NBA Playoffs 2013: Grizzlies vs. Clippers Recap
By Phil Watson
Zach Randolph put the Memphis Grizzlies on his back over the final four games of their first-round NBA playoffs series with the Los Angeles Clippers. Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
For two games of their first-round series in the NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers were as good as gold. They won the first two games of the series at the Staples Center and appeared to be well on their way to a second consecutive first-round win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Then the roof caved in. Memphis won the last four games of the series, closing it out with a convincing 118-105 win in Game 6 on Friday, May 3. Instead of continuing what had been the best season in the franchise’s star-crossed history, the Clippers became just the ninth team in NBA history to lose a seven-game series after winning the first two.
The ending was as awkward as it was swift. Chris Paul wound up being ejected late after crashing into Marc Gasol off a missed free throw. Blake Griffin did not start and scored nine points in only 14 minutes after spraining his ankle in practice the day before Game 5.
The future is uncertain for the Clippers—Paul is an unrestricted free agent amid reports (per the Los Angeles Times) of a rift between Paul and the team’s younger players.
Let’s take a look at the series in review:
Game Scores (Memphis wins series 4-2)
Game 1 at Los Angeles: Clippers 112, Grizzlies 91
Game 2 at Los Angeles: Clippers 93, Grizzlies 91
Game 3 at Memphis: Grizzlies 94, Clippers 82
Game 4 at Memphis: Grizzlies 104, Clippers 83
Game 5 at Los Angeles: Grizzlies 103, Clippers 93
Game 6 at Memphis: Grizzlies 118, Clippers 105
Series MVP
Zach Randolph had a huge series for the Grizzlies. (NBA.com photo)
Randolph had a rather forgettable season. The former All-Star who was coming back from a knee injury that limited him to just 28 games in 2011-12 averaged 15.4 points a game this year. That was his lowest output as a full-time starter of his career and his lowest since a 17.6 average with the New York Knicks in 2007-08.
He also played a very limited role during Memphis’ seven-game loss to the Clippers in the first round of last year’s playoffs.
But Z-Bo stepped up big time against the Clippers, averaging 20.8 points and eight boards in the series. After the first two games, Randolph really stepped up. He averaged 24.8 points and nine boards on 57.4 percent shooting in the final four games of the series after posting just 26 points and 12 rebounds in the first two games combined.
Randolph also backed up his talk—a day after showing little sympathy for Griffin’s ankle, Randolph scored 23 points in the clincher. He also wrestled with Griffin in the finale as six games of banging spilled over into full-fledged conflict:
Biggest Surprise
Who would have expected Mike Conley to have more assists than Chris Paul? (NBA.com photo)
Conley seldom comes to mind when one thinks of the elite point guards in the NBA, but he was absolutely huge against the Clippers.
He held his own against Paul—generally regarded as the best point guard in the game right now—and was a big key in Memphis turning the series around after the opening two losses.
Conley averaged 17.3 points and 8.3 assists—two more per game than Paul, for what it’s worth—in the series, playing 36.2 minutes a game.
He scored 23 points and handed out seven assists in the finale on Friday night, including hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while posting a team-high plus-22 rating in the game.
No, Conley still isn’t an elite point guard, but as his performance in this series indicates, he can hold his own with the best of them.
Memphis’ biggest highlight came in Game 5 when backup point guard Jerryd Bayless took the ball coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer in the third period:
Biggest Disappointment
Every Clipper not named Chris Paul
Have you seen this man? The Clippers could have used something–anything–from DeAndre Jordan in the playoffs. (NBA.com photo)
The Clippers didn’t do themselves any favors in their efforts to retain Chris Paul this summer. Paul was magnificent, averaging 22.8 points and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.
The problem was that he had almost no help. Blake Griffin shot only 45.3 percent and averaged 13.2 points per game, limited over the final two games of the series because of his bad ankle. Jamal Crawford, runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year, scored just 10.8 points per game and shot a putrid 38.7 percent, including 27.3 percent from deep. DeAndre Jordan’s picture might as well have been on the side of a milk carton for all the good he did the Clippers in the series. Jordan’s not the most dominant center in the NBA, but they expected more than 3.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game from him. Chauncey Billups started six games, played 115 minutes and shot 30.6 percent. Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe were non-factors. Matt Barnes was the only other Clipper who averaged double figures in the series, but that 11.8 points per game mark was inflated heavily by the playoff career high 30 he logged in Game 6.
Coach Vinny Del Negro was regularly trumped by his Memphis counterpart, Lionel Hollins, after the first two games of the series, when it seemed the Grizzlies made the adjustments after falling behind 2-0. Del Negro was never able to counter those adjustments and could just watch as the best season in the history of the franchise crashed and burned.
Paul did provide a thrill with his buzzer-beating game-winner in Game 2, what turned out to be the Clippers’ final victory of 2012-13.
What’s Next
vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Grizzlies open the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday, May 5, with the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The game is set for a 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time tip-off on ABC.
The Thunder finally put away the stubborn Houston Rockets with a 103-94 win in Houston on Friday, May 3.
The Thunder earned the top seed in the Western Conference, but it’s the Grizzlies who won the season series with a 107-987 win at OKC on Nov. 14 and a 90-89 overtime victory in Memphis on March 20. Oklahoma City’s lone win over the Grizzlies was a 106-89 victory at home on Jan. 31.