NBA Playoffs 2013: 5 Things We’ve Learned from Clippers vs. Grizzlies Series

Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies has been a force on the offensive glass in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers. Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule

The first-round series in the Western Conference between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers is now a best-of-3 affair after the teams held serve on their home courts in the first four games. It’s been, for the most part, what we expected from the Clippers vs. Grizzlies series.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, in Los Angeles with the teams returning to Memphis for Game 6 on Friday, May 3. A seventh game, if necessary, would be Sunday, May 5, in L.A.

Considering these two teams engaged in a seven-game slugfest in the first round a year ago, with the Clippers winning Game 7 in Memphis, the fact the series even after four games isn’t a shocker. That also holds true when one remembers that both of these teams won 56 games this season. There isn’t a lot separating them.

So what do we know after the first four games of the Clippers vs. Grizzlies series?

1. Home court matters

These have been the home-court playoffs thus far, with road teams winning just six of 26 games. The Clippers were great in their two games at the Staples Center and the Grizzlies were awful in one of them. The Grizzlies were great in their two games at the FedEx Forum and the Clippers were awful in one of them.

For a series that appears on the surface to be so even, it is surprising that the teams have exchanged 21-point blowouts. The Clippers hammered Memphis 112-91 in Game 1 and the Grizzlies returned the favor by throttling Los Angeles in Game 4 104-83. The only close game in the series, Game 2, was decided by this play by Chris Paul.

2. The Grizzlies get it done on offense … somehow

The numbers through the first four games of the series are absolutely baffling. Memphis is fifth among playoff teams with an offensive rating of 109.3 despite playing the third-slowest pace of any team left in the field. They’re doing it despite shooting only 45.2 percent from the floor and a woeful 29.4 percent from 3-point range.

And they’re doing it because they are getting to the foul line … a lot. Memphis is taking 31.5 free-throw attempts per game in the first four games of the series, while the Clippers have been whistled for 27.8 fouls a game. The Grizzlies have a 17-point advantage on made free throws in the series (93-76) while attempting 33 more than the Clippers (126-93).

3. Mike Conley can play, OK?

Mike Conley is never a point guard who is in the discussion of which players at that position are the best in the NBA. Based on his career numbers, he shouldn’t be.

That said, the guy has done nothing in his six years in the league but get better and better. This year, Conley averaged 14.6 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range. None of those numbers jumps off the page at you. But he also logs 2.2 steals a night, has a solid defensive rating of 100 (points allowed per 100 possessions) and a better than average offensive rating of 111 (points scored per 100 possessions). His player efficiency rating (PER) was a career-high 18.3 this season (15 is considered average) and his 9.9 win shares trailed only Marc Gasol on the Grizzlies.

And through four games of this series, he’s held his own with one of the league’s elites at the 1, Chris Paul.

Here are the stat lines for the two players through four games.

Yes, that’s Mike Conley averaging 9.3 assists per game and Chris Paul with 6.5 a game. He’s doing more than just holding his own in a matchup many predicted was a huge advantage for the Clippers. And he’s done it with some flair, too.

4. Jamal Crawford has been invisible save for Game 2

Jamal Crawford just missed winning his second Sixth Man of the Year award, but the Los Angeles Clippers’ sparkplug has been misfiring in this series.

Save for a solid effort in L.A.’s 93-91 win in Game 2, when he had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Crawford has not been much of a factor in the series. He averaged 16.5 points a game on 43.8 percent shooting and 37.6 accuracy from long-range, but through four games, Crawford is at 12.6 points per night while shooting 41.9 percent and 29.4 percent from deep. Considering the Clippers get little production from two of their starters—Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups—Los Angeles has to have production from Crawford, who gets starter’s minutes while coming off the bench. So far in this series, the Clippers aren’t getting it. Crawford’s best run in the series came when he did this in the second quarter of Game 2.

5. Zach Randolph looks like the guy from the 2011 playoff run

Zach Randolph, now 31, did not have the greatest of 2012-13 seasons. Coming back from an injury-plagued 2011-12 season, Randolph averaged 15.4 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. The rebounding was right in line with what he’s done since coming to Memphis in 2009, but the scoring (save for the lost 2011-12 season) was his lowest since he was a part-time player with the Portland Trail Blazers early in his career.

Randolph’s shooting plummeted to 46 percent this season, down from 50.3 when he was last healthy in 2010-11. The shot charts show the reason—Randolph wasn’t nearly as effective as a finisher around the rim this season as he was two years ago.

The shot chart for Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2010-11 shows a player who is a solid finisher around the rim. (NBA.com graphic)

Zach Randolph’s shot chart from the 2012-13 regular season shows a drop in his effectiveness near the rim from two seasons ago. (NBA.com graphic)

Fast forward to this shot chart, from this year’s playoffs, and you see a guy who is finishing around the rim … a lot.

Zach Randolph’s shot chart for the first four games of the series between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers. (NBA.com graphic)

Part of that is the work Randolph is doing on the offensive glass. He has 14 offensive rebounds in the series. Those put-backs are part of the reason why he’s shooting 56.4 percent for the series. That, and the fact he’s abusing the smaller Blake Griffin on the low block and backing down from the mid-post and on the baseline. Here are some highlights from Randolph in Game 3, when he had 27 points and 11 boards.