give them the advantage in any single game. The Spurs last victory came after many miracles...not only the Ginobili 2.9 and Neal 3, but that Hill out of control lay up to set those opportunities up was completely miraculous.
I don't know, I don't see how there is more pressure on Memphis. You can argue for both teams having a large amount of pressure, and could make a strong case. If anything, they have at least an equal amount, for different reasons. But with all of the above and considering this is the Spurs last shot at their goal (contrary to Memphis having a bright future), I can't say the Spurs have less pressure.
Exactly.
Outside of hopefully demoralizing the Grizzlies some, the biggest thing the Spurs have going for them going into game six, is law of averages. Credit their defense, but the Spurs are long overdue to resemble the sharp shooting, explosive offensive team they've been this season. On top of that, Young, Arthur and Vasquez, are due to regress to the mean.
One other thing that I forgot about...
If there is any way to get Conley in early foul trouble...it would absolutely change the game as Vasquez is out of his element in running a team...
this is why Conley has been playing a LOT of minutes....
If the spurs keep the lead..Hollins will have no choice but to overplay Conley..so a few fouls on Conley will screw up the grizzlies plans.
It's just tough to try to make the opposing point guard to rack up fouls. A center or PF is another story, but it's a very limited tactic in nature to go for a guard, let alone PG.
Speaking of Vasquez, I have no idea why the Spurs aren't having Hill pick him up full court and harass his every dribble every time he's in the game. They're letting them off the hook every time they let him bring it up with no pressure. They could be taking valuable seconds off the shot clock and forcing them to get into their offense later in the clock. They could also force a turnover or two.
I expect the Spurs to get destroyed in game 6. Can't even talk myself into a scenario where they win.
I think there's more tangible stuff than mind games in this series... they play defense and we, at least for long stretches, don't. They have a good game plan, and they execute it even when they're down 15 on the road... Unlike the Spurs, if their shots aren't falling, they know they have that confidence of knowing they can get it back at the other end.
The only way you break the back of a team like that is not with lucky shots, but actually showing them that they can't control what you do. Entering into the series, I though we had those mismatches on Tony, Manu and even RJ... I thought Manu was the guy that did better, but the other two barely materialized.
We have only been blown out once and the other two losses were close affairs.
Their big men stop shooting like Dirk Nowitzki and it becomes a different story.
If two or three of Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, Mike Conley and Tony Allen start shooting jumpshots for over 50% again, we are going to have problems. They normally do not play like All-Stars.
There were series where three or four possessions in a row would see low shot clocks and a Memphis jumper. That kept a lead of twelve down to 6 but more importantly it kept the momentum away from the Spurs.
Agree, Their offense is predicated on multiple back picks to free their post players. If the team went full court press, that would throw them off and would force an adjustment.
Let's just put it this way...what happened the last time the Spurs were in Memphis with their backs against the wall in a critical Game 4 that was essentially a Must-Win for the Spurs? They folded in the 3rd Qtr when Memphis drastically upped its intensity and blew them out.
People forget that Game 4 was just as important and had just as much pressure for the Grizz, if they had lost that one, they would have essentially lost the HCA they won when they stole a game in SA. They didn't fold under pressure, the Spurs did.
Regardless, I just don't think this is about mind games or experience at this point. Grizz aren't your typical 8th seed. These aren't the same players that got swept in the playoffs every year. This game is about which team's players can step up under pressure. And the Grizz have CERTAINLY shown that their players can do that, our roll players have not shown they can do that on the road. Add to it, Spurs can't seem to get stops in this series.
The Grizz and their crowd were tight in the last game. They'll be doubly so tonight if the Spurs can keep the pressure on them. Translation, show up for the entire game.
Oh yeah? Well let's just see what Hollins had to say after the game:
It hurts and it’s a difficult loss because of the magnitude of where we are. It’s a loss anyway you look at it and we just have to let it go.I think that we were down after the loss of the lead; then they tied it up at the end. We had too many guys that were hurt and not mature enough at this stage and just let it go.This is pressure right there, and it's going to linger into Game 6 for sure.We didn’t execute a couple of out of bounds plays late. Things that we normally do we didn’t do.
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