Damn. Paul did aggravate his groin injury. Hopefully he's good to go for Game 6...
We should feel pretty good right now because it's abundantly clear that neither the Clips nor the Grizz have a clue what they're doing. Clips seem to rely on the vain hope that CP3 or Mo gets hot, have no other offensive plan to speak of, while the Grizz slaughtered the Clips in the first half with a steady diet of Gasol and Z-Bo yet neither has seen the ball in the second half.
Both of these teams are clueless when it comes to executing a game plan. Good news!
Griz were three plays away from sweeping this series, instead they now have to hope that Griffin and Paul are hobbled.
Grizz look great in the first quarter. The rest of the game they look horrible.
And I remain confused on which team is easier. Usually, you want to avoid the best player -- which would be CP3 -- but this is more complex. In one sense, the Clippers might be the better matchup because I think the Grizzlies are the better overall team ... but then I imagine CP3 running Duncan through 242790 pick-and-rolls and Neal (and somewhat Manu, too) struggling to defend their smaller, quicker guards.
Remain unsure, tbh.
Game 6 should be pretty epic. Winner takes the series and the Clippers know it.
For the sake of starting our series on time, I hope the Clippers seal it next game.
Hopefully Paul and Griffin are okay for Game 6.
Usually, I'm a believer in the Avoid the Truly Great Player philosophy. In this case, though, Vinny essentially negates that. The Clips are easily the path of least resistance.
However, I'm also a sucker for the temptation of Revenge.
I know Paul is a monster on the pick-and-roll, and his flopping will lead to like 50 FTs every 4th quarter, but I still think the Clips are a better match-up for us.
1) They've got no defensive answer for Tony or Manu.
2) Less size to throw at Timmy, since they hardly ever play Jordan anymore
3) Saves Duncan wear and tear because there's no low-post scoring threat for him to guard
4) The only time we played them with a healthy Tony and Manu we beat them easily
5) If we ever get down we can just foul Evans and Griffin on purpose.
I think the Grizz have more defensive answers for us, way more size, and are more committed to scoring in the paint.
Don't look now, but the Spurs might get a primetime slot if The Clips/Grizz series wraps up Friday. Game 7 is slated for 1:00 on ABC. Although, I'm sure they'll probably switch the Spurs game with Boston vs Philly/Chicago if the Clips/Grizz series ends early.
The injuries sealed it. I'm rooting for the Clippers friday night.
If series wraps up Friday then game 1 of 2nd round is Sunday at Noon.
Forced to a 6th round blood bath. Again--serve it up. SERVE.IT.UP.
All good points. To play devil's advocate:
1) As long as CP3 has the ball, the Clippers are at least halfway competent offensively. Do the Grizzlies even have a game plan to score the ball? Randolph is like 75% of what he was last year and has shown he can't carry them right now. Gasol is really good but he's not a dominant scorer. Same with Conley. Gay and Mayo can get hot but they're both always on the verge of shooting Memphis out of games. The Grizzlies were horrible offensively during the regular season and haven't exactly lit up the Clippers. So, yeah, even if (and it's a big If due to the chuckers) the Grizzlies play inside-out, their inside isn't nearly as effective as it was last year.
2) Utah was the perfect warmup for the Grizzlies. Statistically, they're almost identical. Both teams live on the offensive glass and depend on getting to the free throw line. Both teams can't shoot (the Jazz actually shot a little bit better). The difference is the Grizzlies force a lot of turnovers so their defensive numbers are better. But the Spurs are elite at taking care of the ball, elite at defensive rebounding and elite at not fouling ... that's like the perfect storm of eliteness to counteract Memphis' strengths.
3) The Spurs last year were almost entirely Ginobili centric. Once he hurt his arm, they were dead in the water. So I don't even really think back to last year's playoffs as being indicative of anything. Without a healthy Manu, last year's team probably doesn't even make the playoffs ... so the fact they lost in the playoffs isn't surprising. I know it's natural to worry about the Grizzlies due to what happened last year but I honestly feel it's irrelevant. If anything, it'll give the Spurs extra motivation not to overlook them and give the Spurs crowd incentive to cheer from the get-go.
4) The Grizzlies bench is basically just OJ Mayo. Pondexter, Speights, Cunningham, Arenas ... those guys probably don't even make the Spurs roster, tbh. With depth being a big advantage for the Spurs, going 10 against 6 sounds pretty tempting. The Clippers actually have five players off the bench that are legit NBA players (Bledsoe, Williams, Young, Evans, Martin).
5) Coming down the stretch of a close game, who do you fear more: CP3 or a hobbled-Randolph/chucking-Gay?
I know it sounds crazy -- especially because I admit Memphis is the better team -- but I think I think the Grizzlies are the easier matchup. The Spurs are strong where the Grizzlies usually excel and they can also exploit their weaknesses.
Revenge will be sweet.
i think this series is going 7 with paul re injuring his groin the floppers are screwed
At the risk of sounding like GNSF. . .
Spurs probably sweep either of these teams to be honest. But I want Memphis. Blow them out of the AT&T, pull a trick out of Phil Jackson's playbook and up their plane so they're jetlagged in Game 3. It's the perfect recipe for a sweep. If the Spurs win the NBA le this year I want to be won exorcising last year. Plus I didn't get to watch the playoffs last year so Grizzly fan cannot troll me on what I did not see.
No worries...we'll crush either team.
I hope they don't give out tacos if the Grizz score 100. Mix in some greens, kid.
anyone have any idea when will be the second game of 2nd round if Clippers closeout in Game 6?
Gay is killing the Grizzlies... Whenever he tries to play the "franchise player" things go south for the Grizz as the ball movement stops.
Heh, pretty much sums up this whole series so far. LULZ.
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