Memphis Grizzlies Win Back-To-Back Against 2 Western Favorites
To say that the current stretch in the schedule for the Memphis Grizzlies is hellacious would be underselling it. Tuesday night, they welcomed the Golden State Warriors to the Grindhouse, the same Warriors that sat at 21-2 and were in the midst of a 16-game winning streak.
Wednesday night saw the Grizzlies travel to San Antonio to take on the reigning NBA champions. Next, they will travel back home to Fed Ex Forum to take on the Chicago Bulls, and Marc Gasol’s older brother Pau.
The weekend finishes Sunday night in Cleveland against LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love who have finally started clicking on offense.
That makes four teams with serious championship aspirations in four games, two of them on the road. By the end of this week, the NBA will know exactly what Memphis is made of.
They got the week started off right by ending the Warriors’ 16 game winning streak, in one of the most entertaining games of the year, on national television. The absence of Andrew Bogut for Golden State proved to be significant.
Bogut’s passing from the high post and defense down low has been a large factor in Golden State’s early success.
He leads all centers in defensive real plus-minus, so not having him against one of the top centers in the NBA is a huge loss. Marc Gasol led all scorers with 24 points, and could not be adequately defended by Festus Ezeli or Marreese Speights.
No Bogut also meant there was no player to protect the rim when Mike Conley darted into the lane off of a ball-screen for one of his off-hand floaters. The same goes for Beno Udrih’s pull-up jumper, which he was able to get off easily without a constantly hedging Bogut.
The two-man game between Conley and Gasol (which I plan to break down with visual aids in the next few weeks) was run to perfection and created huge problems for Golden State.
Zach Randolph has been a bit of an afterthought this season thanks to the emergence of Conley and Gasol. That is unfortunate because he is still as talented as ever, the man just has a knack for scoring and grabbing rebounds. Against the Warriors he turned in his 15th double-double of the season with a 17-point and 10-rebound effort.
To add insult to injury for the Warriors, Vince Carter had a throwback game of sorts. Carter had a spring to his step, and seemed excited to play in a big game. He was more confident than he has been all season, which led to an aggressiveness he has not shown during his brief stay in Memphis.
Carter launched seven three-pointers, hitting four of them, and also made a point to drive to the basket more. He ended his night with 16 points; add that to Udrih’s six points and eight assists, and Jon Leuer’s efficient 11 points in a night that saw the Grizzlies’ bench score 40 points.
Even Kosta Koufos scored four points on 2-of-2 from the floor. At one point, the bench put together a 20-0 run to extend the Memphis lead.
Without the contributions from the Grizzlies’ reserve unit, Golden State’s win streak would still be alive. On a side note, applications for the Beno Udrih fan club were submitted at a record rate in the hours following the game.
Despite snagging such an important win (as important as wins can be in December), there was no time to celebrate. A brutal road back to back against the Spurs awaited.
The only comparison I can make to truly show the displeasure of this back-to-back experience, would be to liken it to going to the dentist the day after taking a tour through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Even if they are not at the top of the standings, the San Antonio Spurs are always favorites in the Western Conference, until they finally get knocked out of the postseason. Any regular season matchup against them on the road is especially daunting.
Fortunately for the Grizzlies, the Spurs would be without two of their key cogs. Tony Parker sat out due to a strained left hamstring, while Kawhi Leonard sat due to a left hand injury.
Even without important players, San Antonio is frequently a house of horrors for the Grizzlies. I doubt that any of the Memphis players that participated in the 2013 Western Conference Finals against the Spurs have forgotten the beat-down San Antonio laid down.
None of the games were truly blowouts, but a four game sweep will still leave a sour taste in your mouth. Would they put those demons to rest?
Early in the game it appeared that way. Vince Carter discovered the fountain of youth early for the second consecutive game. Carter dropped 10 first quarter points, knocking down 3-of-3 three-pointers. Everything came up Grizzlies in the first alf.
After blowing a 23-point second-quarter lead over the course of the game, the Grizzlies found themselves in a battle during the final minutes. A huge Danny Green three-pointer would give the Spurs a two-point lead, and a Tim Duncan free throw would make it three points.
After a wild scramble, Mike Conley would hit a game tying three-pointer with seven seconds remaining. Not to be outdone, Danny Green would answer with what looked to be a game winning three the very next possession. However, Grit and Grind does not fade so easily.
A desperate prayer from Marc Gasol would then fall to send the game to overtime.
Another back and forth period would leave things unsettled. Things would head to a second overtime. Down one point with only seconds remaining, Courtney Lee would connect on a three-pointer from the corner to give Memphis a 111-109 lead with 2.6 seconds left in the contest.
Would that be the difference? Of course not. Tim Duncan would hit a fade-away jumper to send the game to triple overtime. Basketball insanity. Memphis would finally exorcise those demons in the third overtime. After holding a four point lead with under a minute remaining, yet another Danny Green three-pointer brought the Spurs back.
Manu Ginobli attempted to win the game for San Antonio with a deep three, but a great contest from Marc Gasol disturbed him enough to send his shot wildly off the mark. Memphis would win the epic battle 117-116. It was the game of the year, so far.
Two powerhouse teams going round for round with one another in a game that seemingly would not end.
It was a wild two days of basketball, and one that likely has the Grizzlies feeling exhausted. There is no time to sit back and rest. The crazy-train rolls on, all the way back to Memphis on Friday. The Bulls come to town, and Marc will face big brother Pau in a clash of Gasols.
Sunday a late afternoon meeting at the Cavaliers will finish off a most daunting week of NBA basketball.
The Grizzlies can take pride in ending the Warriors’ win streak, as well as knocking off a team that has given them significant problems the last few seasons. The revitalized Vince Carter, and the hope that he can provide this type of effort on a more regular basis should also encourage them.
What is the most definitive thing we can take from these two games? The NBA is never dull.