NBA Playoff Analysis and Report Card: Why the San Antonio Spurs Are in Trouble
Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies met in Game 3 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs with the series tied 1-1. In what was truly a fascinating game to watch, the Grizzlies emerged victorious by a score of 91-88. Surprisingly, they controlled most of the game and made the Spurs look foolish.
Memphis winning was certainly interesting because so many experts expected the Spurs to make short work of the team in the first round and quickly move onto the next. Yet, all of the San Antonio players took bad shots and the veteran leadership, including center Tim Duncan (pictured at left) looked...well...OLD. In other words, they were not the Spurs that many are used to watching.
Let's go back and look at certain aspects of Game 3, grading the Spurs' effort on each one.
Overall Defense
1 of 5
Despite rallying in the final minutes, the Spurs' defense tonight looked absolutely atrocious. They were down by as many as 15 points and even allowed Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph to score 25 points, including a clutch three-pointer in the final minute.
Ironically, the Spurs led the game in most defensive categories. They out-rebounded Memphis 48-37 and blocked 10 shots to the Grizzlies' four.
Yet, San Antonio also turned the ball over 13 times and allowed Memphis to shoot 42.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point land. I know that this game was close, but the Grizzlies were in control the entire game.
The Spurs' defense just looked outmatched all four quarters, and Memphis stepped up to task and took advantage.
Grade: C+/C
Three-Point Shooting and General Shot Selection
2 of 5
As I mentioned before, the Spurs looked extremely old in Game 3. They didn't do a good job driving to the basket, and their general shot selection was questionable. Also, the one weapon they had in Manu Ginobili's three-point shooting did not come through tonight.
Ginobili only made one of two three-point attempts on 5-of-12 shooting, and the Spurs only shot 2-of-15 from beyond the arc as a team. On top of that, Ginobili, Tony Parker and Duncan all took really bad shots.
They combined for 15-of-47 from the field, which isn't bad, but Duncan showed that he is getting too slow to drive to the basket. On Parker's end, he just seemed to have a hard time playing against Mike Conley, Jr.
If the Spurs want to salvage this series and come back to make the next round, the on-court communication and shot selection must improve. That means Richard Jefferson taking more than four shots the whole game.
Three Point/Shot Selection Grade: C
Bench Performance
3 of 5
In any basketball game, postseason or not, a team's bench players must perform well. As good as the Spurs are, their bench is fairly thin. Besides George Hill, who went 5-of-10 from the field with 11 points tonight, the Spurs do not really have anybody.
Matt Bonner plays decent D and so does DeJuan Blair, but the team is lacking an electrifying shooter to come off the bench now that Ginobili is in the starting lineup. Memphis, on the other hand, had a great bench presence in Game 3.
Longtime reserve Shane Battier (pictured at left) was 4-of-7 from the field as he scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds. Three-point shooter O.J. Mayo was 3-of-8, but he hit two three-pointers down the stretch as the Memphis reserves made those of San Antonio foolish.
San Antonio Bench Grade: D
Coaching
4 of 5
Call me crazy, but I think that Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins (pictured at left) just might have the Spurs figured out. His team controlled the entire game basically from start to finish, and their youth just has a great amount of determination.
That isn't to say that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is a bad and/or predictable coach. For those who watched, that late-fourth-quarter surge by the Spurs was pretty amazing. Yet, Hollins has the advantage in this battle.
Game 3 was the first of the series played in Memphis, so naturally Hollins wanted to win at one at home. The team came out and did just that, having the crowd's support and hitting shot after shot after shot for most of the game.
As I said before, Popovich's teams are good. Yet, what with the Spurs trailing by as many as 15 points and the veterans' shot selection being off most of the night, it is hard to figure out just what his plan was. I mean, honestly, how does Richard Jefferson, a man who is shooting 55 percent from three-point range, only attempt four shots in 36 minutes???
I'll tell you how, folks. That result comes from Popovich running the same offense for years: "Pass the ball to Duncan, Parker or Manu."
Coaching Grade: B-
Final Thoughts
5 of 5
After watching Game 3, there is no other way of putting this. The San Antonio Spurs are in a lot of trouble and could very well lose the series. They had the second-best record in the NBA and have lots of playoff experience on the team, thus they should have no problem handling the Memphis Grizzlies.
Yet, predictable play and aging veteran leadership on the squad have given the Grizzlies a two games to one advantage. Unfortunately, for the Spurs, this part of the game will not be getting better any time soon.
The next game will be on Duncan's 35th birthday and Ginobili will turn 34 later this year. Tony Parker is only 28, but he seems to be better known for his off-court escapades these days.
That all being said, the Spurs need to change their approach against Memphis. All players need to drive hard to the basket and draw fouls, not to mention shoot free throws consistently (the team shot 75 percent from the line in Game 3).
If the team can do this as well as balance out the jump shots and three-pointers taken, the points will pile up, and the Spurs could easily take the series back and make the next round.
Yet, if no change is made, the Spurs are in danger of becoming the New York Yankees of the NBA. Meaning? A team with a lot of talent but whose age shows in crunch time.
San Antonio Spurs' Grade for the Game: C
