Spurs vs. Grizzlies: How Sweep Impacts San Antonio's Finals Run

The San Antonio Spurs swept through the Western Conference finals, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in four straight games.

Watching Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili carve up Memphis' top-ranked defense was like taking a trip down memory lane.

Duncan is 37, Ginobili is 35 and Parker is 31, yet they and the rest of their teammates were able to outhustle, outquick and outmuscle one of the most physical teams in the NBA and make it look easy. 

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers are all knotted up at two games apiece on the other side of the country. It's been a rough-and-tumble series, and if the first four games were any indication, then these two Eastern Conference rivals are going to take the full seven games to decide the winner.

For the Spurs, sweeping through their Western Conference series against the Grizzlies while Miami and Indiana beat up on one another is mostly a blessing. It's a development that should benefit San Antonio in the NBA Finals, but there is one big concern with such an extended layoff, as well.

Here are a few ways San Antonio's Western Conference finals sweep will affect the team as it attempts to win a championship.

Rust

It's hard to imagine the Spurs coming out flat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after watching them play the past four games, but a long layoff can have that effect on teams early in a series. 

The Spurs swept the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1 and sat around for a few extra days while the Golden State Warriors were embroiled in a difficult six-game series with the Denver Nuggets. 

The extended layoff absolutely caused the Spurs to come out flat in Game 1 of their series against the Warriors. San Antonio ended up winning that first game in overtime but was down by a score of 92-75 after three quarters.

If not for a furious fourth-quarter comeback, Golden State would have taken Game 1 in San Antonio. Then the Warriors won Game 2 on the road, stealing home-court advantage from the Spurs and turning the series into an incredibly competitive one that took six games to decide.

Coming out flat in the NBA Finals could certainly doom San Antonio's chances of winning a title. The Pacers and Heat are both capable of playing stifling defense and scoring points in bunches, and a poor start to the next series would be difficult to overcome. 

The team's extended break could potentially be a negative thing, but there are a couple of big benefits to this long layoff. 

Rest

There are six players on Gregg Popovich's roster over the age of 30—five of whom are starters or key contributors. It's safe to say the extra rest will help these veterans get fresh after a long regular season and 14 postseason games.

The player this layoff will help the most is Parker, who has been unbelievably brilliant during this postseason run.

He has been able to impose his will on opposing defenses better than any other player, slicing and dicing into the lane and dishing out to wide-open—and I mean wide-open—teammates on the perimeter.

Against Memphis—the team with the best defense in the NBA during the regular season—Parker averaged 22.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

His fine play caused ESPN analyst Jalen Rose to call him the third-best player in the entire NBA recently—an opinion that generated some interesting discussions on Twitter:

Whether you agree or disagree with Rose, one thing is clear: Parker is the catalyst for San Antonio's offense right now, and he's been playing hurt lately.

Parker injured his left calf in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. It wasn't a significant injury, but nagging, nonetheless. This extended layoff will certainly help him fully recover and begin the NBA Finals with a spring in his step.

Planning

Popovich runs the tightest team in the NBA. He has assembled a first-rate coaching staff, knows how to get his players geared up for the postseason and is a master of the "Xs and Os."

You can be sure he and his staff are taking full advantage of the extra time between the end of their last series and the beginning of the NBA Finals to fully scout both of the Eastern Conference teams.

By the time a winner is decided, Pop will already have a game plan in place to take advantage of both teams' weaknesses. 

A healthy Spurs team that has had a week or longer to prepare for their next opponent will be fun to watch. As good as the Heat and Pacers are, it would be foolish to bet against this veteran group in the 2013 NBA Finals. 

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