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you're over thinking it brah.... if tim and tiago can slow down zbo and gasol (which I have the upmost confidence they can) then the spurs will be victorious imo
I will look more into systemic things than individual things-
1) The Spurs' offense picked up in the 5th and 6th games. The ball movement was smooth, they were doing well in the P&Rs, the roll man was doing fine (Splitter, Duncan), the three point shooters were getting good shots off and Parker was mixing it up well despite his injury. The Spurs were thus looking more and more like the early-mid season team that was dominating on offense.
2) The Spurs' defense has been relentless in the last 4 games of the Warriors - tackling their outside perimeter game very well. Their interior defense has been good all along and should hold up against Randolph-Gasol even if the latter will get going relatively.
3) The Grizzlies' defense is fantastic and will work well against the Spurs and make them pay. But I think the Spurs' improving offense will hold on. On the other hand, the Grizzlies' offense is limited to interior play and Splitter recovering well from the ankle injury and a motivated Duncan should be enough while the Grizzlies' lack of a high voltage perimeter play or three point shooting should be their bane.
All said and done, the fact that the Spurs have improved defensively and are improving offensively, make it that they are the better team talent wise against the Grizzlies. They still lack their full flow systemically but they are getting there and that should help them overcome the Grizzlies hump in my opinion.
you're over thinking it brah.... if tim and tiago can slow down zbo and gasol (which I have the upmost confidence they can) then the spurs will be victorious imo
Just can't see the Spurs pulling this out, unless they rediscover their shooting. Safe bet is Grizz in 6 with Spurs losing on Sunday.
However, if there are areas for hope it's that the Spurs have played opposing front courts well all year long, Diaw is a solid post defender (better than he is as a team defender), and the Spurs faced arguably as talented a front court in the first round. Additionally, the Grizz lack the same dynamism they had in 2011 in the wing positions. Which basically means the series comes down to Manu/Kawhi/Green, if TP/Cojo and TD/Splitter/Diaw can hold their own.
Yeah, this is an odd one to forecast. I think Grizz have just as many questions too, when you really think about it. They beat a quietly imploding Clippers team (CP3 vs Griffin/Jordan) and a seriously hobbled Thunder team. Not to mention two of the worst coaches in the playoffs when it comes to making adjustments and scheming.
Hey man, I hear ya. Memphis is playing their best ball of the year right now. If there's a positive about the match-up, its that the games will be slowed way down. Memphis doesn't run nearly as much as GS does and I think the series really took a lot out of Tony on the offensive end. I don't know what to say about Manu, he's not consistent anymore. You have to live with bursts of goodness from him.
Everyone is healthy for the Spurs - relatively speaking. Diaw is back and so is Splitter. We'll need them to win the next series. I know this, the Spurs won't be taking them for granted and should be playing with appropriate fear.
I also think Cory Joseph is a true fighter. He's a tough dude and he won't back down or show weakness against the Grizz as the backup point. He's going to go hard and let the chips fall where they may.
Give me a break... I don't see them beating Miami... But Memphis?
I have a feeling these games are going to come down to the last few minutes of the 4th almost every night. If the Spurs hit big shots down the stretch like they did tonight then they could win the games.
I also feel that while Memphis is a very solid team people are overrating them a tad. They have some serious problems offensively and the Spurs defense has been stout. Even if the Spurs are struggling I think their defense plus Memphis' limited offense will keep them in games. And if that is the case then it comes down to who executes best down the stretch and if the Spurs can get hot at the end of games then they can win.
A Spurs team that started RJ, played Bonner heavy minutes, and featured a one-armed Manu took a superior version (IMO) of the Grizzlies to 6 games.
And now the vastly improved 2013 Spurs are supposed to be "overwhelming" underdogs against these guys? Not seeing it tbh.
Well...for starters, the Spurs have home court advantage. Then you look at the season series, and they split 2-2. Three of those games were close, but the Spurs won the only blowout.
You can never count out Tim Duncan...he's still better than Marc Gasol. At least, he's the perfect counter-attack for him.
I think Tony and Manu will surprise you with some great games in this series. I'm going Spurs in 6.
Even when he does score they struggle.
The Spurs offense is a concern going forward. They have not looked right for months, only showing flashes of their early season form since after the All Star break. However, the defense displayed in the Golden State series has me feeling pretty optimistic going forward. With Green and Leonard, we have a pair of elite perimeter defenders. It has been a long time since we have even had one. Duncan is still an elite rim protector. Splitter is very solid as well.
The key to this series is Zach Randolph. If the Spurs can contain him, I believe they will win the series. I have no concern over any wing player on the Grizzlies. There is no one on that roster that Green and Leonard can't handle. Marc Gasol doesn't score enough to be a big concern. All the Spurs have to do is corral Z-Bo, and Memphis will not be able to score enough points to win games.
Long story short, if a team consisting of Kevin Durant and a bunch of subs ute teachers can stay in every game with Memphis, so can the Spurs. If the score is close, as it is likely to be, the Spurs have a chance. I'll take Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili in a close game any day.
Memphis have no outside game whatsoever. Paint will be really crowded. Another series, when rebounding will be the biggest factor of all.
T-MAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to see what Vegas thinks...
Guessing Spurs -150 because of homecourt
90 points a game probably wins against the Grizz...their offense is just not as good as it was in 2011.
For all the questions being thrown at the Spurs (beating an injured Lakers team and a young Warriors team minus Lee), the Grizz have basically have similar questions to answer as well. Clips have lacked chemistry for the last few months and Thunder were without their centerpiece. Is the Clips/Thunder with their myriad issues really that much tougher than Lakers/Warriors? Not by much, if at all. Well ok, Lakers really did suck.
Not to mention Del Negro and Brooks inability to adjust.
Sure, but I'm talking about the difference in them scoring enough to win (in a low scoring game)l;;l;
Random thoughts, in no particular order
1. Grizz benefited mightily from opposing team's injuries this post season. BG, RW. They've had a lot go in their favor. You can't say they've looked strong in these POs without that being marginalized somewhat by the opposing team's injuries.
2. As a result of #1, they haven't faced a team with many weapons. For instance the Thunder were SOOOO easy to game plan against without Westbrook. Spurs have way more weapons than any team they've faced.
3. Ya ya ya Conley >>>>>>>>>>>>> Parker, but the Spurs just closed out a series with Parker playing like absolute . How can you, in one thread orgasm over the Spurs finally having a legit backup PG in CoJo, and then ignore what that means for this series? Who was the backup PG in '11? Right.
4. Who were the Spurs wings in '11? Right. Who do we have now? Right.
5. Who were all those guys on the Grizz bench in '11 that absolutely killed us? Are any of them on the Grizz now? Right.
Ya, it's troubling to see Tim look increasingly gassed, but he's still putting up good numbers. Tiago looks like he's finally rounding back into shape. Manu is finding ways to contribute even when his shot is not falling. But most importantly we don't have to rely completely on the production of the Big 3 anymore to win playoff games. We have enough other weapons that nobody can score more than 19 in a closeout playoff game, and we can still win by double digits. The last 4 games of the GS series showed that our defense is back and is very solid. Honestly, the I don't think the Grizz can score enough points to beat us 4 out of 7, while we have enough weapons to throw at them that I think it'll just be too much for them to contend with.
I'm expecting 6 tough games, but that the Spurs have enough to get 4 solid wins out of 'em.
I think this kind of reflects back to the spurs-lakers series with gasol and howard. Now im not saying pau and dwight are on the same level and marc and zach, but the spurs did GREAT on double teams and recovering from double teams. Like you said they do there damage inside, and green and leonard wont be as good defensively because of that. Well i disagree because now instead of green and leonard shinning on iso and on the ball defensive plays, they can shine on double teams and recovring from double teams.
GS was playing the best ball of the WC playoffs until game 3 of this series when the Spurs turned up the defense. That wasn't a bull Denver team they took home court from and put away.
Grizz played the Clippers who have no coach and are athletic but re ed in basketball situations.
They beat a one horse OKC team with no starting quality PG and no Harden off the bench to light up in the best series of his life. This year's Spurs beat this year's OKC in 5 as they were that bad.
We've already played a series like this against the Lakers. Double the post, dare the Grizzlies to beat us from 3.
If Memphis wants to play thier best defensive lineup with Prince and Allen, it gives us a lot of freedom to stop Gasol and Randolph. Leonard and Green both have the length to bother the big men on a double team.
Memphis are favourites but we can win it if we try and get Prince and Allen to beat us
I believe that the team almost lost its iden y in the past round. The warriors sure tested the spurs even if they were the lesser team. Having said that, I think the Spurs have finally regained some traction and trust in their system again (27 and 30 assists the last 2 games). For me it'll all come down to our role players. Even if we don't have our Big 3 completely healthy or clicking, like DPG said we have more weapons than them. I'm taking a cautious optimistic aproach if only because I believe Leonard can explode in this series. I also think we can get away with our small ball lineup of TP-Many-Green-Leonard-Duncan when they have Gasol-Arthur. All in all I think the Warriors series was the perfect wakeup call and maybe this is truly a turning point, in terms of adjusting to the physicality and determination it will take to get to the finals (ala that bus stop after the sacto game in '07)
So timvp - what are your rebuttals to some of the optimism listed in here?
Are you saying Shane Battier and OJ Mayo aren't walking through that door?
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