Of course I could not tell... but I think you could assume Spurs could have some problems with youth.... because they are old. This year they are well rested, their bench players are playing well, good depth.... going for them..... Tony Parker playing like an MVP, Gino as the assassin Grizzlies are having problems because the season had 66 games, and they are right now about to gel.....but the Spurs already gelled..... this is a major factor Those are rock solid advantages that the Spurs have Grizz do have some height and length over them but that's all, at the end of the day the better team wins... and Grizz have to play above their heads all I am saying.
And what is up with Gay's shooting? He started the series out well, but now has shot like crap. They need him to pick it up. If he starts shooting his reg. season % with ZBo/Marc's domination, this team will go far.
I don't really know what more the Spurs can do to make people believe in them. They have like 19 game winning streak on the road! They aren't just beating teams, they are killing them. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have struggled against an injured Clipper team that everyone thinks sucks so much. Also, the Grizzlies haven't figured out anything. It's just that the starting Clipper frontline is awful defensively-- Griffin & Jordan can't guard a post. The moment the Clippers sub in Martin & Evans, suddenly Gasol & ZBo can't score anymore .. it's not rocket science. Meanwhile, the Spurs have a myriad of bad matchups for the Grizzlies. It'll be a five game series at most.
The Spurs team is completely different and much, much better than last year (the injury to Ginobili really threw off their game and they didn't finish the season strong anyway, unlike this team which hasn't lost in a month). After watching the Grizzlies in this series, I think they are better without Gay, honestly, and a healthy ZBo makes a big difference. Also, there's that little matter of the Spurs sweeping the Grizzlies this year.
Part of the thing with Gay is that he's had to defer to Marc and Zbo in the post for the last 2 games. He does make plays however in the 4th quarter when the game is one the line.
I don't care for the reg. season. The Bulls have had the best reg. season records 2 years running and nobody believes they can win a ring, even with Rose. The Spurs have depth so they can destroy teams over this condensed season, and they just beat the freakin' Jazz. And who thinks the Clips suck? Before losing its last 2 games in the reg. season, the clips were on a roll. A HUGE roll. What are you talking about? And the clips have a top 3-4 player in the league. The Spurs don't have one. And the starting frontline of the Spurs is any better defensively? If Al Jefferson/Favors/Milsap can do their thing v. the Spurs, expect Zbo/Marc/Gay to duplicate that if not better. And go on about that "myriad" of bad matchups for the Grizz? Outside of Manu off the bench, who can't the Grizz match up with? They can put TA on TP full time, and the turning point of the clips series is putting TA on CP3 full time. TP will have a hard time v. TA. Manu will have to handle more of the load next series, and can he do it over a long series?
He's been a total scrub in this series and part of that is just the matchup. The thing is, all he has to do is rebound and play defense, and while he gets some flashy blocks, he's not good at either. The potential is sickening but the IQ is so low I don't think he'll ever get there.
Thing is, he has to learn how to be efficient and consistent over the course of a game while deferring. This team shines when the bigs shine, not when Gay does. And I think the team finally realizes that. The Grizz went from Gay-centric in the first 2 games to now showing off their bigs. They need Gay to have a huge series to beat the Spurs b/c who can match up with him athletically on the Spurs? Nobody.
I no longer accept bets on this site after one particular user welshed. But I won't be around after this series anyway.
I don't know if you have noticed. Jazz are a good team at home. They were swept..... Grizz are having major problems against a Clipps team that is newly formed. Clipps have absolutely less experience playing together in the postseason. Before this shortened season Clipps were not even playoff-bound. I don't care if you think Chris Paul is enough to make a team contender, he is not.
TA was only on CP3 full time this game, and it wouldn't have been a factor if CP3 wasn't injured (he was abusing Allen in the previous games). Parker is much faster than CP3 and there's no way TA can guard him all the time. And if he does, then the Spurs have like six big guards that will just shoot over Conley. I really don't think you appreciate how good the Spurs have been playing. They beat the Lakers by like 20+ points twice in a week. They beat the Grizzlies all four times, three of them by double-digits. Why would this suddenly change now? It's not like the Grizzlies are playing well.
Superstars win in the playoffs. I don't care how the Clips formed, b/c CP3 won 2 of those 3 games himself down the stretch. CP3 is as true of a superstar as there is in the league. A true superstar will automatically give you 2 wins in a series. The Jazz? Are you serious? They were too inexperienced, and most of their rotation players never even played in the playoffs. The Spurs' experience overwhelmed them more than anything. I remembered you predicting a Lakers win in the 2nd round over OKC . But backtracking is fine though. Paul had an "average" night for Paul in game 5. He was a non-factor till the 3rd quarter. And he was mediocre tonight. What have you been watching? And CP3 >>> TP. Look, reg. season doesn't mean anything man. People use the reg. season to talk about the Heat last year when they were swept by both the Celts/Bulls. there's something to say about facing one team over and over in a 2 week period. It's about defense and rebounding, and the Grizz are more well equipped in those 2 areas than the Spurs right now.
The clippers were the most difficult draw the grizzlies could have faced. We hadn't beat the clippers at staples (even without paul) since like 2010. I can assure you the grizzlies were not looking forward to this series. The clippers are bad to the bone. And they still might beat the grizzlies.
