2015-2016 NBA playoff edition: Finals - Cavs vs Warriors - Cavs win 4-3
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Fuck all you niggas
I wanna see how we play this year...Avery, Marcus, Sully, I m expecting a lot from these guys. IT needs help.
Harden is going to go off...but Rockets don't play together. Golden state will beat them easily. but it should be fun. 3 point contest.
Scram faggit
Smelltrics getting that first round exit Straight home.. Along with douche bag Brad Stevens
I think a motivated Howard could help them...Rockets got some nice low key pieces...
Don't mean I think the gonna win, just should be a better matchup then some think
Fam he's finished
I think Portland has a good chance of beating the Clips; dont know if it will happen, but I would rather see them play GS; Lilliard always plays well against GS; him and steph going at it would be good theatre...
Wishful thinking. Clippers are about to make work of Portland. And you're going to see a show in the next round. Book it.
BDL's 2015-16 NBA Playoff Previews: San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Utah Jazz. Coupled with an early season foot injury to David Robinson to start the next season, this allowed general manager Gregg Popovich to fire then-coach Bob Hill. Robinson then broke the foot again, knocking him out for the season and …
Tim Duncan in June, 1997. Draft a college seniorin Tim Duncan, mind you, not some preps-to-pros kid with a few years to sop up before he hit his early 20s.
It was that foundation that allowed them to take chances on draft picks both at the end of the second round (Manu Ginobili), the late first (Tony Parker), the middle of the first (Kawhi Leonard), while showcasing an alluring free agent presentation for LaMarcus Aldridgelast summer.
On the fly, Popovich slowed down his team’s roll around Aldridge, who by midseason had found his druthers on both sides of the ball. Unafraid to sit Duncan due to rest issues for years, Popovich now sat him for matchup advantages without his Hall of Famer making a peep. The Spurs have been the league’s best defense by a wide margin all year; they pulled in 67 wins, and rank as the league’s best shot to see the defending championGolden State Warriors knocked off.
• Memphis: Through more hardship, struggle and woe.
The Grizzlies employed 28 players this year. For those that are just hopping on the NBA’s train in time for the postseason (and that’s just fine!), 15 players is the limit to hold at one time, and the team entered the season with a roster full of guaranteed deals. This means, due to an unending stream of injuries, the team had to nearly double up its roster with a host of players that built up to, through one-year of pro-rated contracts, make in total what the team’s highest-paid player made this year.
That player, center Marc Gasol, sadly is out for the season with what we hope is a one-time foot injury. Mike Conley is also out for the season with Achilles issues that the team is trying to stop from leading toward something more serious. Those are the stars you know, though. What goes beyond that is an unending list of contributors that rank as too long to name for this preview – this is why Chris Herrington has your back, if you’re looking for further research.
In the wake of all the uncertainty – Jeff Greenis a hero, now he’s lost somewhere in the corner, now he’s been shipped to Los Angeles, now we have Lance Stephenson, is that Jordan Farmar? – you have an expectedly inconsistent team that dropped well off defensively and in a lot of ways is lucky to be in the postseason.
All of Memphis might want to pull theElvis/Robert Goulet treatment on this preview after seeing the word “lucky,” but it truly could have been a lot worse.
In the end, though, the Grizzlies minded their own turnovers, they caused a heap of miscues on the defensive end, and they worked their way to the line. And the playoffs, again.
Head-to-Head
The Spurs swept the season series 4-0.
Working without Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies fell to San Antonio on Nov. 21 in a snail-paced 92-82 loss. Marc Gasol played nearly 40 minutes but could only manage eight points and eight boards, while San Antonio’s throwback pair of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker combined for 33 points. The less said about this one, the better.
The next meeting between the two was somewhat sprightlier, but even while working with what they hoped had been their full component (All-Stars healthy, Tony Allen,Matt Barnes, Mario Chalmers, Jeff Green,Courtney Lee bounding around the fringes) of a playoff fixture, the Grizzlies fell by 20 at home. Kawhi Leonard put up 27 and eight rebounds for the visiting team.
It wasn’t as if the Grizzlies didn’t put up a fight in the prior two meetings, but the March 25 pairing was a lot closer, it involved some fourth quarter intrigue, and some outsized offensive work. The Spurs still won, 110-104, working against a Memphis team without Gasol and Conley, featuring Chris Andersen, Jordan Farmar, and JaMychal Green (a team-leading 20 points) in the starting lineup. Still not enough.
Three days later, working in Memphis, the Spurs once again kept the Grizzlies at arm’s length in a 101-87 win. LaMarcus Aldridge put up a 31-point, 13-rebound line while Memphis was forced to throw out a lineup and rotation that they had no inkling they’d be forced to employ back in October. Andre Miller started for San Antonio. Ryan Hollins played for Memphis.
Likely Starting Lineups
The Memphis version, if you’re just catching on, might sadden you. If you’ve been ignoring the Spurs all year, on the other side, you might wonder how exactly this team could only make it as a second seed.
The Memphis Grizzlies started 18 different players this season, and unless Dave Joerger makes some matchup-inspired workaround as we head into the weekend, the team will start Chris Andersen at ostensible center, Zach Randolph in the low post, and Matt Barnes to finish out the front court. Jordan Farmar and Vince Carter will act as starting backcourt. Yep.
The Spurs will get to play big and run Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard up front, with Danny Green at off guard and Tony Parker at point.
Bouncy Memphis big man JaMychal Green did start against San Antonio twice in March with Zach Randolph out, and while he scored nicely in short time (32 points in 52 minutes) he pulled in only eight rebounds during that span.
Matchups to watch
• San Antonio vs. The Clock: Not the idea that pegged them as too slow to keep up with Byron Scott’s New Orleans Hornets in 2008, but the idea that wonders if games 83 through 87 could act as a detriment to 94 and up. San Antonio wants to play for two more months, and how they approach week one of eight will be telling.
Most will pick the Spurs to, at worst, take this series in a Gentleman’s Sweep. On top of that, with Memphis’ starting lineup lacking and the bench looking even flimsier, the Spurs seemingly could handle things with nary a peep from the stars on hand.
Coach Gregg Popovich isn’t exactly going to sit players out, and he needs to sustain a rhythm heading into the second round and beyond (especially if San Antonio has eight days between Game 4 of this series and Game 1 of the next – a very real possibility). How Pop minds the minutes allotment, however, will be fascinating.
I swear.
• Memphis helpers vs. Their New Deals:Apologies for returning to the fait du’accompli, but the overwhelming chunk of the active Grizzlies roster is working for contracts – perhaps one last contract – next season.
Prospective free agents no longer need to do their best work on national TV in order to impress prospective employers, and the Grizzlies were on national TV three times in the season’s final five nights to top that, but it wouldn’t hurt for some of the veterans involved here to put up a nice showing in the face of a rising salary cap and plenty of room to move this summer.
How San Antonio Can Win
If the team minds its possessions, finds the post and doesn’t send pell mell Memphis would-be heroes (we’re looking at you, Lance Stephenson) to the line, the Spurs should have an easy time of it. We’ve already spent too long bashing Memphis’ current roster makeup, but, let’s face it – this is supposed to be a practice round for the Spurs.
How Memphis Can Win
Barring one of the great upsets in NBA history or, cross your fingers, catastrophe, the Grizzlies cannot win. Then can, as always, make a showing – and that means forcing turnovers, changing sets from game to game, and attempting to pressure the San Antonio backcourt either when they’re in setup or scoring mode.
Totally Subjective Entertainment Value Ranking: 2 out of 10
Outside of the ability to watch some knockout low post play from both sides (and that’s just hoping Zach Randolph can have his way amongst the trees) there just isn’t a whole lot to look forward to in this series. Pity, considering this will be the rubber match following spirited pairings in 2011 and 2013.
Prediction: San Antonio in 4.
- - - - - - -
Utah Jazz. Coupled with an early season foot injury to David Robinson to start the next season, this allowed general manager Gregg Popovich to fire then-coach Bob Hill. Robinson then broke the foot again, knocking him out for the season and …
Tim Duncan in June, 1997. Draft a college seniorin Tim Duncan, mind you, not some preps-to-pros kid with a few years to sop up before he hit his early 20s.
It was that foundation that allowed them to take chances on draft picks both at the end of the second round (Manu Ginobili), the late first (Tony Parker), the middle of the first (Kawhi Leonard), while showcasing an alluring free agent presentation for LaMarcus Aldridgelast summer.
On the fly, Popovich slowed down his team’s roll around Aldridge, who by midseason had found his druthers on both sides of the ball. Unafraid to sit Duncan due to rest issues for years, Popovich now sat him for matchup advantages without his Hall of Famer making a peep. The Spurs have been the league’s best defense by a wide margin all year; they pulled in 67 wins, and rank as the league’s best shot to see the defending championGolden State Warriors knocked off.
• Memphis: Through more hardship, struggle and woe.
The Grizzlies employed 28 players this year. For those that are just hopping on the NBA’s train in time for the postseason (and that’s just fine!), 15 players is the limit to hold at one time, and the team entered the season with a roster full of guaranteed deals. This means, due to an unending stream of injuries, the team had to nearly double up its roster with a host of players that built up to, through one-year of pro-rated contracts, make in total what the team’s highest-paid player made this year.
That player, center Marc Gasol, sadly is out for the season with what we hope is a one-time foot injury. Mike Conley is also out for the season with Achilles issues that the team is trying to stop from leading toward something more serious. Those are the stars you know, though. What goes beyond that is an unending list of contributors that rank as too long to name for this preview – this is why Chris Herrington has your back, if you’re looking for further research.
In the wake of all the uncertainty – Jeff Greenis a hero, now he’s lost somewhere in the corner, now he’s been shipped to Los Angeles, now we have Lance Stephenson, is that Jordan Farmar? – you have an expectedly inconsistent team that dropped well off defensively and in a lot of ways is lucky to be in the postseason.
All of Memphis might want to pull theElvis/Robert Goulet treatment on this preview after seeing the word “lucky,” but it truly could have been a lot worse.
In the end, though, the Grizzlies minded their own turnovers, they caused a heap of miscues on the defensive end, and they worked their way to the line. And the playoffs, again.
Head-to-Head
The Spurs swept the season series 4-0.
Working without Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies fell to San Antonio on Nov. 21 in a snail-paced 92-82 loss. Marc Gasol played nearly 40 minutes but could only manage eight points and eight boards, while San Antonio’s throwback pair of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker combined for 33 points. The less said about this one, the better.
The next meeting between the two was somewhat sprightlier, but even while working with what they hoped had been their full component (All-Stars healthy, Tony Allen,Matt Barnes, Mario Chalmers, Jeff Green,Courtney Lee bounding around the fringes) of a playoff fixture, the Grizzlies fell by 20 at home. Kawhi Leonard put up 27 and eight rebounds for the visiting team.
It wasn’t as if the Grizzlies didn’t put up a fight in the prior two meetings, but the March 25 pairing was a lot closer, it involved some fourth quarter intrigue, and some outsized offensive work. The Spurs still won, 110-104, working against a Memphis team without Gasol and Conley, featuring Chris Andersen, Jordan Farmar, and JaMychal Green (a team-leading 20 points) in the starting lineup. Still not enough.
Three days later, working in Memphis, the Spurs once again kept the Grizzlies at arm’s length in a 101-87 win. LaMarcus Aldridge put up a 31-point, 13-rebound line while Memphis was forced to throw out a lineup and rotation that they had no inkling they’d be forced to employ back in October. Andre Miller started for San Antonio. Ryan Hollins played for Memphis.
Likely Starting Lineups
The Memphis version, if you’re just catching on, might sadden you. If you’ve been ignoring the Spurs all year, on the other side, you might wonder how exactly this team could only make it as a second seed.
The Memphis Grizzlies started 18 different players this season, and unless Dave Joerger makes some matchup-inspired workaround as we head into the weekend, the team will start Chris Andersen at ostensible center, Zach Randolph in the low post, and Matt Barnes to finish out the front court. Jordan Farmar and Vince Carter will act as starting backcourt. Yep.
The Spurs will get to play big and run Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard up front, with Danny Green at off guard and Tony Parker at point.
Bouncy Memphis big man JaMychal Green did start against San Antonio twice in March with Zach Randolph out, and while he scored nicely in short time (32 points in 52 minutes) he pulled in only eight rebounds during that span.
Matchups to watch
• San Antonio vs. The Clock: Not the idea that pegged them as too slow to keep up with Byron Scott’s New Orleans Hornets in 2008, but the idea that wonders if games 83 through 87 could act as a detriment to 94 and up. San Antonio wants to play for two more months, and how they approach week one of eight will be telling.
Most will pick the Spurs to, at worst, take this series in a Gentleman’s Sweep. On top of that, with Memphis’ starting lineup lacking and the bench looking even flimsier, the Spurs seemingly could handle things with nary a peep from the stars on hand.
Coach Gregg Popovich isn’t exactly going to sit players out, and he needs to sustain a rhythm heading into the second round and beyond (especially if San Antonio has eight days between Game 4 of this series and Game 1 of the next – a very real possibility). How Pop minds the minutes allotment, however, will be fascinating.
I swear.
• Memphis helpers vs. Their New Deals:Apologies for returning to the fait du’accompli, but the overwhelming chunk of the active Grizzlies roster is working for contracts – perhaps one last contract – next season.
Prospective free agents no longer need to do their best work on national TV in order to impress prospective employers, and the Grizzlies were on national TV three times in the season’s final five nights to top that, but it wouldn’t hurt for some of the veterans involved here to put up a nice showing in the face of a rising salary cap and plenty of room to move this summer.
How San Antonio Can Win
If the team minds its possessions, finds the post and doesn’t send pell mell Memphis would-be heroes (we’re looking at you, Lance Stephenson) to the line, the Spurs should have an easy time of it. We’ve already spent too long bashing Memphis’ current roster makeup, but, let’s face it – this is supposed to be a practice round for the Spurs.
How Memphis Can Win
Barring one of the great upsets in NBA history or, cross your fingers, catastrophe, the Grizzlies cannot win. Then can, as always, make a showing – and that means forcing turnovers, changing sets from game to game, and attempting to pressure the San Antonio backcourt either when they’re in setup or scoring mode.
Totally Subjective Entertainment Value Ranking: 2 out of 10
Outside of the ability to watch some knockout low post play from both sides (and that’s just hoping Zach Randolph can have his way amongst the trees) there just isn’t a whole lot to look forward to in this series. Pity, considering this will be the rubber match following spirited pairings in 2011 and 2013.
Prediction: San Antonio in 4.
- - - - - - -
Go Raptors!
How you gonna talk shit when the Sixers ain't in the playoffs either smh.
Yea ok we will see the clips be the clips and get worked by GS, no contest. ....
Question, if the Cavs somehow win the Chip this year, how will Lue be viewed in terms of the teams success?
Pacers are no slouch. They're good enough to knock these Raptors off.
I don't know, but for Brons sake, if he make to the ship with a healthy squad, he better win. No excuses this year. Same with the Spurs and Clippers. No excuses.
PG13 on FIRE! I don't remember his jumper being this smooth, everything falling
Pacers got Paul George they got the advantage. He can go off on any team at anytime.
His jumper always been wet
They good enough to knock off anybody in the East.
He always been smooth, just not the most consistent. But hes on now.
George Hill been in his pocket.
He always been smooth, just not the most consistent. But hes on now.
George Hill been in his pocket.
Every playoff series that nigga Lowery shits the bed