With the 2017 NBA playoffs starting Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies clash in the first round of two defensive minded teams.
With the 2017 NBA playoffs on tap to start this weekend, Thunderous Intentions analyzes each first round series.
2017 NBA Playoffs
Season Series: 2-2
These two teams split the season series of their four game span at two games a piece. Home teams won on each occasion. All four times, the loser was held to 90 points or below.
Spurs Projected Starters:
Point Guard: Tony Parker
Shooting Guard: Danny Green
Small Forward: Kawhi Leonard
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge
Center: Dewayne Dedmon
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Grizzlies Projected Starters:
Point Guard: Mike Conley
Shooting Guard: Troy Daniels
Small Forward: Vince Carter
Power Forward: JaMychal Green
Center: Marc Gasol
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Last year, the Grizzlies and Spurs met in the first round and the Spurs won 4-0.
Biggest Advantage for Grizzlies: Mike Conley
Obviously, having one of the better point guards in the league will bode well for any team. Against an aging Tony Parker, he would definitely have the better of the match-up.
Coming off one of his better seasons in his career, he can definitely wheel the Grizzlies to a win or two in this series.
In their four games, Conley scored 12,19, 22, and 19. Not amazing scoring but was the leading scoring for three out of those four games. With Conley being a pretty good defensive guard, this should also bode well for the Grizzlies against Parker and Patty Mills.
Biggest Advantage for Spurs: Front-court
With Leonard and Aldridge up front,the Spurs obviously have one of the best frontcourts. Coming off an MVP-like season, Leonard will be the go-to guy for the Spurs this series. Aldridge, coming off a mid-season scare with his heart condition, will still be much better than any power forward on the court for the Grizzlies.
Leonard and Carter will be an interesting match-up, but Leonard will easily win. With Tony Allen out indefinitely with a calf strain, Leonard should have an even better series than expected. Aldridge will likely be guarded by Gasol or Zach Randolph who both play old-school defense. It may slow him down a little, but Aldridge has a better jumper than both guys.
X-Factors:
Grizzlies: Zach Randolph
Zach Randolph is a great old-school big man that can terrify any team on any given night. Even though Randolph has lost his starting job mainly due to his older age, he still provides quality minutes every night.
This season, Randolph averaged 14 points per game and 8 rebounds per game. Being a veteran, I expect Randolph to play more quality minutes and maybe even start a few games just because of his past playoff experiences over JaMychal Green.
Spurs: Tony Parker
We all know that Tony Parker is a five time champion, but being 34 years old, he has been on the decline lately. Averaging just over 10 points per game this season is not great, but Parker is still a guy who can give you 20+ on any given night.
If the Spurs want to do well in this series and go far in these playoffs, Tony Parker must turn into the Tony Parker of the past.
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Playoff Series Predictions and Times:
Game 1
Date: Saturday, April 15th
Time: 8:00pm EST
Location: AT&T Center
Watch: ESPN
Line: San Antonio -9
Game 2
Date: Monday, April 17th
Time: 9:30pm EST
Location: AT&T Center
Watch: TNT
Game 3
Date: Thursday, April 20th
Time: 9:30pm EST
Location: FedEx Forum
Watch: TNT
Game 4
Date: Saturday, April 22nd
Time: 8:00pm EST
Location: FedEx Forum
Watch: ESPN
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Game 5
Date: Tuesday, April 25th
Time: TBD
Location: AT&T Center
Watch: TBD
Game 6
Date: Thursday, April 27th
Time: TBD
Location: FedEx Forum
Watch: TBD
Game 7
Date: Saturday, April 29th
Time: TBD
Location: AT&T Center
Watch: TNT
This series should be a good defensive match-up to watch, but ultimately, the Spurs have too much firepower for the Grizzlies to match. I do not think it will be a blow-out like last year, but I don’t see the Grizzlies winning more than a game.
I predict the Spurs will win 4-1. If the Grizzlies can come out and play great defense and shoot the ball well, they may win a game, but without Tony Allen I don’t see any chance they push it past six games.