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Commentary: Nice start for Grizzlies in playoff series vs Spurs

By Scott Spangler

Gasol

While this was a historic day for Memphis with the Grizzlies getting their first playoff win in franchise history, this should in no way suggest the Spurs are in trouble. Not just yet. After today, San Antonio is 3-6 in their last 9 playoff openers. Of the previous eight encounters, they went on to advance to the conference semis in all but one.

Admittedly, I was shocked to see San Antonio drop this one after shooting 47 free throws. It could have been the 6 for 17 fourth quarter shooting that did the Spurs in today. Their defense, not to be confused with that of their championship reign, also played a part. Memphis got to the line quite a bit themselves. More than anything, they really did damage in the paint, especially down the stretch.

Then again, that is what the Grizzlies do. Zach Randolph and Gasol from the foul line down – the bread and butter that sustains this club.

Pop and his staff have adjustments to make. Knowing them, those items shall be addressed in short order. Still, problems do occur with a guard-heavy lineup when perimeter looks aren’t falling – and even more so when the opponent is equipped to attack the rim.

Perhaps the most important adjustment being Manu Ginobili in the lineup Wednesday. He was certainly missed this afternoon.

Tony Allen doing big things for Grizzlies

Scott Cacciola of the Wall Street Journal reports:

Entering Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Clippers, Allen was averaging 1.8 steals per game and 4.2 steals per 48 minutes—the most since 1995 among players who have averaged at least 1.5 steals per game.

Not long after he signed last summer, Allen had lunch in Memphis with Wallace and Tony Barone, Sr., the Grizzlies’ director of player personnel. Wallace said the meal turned into a “defensive seminar,” during which Allen broke down—in granular detail—how he guards certain players. “We were blown away,” Wallace said.

Allen takes his craft seriously, dissecting DVDs that the coaching staff distributes of upcoming opponents. He gets annoyed when teammates fail to do the same. “He should have taken that home with him,” he said recently, spotting one of the DVDs in a younger player’s locker. His pregame ritual includes taking his laptop into the training room and watching clips of whomever he will defend that night. “Teams run the same sets over and over,” he said, “and guys have tendencies.”

He knows, for example, when a player will try to hold his position in the post by using his left hand. (“I’ll take a swipe with my right,” he said.) He knows which players will pull up for jumpers when they go to their right and which will drive to the hoop when they go to their left. As an on-the-ball defender, Allen was limiting opponents to 34.2% shooting, according to Synergy Sports, a company that charts every NBA play.

Which Celtics will Knicks face in first round?

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reports:

The Knicks have drawn the Celtics for the playoffs, but which Celtics team?

The one that has ruled the East in two of the last three seasons, winning the 2008 title and getting to a Game 7 in Los Angeles last June before falling to the Lakers?

Or will it be the one that we see now, in a state of mourning for the last seven weeks after nearly staging a mutiny because Danny Ainge traded away Kendrick Perkins?

If it’s the first Celtic team that went 41-14 with Perkins, the Knicks can expect a short playoff run. Four games should do the trick.

But that team is probably gone, for good, meaning the Knicks might just be able to make things interesting. Maybe win a couple of games. Anything better for the Knicks, including a series win, and Ainge will get chased out of Boston.

Nets make progress, have direction

Al Iannazzone of the YES Network blog reports:

It’s been a frustrating year, but it hasn’t been dysfunctional, and these things are certain: the Nets have direction, unlike last year, and many of their players want to stick around.

At this point last year, no one really knew if Rod Thorn would be back. It was well known Kiki Vandeweghe wouldn’t. So the Nets were going to need a coach and probably a general manager. They were undergoing an ownership change. They were praying they would win the draft lottery and get John Wall. They were formulating a plan of attack to use all the money they had to try to attract LeBron James and other members of the super free-agent class of 2010, believing Mikhail Prokhorov, Jay-Z and the eventual move to Brooklyn would be the ultimate appeals. There were so many ifs and so many unknowns coming off a 12-70 season.

Things didn’t go the way the Nets hoped. Thorn left. The Nets got the No. 3 pick and wound up spending about $70 million on Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar and Johan Petro.

But the Nets have much more of a foundation now than last year, with Prokhorov in charge of the team and Johnson and King running the basketball departments. You see where this team is headed.

Shane Battier still adjusting to Grizzlies

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

The most challenging aspect of Battier’s reunion with the Grizzlies has come on the offensive end of the court, where his productivity is noticeably less than what he provided to the Houston Rockets.

In the 18 games since Battier joined the Griz at the February trade deadline, his scoring average, shooting percentages and shot attempts have dramatically decreased from his days in Houston.

He’s also playing nearly seven fewer minutes on average. But Battier prides himself on efficiency, which he hopes to improve before the end of the regular season.

“I haven’t shot the ball the way I’ve wanted to,” Battier said Monday as the Griz prepared to host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight in FedExForum. “I have to make shots. It’s on me. I’m still trying to understand how to fit in the system.

“A lot of the teams I’ve played on have been inside-out. But we haven’t found ways to play inside-out. In the playoffs, we’re going to have to. In the playoffs, people take away the paint. We’re going to have to hit some jump shots.”

Mike Miller hopes to be more helpful to Heat

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reports:

Heat forward Mike Miller admits he feels a little guilty.

He was supposed to be in the running for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Instead, the likable shooter could be considered one of the NBA’s biggest individual disappointments of the regular season. The significance of that statement is not lost on Miller, who has struggled this season due to injury.

“You do feel guilty at times because you want to be able to do more and help but I have to make sure I’m healthy for the stretch we have left,” Miller said.

At this point, that’s the most important thing — that Miller is as healthy as possible for the Heat’s playoff run. He has played in only 36 games this season because of injuries, including torn ligaments in his thumb, a nasty series of blows to the head and, most recently, a bruised right knee.

Landry Fields in a slump

Chris Sheridan of ESPN reports:

Going into tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been six straight games since Landry Fields had more than three buckets in a single game.

You have to go back to two Sundays ago, on the afternoon the Knicks scored 9 points in the first quarter and lost in Milwaukee, to find a game in which Fields was productive (13 points on 5-for-11 shooting) on the offensive end of the floor.

Getting production out of Fields was not a problem before the big trade, but he has struggled to fit into a rhythm with the new players in the Knicks’ rotation, and he has steadily been losing minutes to Anthony Carter, Roger Mason, Bill Walker and Toney Douglas at the 2-guard spot.

Lakers are 17-1 since All-Star break

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports:

The Lakers are 17-1 since the All-Star break, and have won nine in a row.

The Spurs have stumbled, losing six straight, the latest an overtime defeat to the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

That pulled the Lakers to within 11/2 games of the reeling Spurs, whom they trailed by nine games at the break. With seven regular-season games remaining, the Lakers can put more pressure on the Spurs, who have six games left.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum said what Coach Phil Jackson would not.

“Yeah, that’s the goal. We want to get the best record in the league,” Bynum said. “We want to be in first place. We still have a game against them [April 12], too, which is really big.”

As for Jackson, he pointed to Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, then to Tuesday’s game against the Jazz at Staples Center, and then the trip to Golden State on Wednesday and to Portland next Friday.

Jackson said if the Lakers get through those games, then he’s willing to talk about the last three, which will be against Oklahoma City, San Antonio and the regular-season finale at Sacramento.

Grizzlies clinch first nonlosing season since 2005-06

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

By beating the Spurs, the Grizzlies secured their first nonlosing season since the 2005-06 campaign.

Memphis improved to 41-33, one more win than it mustered last season. But don’t throw a parade, says Griz coach Lionel Hollins.

The Griz have more lofty goals after beating the San Antonio Spurs, 111-104, on Sunday night in FedExForum.

“We have a long ways to go. Forty-one was not our goal at the start of the season. It’s still not our goal,” Hollins said. “It’s a milestone in terms of being able to finish (at least) .500, which the team hasn’t done in a few years. It’s good for the organization and our fans. For us, we still have a lot of work to do.”

The Griz have treated their fans to 24 wins in their last 30 home games. At FedExForum, the Griz are 20-0 this season when they lead at halftime.

The good Richard Hamilton is back

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports:

Rip Hamilton has reverted to 2004 form since he says he buried the hatchet with Pistons coach John Kuester.

After scoring 23 points in Saturday night’s victory over the Pacers, he is averaging almost 19 points per game to boost his scoring average to 14 points. He is also defending better and turnovers have become rare.

But while his performance has surged, he has been silent — politely refusing interview requests during his consistent streak.

He spoke to the media Saturday night and addressed several topics.

Q: Did your confidence wane?

A: Not at all. Not at all. Not one bit.

Q: Why is that?

A: I know what I bring to the table. I know what I’m capable of doing. I’ve had so many great years here. So many great things. So many special things.