[Western Conference Semi-Finals] Oklahoma City vs Memphis

Going Grizz in 6

 

This is clippy. His team is terrible, and they got handled. He doesn't have perspective or the mental capacity necessary to process the fact that the great Chris Paul didn't take a bunch of scrubs to a second round sweep again this year.

 

Wait a sec.. your opinion is that the Clippers suck, and they took the Grizz to 6. So that means Memphis didn't do anything special. But OKC is actually a good team, so therefore they will do better. That's what I'm saying!

See if your pea-sized hick brain can parse that logic. I know it's tough with the Tennessee edumacational system but I'm sure you can do it if you try!

 

Memphis fouls a lot? That's the first I've heard of it. I picked Memphis in 5. Perkins/Ibaka/Collison/Thabeet are no match for Gasol/Z-Bo.

 

Clippy also believes that the grizzlies aren't mentally tough, but the clippers are. Wow. I have no words.

 

Well Memphis does foul a lot but that's not what I meant. I mean they rely on going to the foul line to score but OKC is the master at this so they won't get the same kind of bias they saw in the first round, and without that, they are offensively inept. They looked good in the first round because, like 'what' said, the Clippers are pretty useless outside of Chris Paul (esp. after Griff got injured), but even without Westbrook, OKC has a lot of talent, esp. in the frontline.

I know people will think that since OKC didn't do that great in the first round that they are going to get killed, but that was a big adjustment to make and now that they've figured it out, it will be smooth sailing to the WCF. Memphis ain't that good, folks.

 

HAHAHAHA blows a 27 point lead in the 4th... blows a game 7 at home? Mentally tough? And where the hell did I say the Clippers were mentally tough? They are coached by a mental midget (no more hopefully).

What I'm thinking we've got here is a failure to communicate. Given that you are from Memphis, "mentally tough" probably just means anyone who can read. But I have slightly higher standards. I'm sure you were the shining beacon of the Memphis school system since you know how to read and use the Internet (haven't mastered writing yet but that will come in time).. but this it the big leagues and you're going to have to adjust if you want to hang.

 

I disagree. I think the Grizz players get away with being physical a lot more than the Rockets. They're gonna body up Durant harder than we did and their fouls are gonna be harder than ours.

 

I know you are picking the grizzlies, but it wouldn't matter if westbrook was there or not as it pertains to Mike Conley. Actually, the clippers guards are by far more of a challenge for Mike Conley than westbrook would be defernsiveky and Conley just torched them.

 

Clearly not the same team as last year dude. Last year, Z-Bo was really hurt and Rudy Gay pullups was all they tried when things were going wrong.

Marc Gasol is clearly better.
Z-Bo is clearly better.
Mike Conley is clearly better.

Team is flowing well.

 

Right, and the refs will send KD to the line 20 times a game to protect their golden boy. You think they want Memphis in the Finals? No ****ing way.

 

I agree the OKC front line is talented, but none of them have a post game. OKC is a jump shooting team. Memphis may be offensively inept at times, but they play great defense, both on the perimeter and in the paint. Like the Bulls, their defense gives them a chance to win every game, even if it is ugly. I'm not willing to bank on the OKC defense.

 

Depending on how much Brooks plays Fisher, this could be a huge advantage for the Grizz. But Conley isn't the kind of guy that's going to beat you by scoring a bunch (like KD)-- his thing is penetration and getting his bigs involved. OKC has great interior defense and that has little to do with Westbrook, so if they take the philosophy of turning Conley into a scorer, they'll win fairly comfortably.

 

I don't even like arguing with people who just pick David Stern as their man.

Clippers would have beaten the Grizzlies if you think Stern wants to fix everything.

Memphis with Z-Bo healthy and playing well is clearly better than a Westbrook-less OKC. They have the length and multiple defenders to put on KD without completely compromising their defense.

And with their interior players in sync, the offense isn't as much of a problem.

You could argue that the Thunder's biggest weakness is usually against small ball teams which would be a decent argument that you didn't really bring up. But their bigger lineup struggles to score with no Westbrook havoc. Also Memphis has gotten a lot better at pushing the tempo.

Finally, with a team without a set offense that is trying to make stuff up on the run, Memphis' turnover forcing defense is the worst possible matchup.

 

OKC is pretty boned this series without Westbrook. I see it going 5, 6 games at MOST..

 

VGB, that was tongue and cheek, but seriously Durant draws the cheapest fouls in the league and Memphis is a very "hands on" team so I expect him to get tons of calls in this series. So with their bigs in potential foul trouble as well as a good interior defense (Perks & Ibaka & Collison) to limit their production, Memphis will have to get a lot out of their perimeter. And while those guys are actually pretty underrated, I don't see them winning a series.

 

The grizzlies just handled the clippers in 4 straight games and I'm not totally sure, but I can't remember the clippers having the lead for more than a few minutes over the entire 4 games.

Clearly clippy thought the clippers had some mental edge that they could turn on at any given minute because of last years 27 point comeback. I just he'll be talking about that one for years to come because the clippers aren't getting out of the fire round any time soon.

 

Gasol and Zbo will have a field day?

 

Memphis in 6

OKC simply isn't that good now. We probably would have won the series had Westbrook been hurt from the jump.

They have no offensive creators, and a defense like Memphis will feast on that. KD will get hot and win one all by himself. Martin probably has one good game also and helps win another, otherwise Memphis controls completely.

 

I'm actually upset that westbrook isn't playing in this series. It would be totally cool for a FAIR rematch.