NBA Playoffs 2012: 3 Things Grizzlies Must Do to Survive Against Clippers

The Memphis Grizzlies enter Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a must-win situation. Luckily for the Grizz, they have the tools to beat the Clippers in both Games 6 and 7.

Whether or not they use those tools is a different question. 

This has been easily the best series in the playoffs so far, but the Grizzlies will have to win in Los Angeles in order to extend it even farther.

Let's take a look at what Memphis needs to do in order to accomplish that. 

Get the ball in the post

This has been true for a long time for Memphis, but Game 5 summed it up perfectly.

In the first half, they were doing a great job of going inside to Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and, as a result, jumped out to a huge lead.

In the second half, and in the fourth quarter in particular, the Grizzlies got away from their big men in the half-court offense, which helped the Clippers climb back and get close. Memphis was able to hold on for the victory, but Lionel Hollins can't abandon his big men, even if they miss a few shots in a row.

That Blake Griffin guy, he can put his foot on your head, but he's not a great defender. The Grizzlies need to feed it to whoever he's guarding and look to either abuse him or get him in foul trouble.

Quicken the pace

Los Angeles is a team that loves to get in a fast-paced game, so I wouldn't normally advocate this, but Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are both banged up. The faster this game starts moving, the less effective these hobbled players are.

Memphis isn't necessarily a team that likes to quicken the tempo (94.6 possessions per game), but they have the players to do it if necessary.

Mike Conley is extremely fast and has good vision and O.J. Mayo is terrific in transition, as are guys like Tony Allen and Quincy Pondexter.

Getting into transition starts with rebounding, which is another huge key, especially in this series. Memphis' big men absolutely need to keep Reggie Evans off the offensive glass, because he has killed them there. 

Once they secure the defensive rebound, look for the quick outlet. 

Get off to a hot start

Now, in this series, closing games out are obviously more important, but I'll take it a different direction.

This is the Clippers' last chance to close out the series at home, and it's likely the fans, who haven't been in this situation in a very long time, will be pumped up.

Even more pumped up than usual. 

The Grizzlies need a solid first quarter to take the air out of the place. If Griffin and Paul are hobbled, and Memphis gets out to a big first-half lead, the Clippers could easily give up.