Fire up the calliope! It's showtime!
The Grizzlies have won five straight since the 1 March loss at Miami. Wednesday night, the back half of this back-to-back takes place against the Association's best entertainment value, the Clippers. After years of mediocrity (and some other years of atrocious basketball), this team is a highlight reel waiting to happen.
Chris Paul is the key, the guy who sets the pace and establishes the attitude when the Clippers take the floor. When they are in attack mode, they press the pace as much as any team this side of the Denver Nuggets. We've all seen the plays - the dunks, fancy passes, the steals that start the fast breaks.
On paper, this clash of styles seems to favor the Clippers. Their post players, like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, thrive offensively in transition. Most bigs can't match that pace. The Grizzlies' starting post players, Randolph and Gasol, certainly can't.
For Memphis, like Tuesday night at Portland, executing their game plan means controlling pace. Run every so often, but don't try to run every possession. In the half-court offense, convert the makeable shots. That set shot Gasol takes from the "elbow" area/foul line extended? He's got to keep making those. Gasol's dual threat offensive capability from the high post will keep Jordan occupied and open the lane for others. The risk is, if Gasol misses those shots, Jordan is in position to run out in transition. This is a matchup I'll watch.
Another matchup worth watching is Paul against Mike Conley. Conley has had a steady year, and playing with more confidence than ever. Chris Paul, however, is a different level of competition. Last year in the playoff round when the teams met, Paul did whatever he wanted. Wednesday night, Conley has to keep battling. Paul is gonna make some plays, and talk a little smack on top of it. That's OK, though. Conley doesn't have to match the flash or the words. Just distribute the ball for easy baskets and score enough to make Paul work.
My guess: Clippers 109, Memphis 102. Like Tuesday, I hope I'm wrong. For Memphis to win, they need to keep it in the 90s.
After the Game: Memphis 96, Clippers 85. Color me surprised. Memphis tied a team single season record with its 19th road victory. Gasol scored 20, Prince had 18 (passing 10,000 for his career), and Conley had 17 with 11 assists. Pondexter came off the bench to score 11 (including 3 for 3 in 3PT attempts). The team shot 54%, but only had 31 rebounds. In addition, the team had 37 field goals, 20 assists and 12 turnovers.
Memphis is now in 3rd place in the Western Conference, a half game over the Clippers.
For the Clippers, Paul had 24 and 9 assists, but had 5 turnovers as well. Griffin scored 22, and added 6 rebs and 5 assists. Jordan only played 20 minutes, scoring 4 and grabbing 2 rebs (I wonder why?). Jamal Crawford came off the bench to shoot 1 of 10 from the field. The Clippers had 31 field goals, 22 assists and 12 turnovers.
Memphis got off to a good start in its half-court offense, and did a good enough job getting back on defense to prevent the Clippers from relentlessly running its break. In the half-court, the Clippers do have weapons like Chauncey Billups, Crawford (usually) and Matt Barnes. Tonight, those guys didn't shoot as well as normal. Furthermore, no Eric Bledsoe (injury) took away from their bench production.
Watching this game was like watching a playoff contest. It's a lift for the Grizzlies to know they can go into a difficult arena and impose their will on the game. To see the Staples Center fans leave with a couple of minutes left was a nice scene. Now, after Thursday off, the Grizzlies play in Denver Friday night.
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