San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs will for the second straight season play in the Western Conference finals, this time against the Grizzlies. The temptation to draw the parallels between this season and 2010/11 is great but Cam already took care of that so for now let's focus on this year. The Grizzlies beat the Clippers and the Thunder on their way here, using their physicality and defensive prowess to prevail. The Spurs swept the Lakers and toughed out six wins against the pesky Warriors. Both teams have faced solid but injured teams but have looked good in their victories and come into this series healthy and confident in their chances. Let's take a look at the season series. Season series: tied at two Game one recap You might remember the first season meeting as the game that caused Rest-gate. Pop flew the Big Three and Danny Green to San Antonio instead of Miami and paid the prize with Stern. But the Spurs, missing Leonard and Jackson, ultimately got what they wanted and beat the Grizzlies coming from behind in the fourth and forcing overtime. The rested Parker and Duncan had great games while only Mike Conley scored efficiently for the Grizzlies and the Spurs ran their way into a win with 22 fastbreak points. Game two recap The second game of the series also went into overtime but this time the Grizzlies won. There was a lot of physical play that went uncalled, which caused Fred to suffer from split personality disorder for a while (seriously, check that recap because it is pretty hilarious). But ultimately what did the Spurs in was their turnovers, which fueled the Grizzlies' fastbreak, and the second chance points they allowed. Parker was once again great scoring wise but his four turnovers combined with Duncan's six and Manu's three were too many. Spurs killer Darrel Arthur scored 14 points on nine shots and pulled down five boards in 22 minutes for the Grizz. Game three recap Only five days later the two teams met again, this time in San Antonio. The Spurs were without Ginobili but the bigs had such a great game that it turned into a blowout. Splitter and Diaw combined for 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists while Duncan scored 19, pulled down eight boards and blocked five shots. The Spurs' defense was phenomenal and they did exactly what you should do to beat the Grizzlies: move the ball (33 assists), run whenever possible (12 to zero on fastbreak points), rebound (+1 rebound differential) and take care of the ball (13 T0s). Of course, also going 9-18 from three helps while the opponent goes 1-9 helps, especially when they shoot 28 free throws to your ten. Game four recap The final game was close but the depleted Spurs, missing Ginobili, Duncan and Leonard, couldn't pull out the win despite playing a great game. The bench was fantastic in this one, with De Colo, Blair, Bonner and Neal combining for 30 points on 20 shots and 14 rebounds. Splitter had yet another great game against the Grizzlies, notching a double-double before fouling out after some cheap calls, while Parker carried the scoring load late. But Conley and Bayless were too much to handle and sealed the win for the Grizzlies with a combined 19 fourth quarter points, including a three pointer and a game winning layup by Conley. How will the Grizzlies try to hurt the Spurs? From inside, obviously. At this point Spurs fans know the Grizzlies. They take by far the least amount of three pointers in the league, which is not a bad idea since they struggle making them. Memphis likes to slow the game down (29th in pace), pound teams inside and get offensive boards (2nd in the league in offensive rebound percentage). They get most of their offense within eight feet of the rim, where they are not particularly effective, ranking 27th in the league in field goal percentage. Simply put they are not a good offensive team as evidence by their 18th ranked offense during the season. They just grind out enough points to get the win and let their stellar defense take care of the

Notes for the 2013 Western Conference Finals

Spurs vs. Grizzlies: Game 1 Preview: 5/19/13

With 21 combined games in the 2013 playoff data bag between the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies, it’s now time to look at what the data is saying as the Western Conference Finals approach Sunday. Remember, this is all quantitative data and like the last series before the Spurs and Golden State Warriors, the numbers were predicting a sweep or five game series. However, when you look at qualitative evidence, you might or the Spurs might not have known Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were going to explode in games one and two. Quantitative data didn’t predict Harrison Barnes would be in the company of Tim Duncan and Magic Johnson in Game 5. So here are the numbers on the eve of the Western Conference Finals. Look, analyze, and dissect them, but do not rely on them because as the Warriors proved, numbers will change once the ball is tipped. Offense and Defense Points Per Game – Spurs 102.8, Grizzlies 97.2 Points allowed – Spurs 93, Grizzlies 92.4 Offensive rating – Spurs 107, Grizzlies 104.4 Defensive rating – Spurs 96.2, Grizzlies 99.9 What stands out? Of the above numbers, the fact that the Grizzlies are allowing 92 points per game shows that the Spurs are about to play their toughest defensive foe of this postseason. Offensively, the Spurs seem to be Memphis’ biggest test of stopping a scoring team. Field Goal Percentage – Spurs 46%, Grizzlies 43.3% Opponent field goal percentage – Spurs 43.6%, Grizzlies 43.5% 3-Point shooting – Spurs 35.6%, Grizzlies 31% Opponent 3-point percentage – Spurs 33.2%, Grizzlies 31.8% 3-point attempts – Spurs 20.2, Grizzlies 14.5 3-Pointers allowed – Spurs 19.6, Grizzlies 19.7 An interesting number here is that the Grizzlies allow 19.7 three pointers per game. Since the Spurs shoot around 20 per game then their 3-point shots should be there so long as they are moving the ball on the floor. Seeing that the Grizzlies hold teams to 32% shooting from 3-point range means that they contest looks out on the arc. Free throw shooting – Spurs 75.8%, Grizzlies 76.7% Rebounds – Spurs 43.8, Grizzlies 40.1 Offensive rebounding – Spurs 10.2, Grizzlies 10.2 Unlike 2011 where Memphis dominated the rebounding game, the Spurs are better equipped in their frontline and wing players to help crash the boards. Later on though, we’ll see why Zach Randolph will be a whole other area of concern when it comes to rebounding. 2nd Chance points – Spurs 11.8, Grizzlies 14.7 points Huge stat right here for Memphis. They’re scoring nearly 15 points off second chance attempts which means they hustle for offensive boards and plays that are almost going out of bounds. The Spurs will have to match the intensity the Grizzlies bring each and every night. Assists – Spurs 23, Grizzlies 19.5 Opponent assists – Spurs 19.1, Grizzlies 16.9 This stat could be one of the most decisive aspects of this series. Quantitatively the Grizzlies look like a team that doesn’t allow solid ball movement by opponents as they’re holding teams to 16.9 assists per game. However, qualitatively, it looked the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have too much trouble penetrating and kicking out to open shooters or slashers. Turnovers per game Spurs 11.1, Grizzlies 10.4 Opponent turnovers – Spurs 15.2, Grizzlies 14 Though both teams seem to take care of the ball pretty effectively, both defensives also force a few turnovers as well. The Spurs’ offensive firepower allows them to have the luxury of turning the ball over and then being able to score to make up those possessions, the Grizzlies however can’t afford turnovers as their offense doesn’t score at such a high rate. Points off turnovers – Spurs 17.8, Grizzlies 16.2 Basically, any team that tur

The UTSA Roadrunners capped the regular season in style Saturday afternoon, beating Louisiana Tech 3-2 and completing their second consecutive weekend sweep. After winning three games in three days at Ruston, La., fourth-seeded UTSA now moves on to play No. 5 Sacramento State on Wednesday in Grand Prairie in the opening game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. UTSA (31-23, 15-11) was forced to rally to beat the WAC’s last-place team on the final day of the regular season. The Bulldogs (6-21, 19-37) plated a couple of unearned runs for a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.  But the Roadrunners retaliated with three in the seventh to pull ahead. Riley Good delivered a bases-loaded single off Trevor Petersen that scored two runs.  [...]

The San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference Finals to earn the opportunity to play the Memphis Grizzlies this Sunday for Game 1. The Spurs and Grizzlies are no strangers to each other as the teams faced off in the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs in the first round. The Grizzlies triumphed over the Spurs in 6 games and San Antonio hasn't been shy in saying they haven't forgotten that experience. This season the teams meet each other with the winner heading to the NBA Finals against whoever comes out of the Eastern Conference. The Grizzlies have looked dominant lately and the Spurs will need to top these two categories to have the edge in this series. 1) Rebounds The Spurs are have not been a good rebounding team during the regular season and for a good reason. San Antonio has been a solid defensive rebounding team but has suffered on the offensive end. While some see that as a weakness, the Spurs were such a good shooting and scoring team in the regular season and didn't need to offensive rebound as much as other teams. In their last 5 games against the Golden State Warriors, they've averaged 44.8rpg while the Grizzlies have averaged 42.8rpg in the same number of games. The Spurs were outrebounded in the series against the Golden State Warriors (47.8rpg) due to their speed and versatility while the Grizzlies were outrebounded by a less athletic frontcourt with not much depth in the Oklahoma City Thunder (43.4rpg). The Spurs have the depth to match the Grizzlies with Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw, and (if they choose to go small) Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 8.4rpg this postseason. 2) Toughness The Grizzlies traded Rudy Gay for Tayshaun Prince this season, but the bigs are still the focal point of their offense. Marc Gasol is averaging 18.3ppg this posteason and Zach Randolph's averaging 19.7ppg alongside him. The majority of the scoring is coming from the paint and that was one of the reasons why the Spurs fell to this team two years ago. Tiago Splitter showed some toughness against the Grizzlies this season as a starter and that's something they'll need in this series. San Antonio has to match toughness against Memphis for them to win this series. They have the advantage on overall versatility with Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw in the lineup, but wearing out the Memphis bigs when they're on defense and defending them with toughness will be key for the Spurs. The Spurs have a shot against the lower seeded Grizzlies, but they'll need to dominate these two categories to get out of this series and head to the NBA Finals. There's other categories the Spurs need to thrive in including shooting, but these two will determine if they'll have some breathing room during the series and will also dictate how the team plays on the other side of the floor.

The San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies will meet in the 2013 Western Conference Finals for a shot at going to the NBA Finals which kicks off tomorrow in San Antonio. On this episode of the Project Spurs-News 4 San Antonio, Spurs Roundtable, Jeff Garcia, Project Spurs' Quixem Ramirez and special guest Jason Minnix of 1250 ESPN The Blitz, break down the Spurs-Grizzlies WCF series. From whether the Spurs should be concerned about facing the Grizzlies, the play of Mike Conley in the postseason to predictions, the panel looks at every angle of this Western Conference clash.

Spurs fans have every reason to feel confident right now. San Antonio swiftly dispatched the Lakers, a perennial powerhouse, and then quelled the uprising and youthful Warriors, a team which appears poised to contend in the West for years to come. The Spurs accomplished all of this through familiar means: systematic offense and suppressive defense, dropping only two games out of ten en route to a second straight Western Conference Finals showdown with a relatively familiar pseudo-rival. The Spurs and the Grizzlies are not rivals in the purest sense of the word. Tim Duncan and Zach Randolph haven't, and never would, fasten their fingers around the each other's necks, a la Bird-Erving. The teams have only clashed in one playoff series with rosters remotely similar to what they are now (The Spurs swept the Grizz in the 2004 first round. Not a single player on that Memphis roster still plays in "The Bluff City"), but that 2011 series sure was a doozy. While this matchup will never rival those Spurs-Mavericks/Suns tilts when each of those teams was in its prime, the sting from 2011 still lingers for many fans. That unceremonious first-round loss, only the third time in NBA history that an 8-seed defeated a 1-seed, was a serious gut-punch to the people of San Antonio. Most feel some combination of visceral dread and confident optimism, in varying degrees, heading in to a series with the physical Grizzlies. With a second straight chance to earn a spot in the Finals, however, those who wear Silver and Black would love nothing more than sweet, sweet revenge and a chance to dethrone King James. What's Different Now? Let's come back a minute to that sense of "visceral dread" we talked about earlier. Why are Spurs fans so scared of the Grizzlies? I'll tell you why. Because everybody remembers how Mike Conley subjugated Tony Parker, imposing his defensive will on the fulcrum of the Spurs offense. Everybody remembers that Zach Randolph never missed for the whole series. Everybody remembers that the Spurs shouldn't even have won two games, avoiding the Gentleman's sweep only through improbable heroics from Gary Neal and Manu Ginobili in Game 5. It was complete domination by the Grizzlies from start to finish, and it left most Spurs fans in a depressive offseason stupor. Fortunately, the guys from SA who will step out on the court on Sunday afternoon have a selective memory, and they know things have changed. This is a new series in a new year, with tweaked rosters, reborn players and shifted mentalities. Neither coach is game-planning for the respective opposing teams from two years ago. The series may display the same brand of grinding drudgery with which the Spurs of the aughts were well acquainted, but after a few years "lost at D," the Spurs have righted the ship and are prepared to treat national audiences to a great defensive series. Roster Changes: The Ins and Outs Each team has made some noteworthy roster changes in the last two years. Below are the playoff rotation players who have left or joined each roster since 2011. Spurs Grizzlies Out In Out In Richard Jefferson Kawhi Leonard O.J. Mayo Tayshaun Prince Antonio McDyess Boris Diaw Shane Battier Jerryd Bayless George Hill Cory Joseph Greivis Vasquez Quincy Pondexter There are some significant changes over the span of two years. While the core of each team remains intact, the surrounding cast is largely different. The Spurs ditched Richard Jefferson (who finally managed to help us win a playoff game via two wonderfully missed free throws), Antonio McDyess and George Hill. The loss of Hill certainly hurts the most, as the Pacers are now discovering following his concussion in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semis. Even two years ago, George Hill was a great defender who could create his own shots. When Manu joined the starting lineup in Game 2 of the 2011 fir