NBA Playoffs 2011: Why Are the Spurs Having so Much Trouble with the Grizzlies?
The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a little bit of trouble heading into tonight's pivotal Game 4 in Memphis.
If the Spurs win, Tim Duncan and the gang can all breathe a collective sigh of relief as they will have regained home court advantage in a new best of three series. However, if they lose tonight, the Spurs will be put in the difficult position of having to win three straight against a team they can barely seem to knock off once.
The Memphis Grizzlies are not your average No. 8 seed. This is not a fun little NCAA Tournament Cinderella story, but instead a dangerous team with weapons at every position who can compete with nearly any team left in the NBA Playoffs.
The Spurs just have the misfortune of playing them first.
Size Matters
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For most of his career, Tim Duncan's name by itself gave the San Antonio Spurs the frontcourt edge in nearly every playoff series.
In 2011, Duncan's name does not carry the same amount of weight. He still gives the Spurs solid production with around 16 points and 10 rebounds a night, but he is unable to take over a game the way he used to in the Spurs championship runs.
In terms of the full career, Zach Randolph is nowhere near the level of Tim Duncan, but as of right now, Randolph is the more dominant low post presence. Randolph requires Duncan to fully exert himself on defense, which leads to tired legs on the offensive end.
Duncan has the advantage in length, and has used this to block several of Randolph's shots. However, Randolph's quick post moves paired with his faceup game, allow him to get past Duncan and continue to score more points.
At the center position, Marc Gasol is emerging as a legitimate go to guy and is far outplaying the combination of Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair. McDyess's health has been a concern in this series and even though Blair plays aggressive defense, he gives up five inches to Gasol.
The Memphis Grizzlies have better starters in their frontcourt than the Spurs. They also have Darrell Arthur, who can come in and hold his own during the minutes Randolph or Gasol are off the court.
Tony Parker Has Not Outplayed Michael Conley
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Going into this series, we knew that the frontcourt of Memphis would cause problems for the Spurs. We also knew that the list of shooting guards and small forwards that the Grizzlies possessed would challenge Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson.
What we didn't know was how well Mike Conley would hold his own against Tony Parker.
In Game 1, Conley allowed Parker to go off for 20 points, but contained his impact on the rest of the offense to five assists. Conley scored 15 and dished out 10 assists in the Grizzlies' victory.
In Game 2, Parker went for 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Conley chipped in 13 points, four assists and seven rebounds. Conley played a little out of control in this one, but once again, didn't allow Parker to dominate the game.
In Game 3, Coach Gregg Popovich could barely afford to keep Tony Parker on the floor. Parker turned the ball over six times and played under 30 minutes. Conley, on the other hand, had his best game of the series so far logging 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Most importantly, Conley only turned the ball over once and forced several turnovers on the Spurs.
This was the one area where the Spurs were supposed to have the definite edge. So far, Conley has held his own.
Man Ginobili's Injury
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If you have been watching this series, you have noticed the massive body armor on Manu Ginobili's right arm. When I look at all that padding I think to myself, "Manu's arm can not be nearly at full strength."
Since Ginobili had to sit out Game 1, the Spurs fell behind in the series. With a fully healthy Ginobili, they might have won the opener and be up two games to one rather than the reverse situation that they are in now.
Also, the fact that the arm can not nearly be healed yet, means there is a little bit of restraint in Ginobili's head when attacking the basket. It may be small, but that extra bit of confidence a player has when his body is back to 100 percent rather than playing in what looks to be a glorified cast, is the difference between say 23 points and 30.
The Spurs need Ginobili to carry this offense in order to comeback and win this series.
Richard Jefferson Has to Do More
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Eleven points per game is not enough from Richard Jefferson.
So far in this series, Jefferson has come up short when given the opportunity to hit big shots and has allowed the Grizzlies defense to put their focus on stopping Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, without being too concerned of Jefferson hurting them.
The fact that Jefferson is shooting 55 percent, but has only attempted 18 shots in three games, is a sign that Jefferson is not being aggressive and is not taking the initiative to put points on the scoreboard.
If Jefferson would simply attack the rim, the combination of him and Ginobili could result in foul trouble for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Even if he gets to the basket, misses the layup, then misses both free throws, getting the two Grizzlies starting big men off the court gives the Spurs a big lift.
Grizzlies Depth in the Backcourt
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The frontcourt may be the Grizzlies' biggest strength, but the depth of their backcourt is a nightmare for the opposing team's guards.
In the starting lineup, the Grizzlies have Tony Allen and Sam Young. The strength of both of these players is their defense. Allen is one of the better defenders in the NBA on shooting guards. He takes everything personally and throws a Ron Artest level of craziness at his opponent.
Young, who starts the game but usually plays less minutes than O.J. Mayo and Shane Battier, is a big, physical guy who prevents the other team's starting small forward from getting into a rhythm early.
When the Grizzlies turn to their bench, they bring in Mayo and Battier. Mayo gives the Grizzlies an offensive boost and Battier is another physical defender who has helped contribute to Richard Jefferson's struggles.
Plus, this is all without their best player, Rudy Gay. Imagine the trouble the Spurs would be in if Gay was healthy.
The Bonner Problem
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The Spurs know they can almost always get production out of George Hill and Gary Neal. These guys could probably start on other teams in this league and have been fairly solid in this series.
They also know DeJuan Blair gives them a solid low post presence off the bench.
The problem in this series has been the impact of Matt Bonner. Bonner is a skilled three point shooter, but when he is not connecting, the amount he gives up on the defensive end becomes a major weakness for the Spurs.
Who do you put Bonner on in this series? Physically, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph overpower him on the block. On the perimeter, he is not quick enough to stay in front of Shane Battier, Sam Young, O.J. Mayo or Tony Allen.
The Grizzlies can attack Bonner and when Bonner is only giving six to seven points per game on the offensive end, the difference is simply too much.
Identity Crisis
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For the first half of the season, the more fast paced, higher scoring Spurs team worked. It worked very well actually.
However, we began to see the flaw in this system during the second half of the season.
The reason? I think the older players on the Spurs were finally beginning to run out of gas. There's a lot of miles on these legs, and now that they are matched up against one of the younger teams in the NBA, the idea that the Spurs are going to be able to outrun and outscore their opponent seems almost laughable.
So what should they do? Do they scrap the offense first mentality and snap back into a more traditional, Spurs defensive minded team? Can they beat the Memphis Grizzlies in a strictly half court game?
These are the type of questions a No. 8 seed should be asking themselves as they try to make desperate late series adjustments to upset the No. 1. The fact that the San Antonio Spurs are in this position should raise some eyebrows and make for an interesting rest of the series.
