San Antonio Spurs

May 19, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) smiles from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies in game one of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT The outcome of Game 1 was such a surprise everyone, that we’re still trying to make some sense out of it. So instead of discussing this amongst ourselves, Air Alamo’s Lead Editor Michael Rehome, joined me in a little email exchange to see what the hell exactly happened. John Diaz, Senior Staff Writer: So, where do I begin? I can’t state enough how shocked I was that this was a blowout. Did you expect us to win by such a huge margin? Michael Rehome, Lead Editor: To be honest, no.  I had a feeling that we would display the energy that we portrayed, but not the shooting that we did, especially from three.  Before this series started I was thinking back to 2011 and how hard it was to get anything going during this series.  It just showed the genius of Gregg Popovich and what he can do to break down an opponent.  In game one, we saw they exploited the defense of Zach Randolph’s slow moving feet, Tony Parker’s penetration and kick out.  This and the collapsing of the Memphis defense on Parker made it easy for others on the Spurs to have an open look and just launch and not think about it. JD: Yeah, it was definitely surprising to see how easily Parker was getting into the lane early on. The three-point shooting felt like just a bonus. Not to get overconfident or anything, but the Grizzlies defense looked so lost for all 48 minutes. I’m not sure how easily they can recover from that. Granted I don’t think the Spurs can maintain shooting 48% from three, but the looks in the paint are still there to take advantage of, no? MR: For San Antonio, I think so.  Parker during the season was second in scoring in the paint amongst guards.  He is brilliant at getting into the lane.  Even if the Grizzlies made their adjustments, because we know they will in keeping him out of the paint, you know he won’t let that go down without a fight. Parker is such an exceptional passer as he displayed in game one to find the open shooters.  Even if the defense collapses on him, he can easily dish to Duncan or Splitter. May 19, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) shoots during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in game one of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT JD: Definitely agree there. So what do you see as any adjustments in Game 2? Let’s say the Spurs don’t match their Game 1 shooting or don’t try to exploit Memphis in the paint more. Is that enough? The Grizzlies weren’t just bad defensively, the Spurs forced them into holding the ball and playing a lot of one-on-one. Everyone keeps mentioning the Grizzlies will play better, so what do they have to do? MR: We know the Spurs are going to come out to try and continue the play they had in game one. We both know the Grizzlies that we saw in game one will not be whom we see in game two. Unless the game one onslaught really has a strangled hold on the Grizzlies, and they can’t seem to think they can do anything right against this team. I see the defensive pressure of the bigs from Memphis being there more to try and keep Parker out of the paint. The Spurs won’t do anything different on offense. Pick-n-rolls is what they live by and they just do a remarkable job finding a way to still get to the basket. Shooting wise, it would be nice if it continued. I see the Grizzlies doing a better job on the shooters, not sagging off of them so that Parker can find them while penetrating. JD: Yeah, the Grizzlies will definitely do a better job of closing out on shooters. And offensively, Memphis definitely didn’t live up to their “grind and grit” nickname. Watching Tayshuan Prince isolation and try to post up on

The matchup of the game for Game 2 in the Western Conference Finals will be between Tim Duncan and Zach Randolph. Duncan had a 6 point, 10 rebound game in Game 1, which wasn't the prettiest offensive numbers for the Spurs' cornerstone. He did make up for it on the defensive end, holding Randolph to 2 points (1-8 shooting). Duncan's commitment to stopping Randolph paid off for the Spurs because of the Grizzlies couldn't get into an offensive rhythm. Memphis had to rely on different offensive pieces for the top options, something they weren't used to with Z-Bo on the floor for them. With Duncan towards the end of his career, his offensive numbers weren't that important as he's willing and able to be the fifth option if necessary without the Spurs losing any rhythm. What Duncan must do on offense: He has to make his jumpers to keep the Grizzlies on their unbalanced on the defensive end. Duncan shot 3-9 FG in Game 1 and would've made Memphis' job more difficult if those jumpers would have gone in. If Duncan can expand his game to mid-range, that would force a Memphis big to come out to guard him and open up pick and rolls (or pops for Matt Bonner) in the paint. It wouldn't be wise for Duncan to try to post up since Randolph is a physical player and Marc Gasol is ready to help him out. Duncan must keep active and in motion to force whoever is guarding him to be chasing him or the ball, leaving one of those two open. What Duncan must do on defense: He has to keep fresh feet to guard Randolph. Duncan's foot speed and wingspan gave Randolph trouble in Game 1 and that's not likely to change in Game 2 if Duncan commits to the defensive end. Marc Gasol isn't known as a post up threat, especially against Tiago Splitter. Randolph will still be depended upon to create his offense for Memphis and to set the tone for the team. If Duncan can continually shut down Randolph and frustrate him, this will put more pressure on Memphis' perimeter game and that's not something they are known for. The Spurs are unlikely to see a 1-8 FG shooting night from Randolph again, but they'll need to have him take the majority of attempts and shoot a low percentage to see a win tonight.

If you haven't figured it out by now, media plays a major role in how we create perception. I became a victim of this very instrument as I watched my Spurs play against two of my favorite point guards currently. Mike Conley and Stephen Curry were arguably two of the most under rated point guards before coming into the playoffs this year. Let me get you to understand this for a moment, these guys were lost in the media last year in Jeremy Lin's short success. Much can be attributed to Curry's underrating status due to injuries, but he has displayed enough basketball skill that is much telling. Conley is in a small market and plays with two big men (does that sound familiar, hhm T.P and the Twin Towers). Leading up the playoffs, Conley and Curry were two guards that were considered just well above average, right aligned with good before entering into the playoffs. But the narrative changed quickly as Curry was considered to be part of the best back court ever with Klay, very questionable (not to mention that the Warriors did have Monta Ellis). Now Conley is being compared to Parker on ESPN and the analyst are debating who is better. Either this is the continued attempt to make something out of nothing so fans can buy into the created hype or the league really has an agenda against Tony Parker. To sum this up, I enjoyed Curry and Conley even in their college days, these are the type of players you would love to see in a Spurs uniform, but the media has truly disrupted my perception of these two for right now as we play against them. I hope I heal eventually and remember them for what skill set they display vs. what the media displays about them. If you haven't figured it out by now, media plays a major role in how we create perception. I became a victim of this very instrument as I watched my Spurs play against two of my favorite point guards currently. Mike Conley and Stephen Curry were arguably two of the most under rated point guards before coming into the playoffs this year. Let me get you to understand this for a moment, these guys were lost in the media last year in Jeremy Lin's short success. Much can be attributed to Curry's underrating status due to injuries, but he has displayed enough basketball skill that is much telling. Conley is in a small market and plays with two big men (does that sound familiar, hhm T.P and the Twin Towers). Leading up the playoffs, Conley and Curry were two guards that were considered just well above average, right aligned with good before entering into the playoffs. But the narrative changed quickly as Curry was considered to be part of the best back court ever with Klay, very questionable (not to mention that the Warriors did have Monta Ellis). Now Conley is being compared to Parker on ESPN and the analyst are debating who is better. Either this is the continued attempt to make something out of nothing so fans can buy into the created hype or the league really has an agenda against Tony Parker. To sum this up, I enjoyed Curry and Conley even in their college days, these are the type of players you would love to see in a Spurs uniform, but the media has truly disrupted my perception of these two for right now as we play against them. I hope I heal eventually and remember them for what skill set they display vs. what the media displays about them. Poll If Parker retired today, who would you rather see on the Spurs roster, Stepen Curry or Mike Conley? Stepen Curry Mike Conley 0 votes | Results

Between Games 1 and 2 I had a chance to catch up with Joshua Red Coleman from the fantastic Memphis Grizzlies Blog, 3 Shades of Blue for a little back and forth talk reflecting on Game 1 and expectations moving forward. Project Spurs: So, Game 1 seemed to be full of outliers both in terms of the San Antonio Spurs accuracy from deep and the Grizzlies allowing so many open looks from the corners. Both teams seemed quick to write the blowout off as an outlier, but was there anything you saw from Game 1 that might apply for the rest of the series? 3SOB: I think the biggest thing you can take away from Game 1 as a potential foreshadowing is that, when the Spurs are allowed to run their sets, they are a dominant offensive team. Also, over helping on defense in the paint is a very bad idea against them, as they have the shooters to make an opponent pay for that. Project Spurs: Watching the game it crossed my mind that the Grizzlies could be suffering a shock to the system of sorts. In the previous series they turned almost the entirety of their defensive focus on one player (Durant); and to go from that to the Spurs, a team that wants you to do that, might take a bit to adjust defensive principles set over the previous six games. My thought was that this wasn't dissimilar to the struggles the Spurs had going from the Lakers to the Warriors in Games 1 and 2. Might this explain some of the hyperactivity and over-helping from Memphis in Game 1? 3SOB: I definitely think that was part of it. In reality, it was two straight series of that type of attention being paid to a singular player since they had the same approach to CP3 in Round 1. One of the better comments I saw about Game Ones in general is that it is a great barometer for advance scouting -- to see which team is able to apply their game plan first. Memphis has a reputation for being a counter-puncher so far in the postseason. They play a game (or two), make adjustments, and then wait for the opponent to adjust to that before changing again. It has been rare for Lionel Hollins and his staff to be proactive in that regard, although he has shown the ability to make solid halftime adjustments as well. The Spurs have also had a reputation for being somewhat reactionary in their changes. They appeared to stick to their game plan -- and with great results. Obviously, things went almost perfectly for them in Game One, so should there be any changes expected in Game Two? Project Spurs: The Spurs perfectly executed their game plan on both sides of the floor. I'm sure they will adjust their expectations to account for better games from Randolph and Gasol and worse shooting percentages from their end, but unless Memphis makes a particularly devastating adjustment, I think this is what they want to do (obviously) throughout. Part of their game plan was fronting Randolph on entry passes from the wings while preventing Gasol from making simple high-low passes. Neither Ginobili nor Leonard respected the weak side corner shooter, ignoring that spot to pounce on any lobs thrown over the top of their front. Is the adjustment simply stationing Pondexter in that corner, or is there something else they employ against this strategy? 3SOB: As you and I have discussed on Twitter in previous games, the Spurs are better at denying entry passes than any other team in the league. The adjustment should be to have Pondexter -- or Bayless or even Daye, if he's in the game again for some unforeseen reason -- in the corner waiting for a spot-up three. However, an alternative is to have Conley employ more drive-and-kick plays to find those same players in the corner or back out to Gasol at the elbow, where his set shot has been particularly effective. Either of those options should provide for some shots to go in, which will force the defense to make adjustments that could open things up for Randolph in the post. Earlier in the season, the Grizzlies used a three

Continuted from here. SpursFanTN: As we look forward to game 2 of the WCF, there are a few things that are pretty much universally accepted by every commentator. Zach is expected to play better, and score more than two points, the Spurs are not expected to get 14 3’s again or to shoot as high a percentage from the field, and we all expect to see adjustments on offense and defense for the Griz, and to a lesser extent, the Spurs as well. That being said, what does that mean in terms of Z-Bo production? What’s a bounce back game from him look like? Are we talking a return to the averages, or a monster game? And what does a Z-Bo monster game look like? What are you expecting? Kevin Lipe: I can’t remember where I saw this stat—somewhere on Twitter, but I don’t know who to credit it to—but Z-Bo has had single-digit playoff scoring performances three times. In the three games he’s played after scoring single digits, he averages 26 points and has never lost before. A truly monster Z-Bo game looks like this game against the Suns from earlier in the season: 38 points on 22 shots, 22 rebounds, zero assists. I don’t know that Z-Bo is going to be able to do that against the Spurs since the Spurs don’t have Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat, who Z-Bo annihilated in that game. But you know he has it in him. I’m not expecting a "monster" game from Z-Bo, just because the Spurs are a good team that’s going to focus on keeping him from having a monster game against them. But I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see him get 20 and 10. A "just another normal basketball game" game for Z-Bo. SpursFanTN: Ok, so I have a confession to make. I’m not superstitious. Really, I’m not. But I’m a little afraid of making the confession lest some rabid Griz fan track me down, strap me into a chair in front of the games, and force feed me nachos. Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad. Come get me Griz fans!! Bring child care. Worse, would be a Spurs fan tracking me down and breaking my TV. Anyway, the confession is that I’ve long suspected that I might be a jinx to the Spurs. Back during ’04-’05 was when the suspicion started. It seemed like when I didn’t watch a game, the Spurs ALWAYS won, convincingly. When I watched, they often lost or barely pulled one out. My brother and I actually discussed, and occasionally practiced, not watching some important games, just so the Spurs would do better. Yeah, we were that sacrificial. Not that we are superstitious mind you. A couple of more recent examples would be, the first game against the Warriors in round. I shut the game off in disgust some time in the fourth. I checked in on the score periodically, and all of us a sudden, boom, the Spurs were back. So I turned the game on again, and saw an amazing finish. In this last game, I couldn’t join until midway through the first quarter. Spurs were already up by 10 or so. I have two small children and a wife on bed rest, so uninterrupted ANYTHING is an impossibility. I remember a night a few years ago when I slept for 6 solid hours - all in a row, all without waking. That was glorious. But I diverge. Where was I? Interruptions, right. I had to come and go throughout the course of the game. One time I came back and Pondexter scored 8 points in a row as part of a 10–0 run during the few minutes that I was able to sit down. Ugh. Anyway, all of that is a long lead into my question. Over on PtR, folks do a lot of different things to build "mojo" for the game. They can elaborate in the comments if they wan. Do you as an individual, or you all as a group over there, have any pregame, postgame, or game time rituals that you perform, or any full-blown superstitions, or maybe a complex like mine? Not that we’re superstitious at all… Kevin Lipe: I understand rituals. It feels like I’m developing more of them this playoffs than

May 19, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; General view of AT After a dominant Game 1, the Spurs look to continue their hot shooting ways against the Grizzlies in Game 2. The Spurs starting off this series with a 22 point win is definitely confusing, considering how evenly matched both teams are. The Grizzlies spent too much time on offense holding onto the ball, and trying to go one-on-one with the Spurs, while defensively, getting lost in the Spurs pick and rolls. It’s not a guarantee that any of this continues. Memphis needs to make adjustments that don’t leave the Spurs shooters completely wide open or allow Tony Parker to drive into the lane at will. The Grizzlies also need to make sure to rotate the ball on offense, with the same precision the Spurs do. But that’s easier said than done. Zach Randolph’s 1-8 performance in the first game could and should be just an anomaly. The same goes for Duncan and Ginobili’s combined 14 points. What Game 2 will boil down to is who adjusts better. I know, I know. What great hard-hitting analysis. But if Memphis makes the proper adjustments, which they have proved they can do through these playoffs, this game will be much closer and the outcome could be different. Gregg Popovich made the first move. If the Grizzlies plan on winning and stealing homecourt advantage, it’s up to Lionel Hollins to counter. PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS Point Guards Tony Parker  -  Mike Conley Shooting Guards Daniel Green  -  Tony Allen Small Forwards Kawhi Leonard  -  Tayshaun Prince Power Forwards Tim Duncan  -  Zach Randolph Centers Tiago Splitter  -  Marc Gasol Key Bench Players Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Cory Joseph  -  Jerryd Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, Darrell Arthur Head Coaches Gregg Popovich  -  Lionel Hollins GAME AND BROADCAST INFORMATION When: Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 at 8:00 P.M. CST Where: AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas Television: ESPN (National) Radio: 1200 AM WOAI (Local) For perspective on the Memphis Grizzlies, head over to Fansided’s own Beale Street Bears.

The San Antonio Spurs landed the first punch in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals versus the Memphis Grizzlies winning 105-83 in San Antonio. They way the Spurs won was a bit of a surprised considering Memphis s one of the better defensive teams and looked very formidable heading into Game 1 versus the Spurs. Also, no one expected Zach Randolph to have a dismal performance in Game 1. The Spurs and Grizzlies tipoff later today and the Spurs are expecting a different Memphis team than the one they played Sunday afternoon. Check out what Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, coach Gregg Popovich and Danny Green had to say about Game 1 including their thoughts on Game 2 and how Parker is expecting a "war" tonight. Parker on the Spurs' offense and is ready for "war" tonight against the Grizzlies: Duncan expects a more aggressive Randolph: Ginobili on motivation after a huge Game 1 win: Pop being Pop on why the Spurs won easily in Game 1: Green says Memphis will come out agrressive and more:

The Big 12′s athletic directors have pushed back the start of their baseball tournament in Oklahoma City, deciding to begin games on Thursday morning after yesterday’s tornadoes in nearby Moore, Okla. The tournament now will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with Baylor meeting Oklahoma. Instead of a double-elimination tournament, it will now be a pool play tournament with the conference divided into two four-team pools. Each team will play three games. The winners of the two pools will advance to the championship game on Sunday. “We debated canceling the tournament in deference to the devastating tragedy in Moore but were encouraged by Oklahoma City leaders and the Oklahoma City All-Sports [...]

The Spurs were more impressive than most people anticipated in their series-opener against the Grizzlies, moving the ball effortlessly and playing lockdown defense on one of the best low-post threats in the game. But was that a trend, or can we look at it as an anomaly? Our own Andrew McNeill and I talked about San Antonio’s offense and defense, as well as what Memphis might do to counter the Spurs in tonight’s Game 2. Just a prediction: this will be a closer game than the one we saw on Sunday afternoon. Author’s note: We’ve had some technical difficulties (me, basically) getting this podcast up on iTunes. We are working on it.

Explaining that one game means nothing is a safe, mojo conducive way to proceed. I understand it, but I can't do it. I picked the Spurs in a sweep because I think they are significantly better than this version of the Grizzlies. Game 1 affirmed a lot of my thoughts. If things go horribly wrong, feel free to come back and poke fun. Defensively, all of their bigs, aside from Marc Gasol, are deficient at guarding against the pick and roll. In Game 1, Pop put every one of their bigs in the PnR except for Gasol. It was brilliant and I don't know how Memphis is going to stop the Spurs from pick and rolling them to death. If they begin to trap, that'll turn into more open 3-pointers for the Spurs. The Spurs make open 3-pointers. They can struggle with contested threes, but make no mistake, if Memphis gives them wide open threes those 14 made 3-pointers in Game 1 will not be a one time event. If Tony and Manu can get into the paint at will, and there's no reason to expect different, the ball movement and open shots will be there. Offensively, Memphis is one-dimensional because they only have one long distance shooter in Quincy Pondexter, 47% from three in the playoffs. The Spurs' defense is very good. If the opposition can't even keep the Spurs honest, how are they going to score? Mike Conley and Tony Allen both are shooting 29% from distance in the playoffs. Dooling is at 33%, Bayless 31% and Prince is at 25%. The Spurs will continue to front the post with help waiting on the backside and dare the Grizzlies to shoot. The only chance Memphis has is for one of their poor shooters to get hot or for Gasol and Zach to make a high percentage of contested 18-footers. That scares me a little, because I still have nightmares of Zach hitting those shots in 2011, but it's a very difficult shot. Even if their bigs make a high percentage of contested, long twos and one of their poor shooters gets hot from deep, how many points are we talking about against the Spurs' defense? 95? (Not to be confused with the Clippers or Thunders' defense. The Clippers were just terrible and then Blake got injured. The Thunder had Durant guarding Gasol for extended periods of time. Gasol isn't going to get those kinds of opportunities against the Spurs. ) The Spurs, playing mediocre offensive basketball by their standards, can absolutely score more than 95 points. In the playoffs, here are the Spurs 3-point shooting percentages by player: Bonner 60%, Leonard 43%, Green 43%, Diaw 40%, Parker 38%, Manu 33%, Neal 25% and Joseph 25%. The Spurs' propensity to hit 3-pointers gives them the ability to put up points in a hurry. The Grizzlies will struggle to keep up with any Spurs' run. They simply are not built to play that way. So, how can the Grizzlies make Game 2 competitive? Defensively, they are going to have to foul and hope the officials don't blow their whistles. They have to slow the game down. Not only limit the Spurs' transition opportunities, but they'll need to disrupt the Spurs' half court offense and ball movement. Expect the Grizzlies to hand check, hold, bump, trip... anything that will make the Spurs' system less fluid. Expect the Grizzlies to get more deflections and steals in Game 2. Offensively, they'll probably post Zach Randolph much further away from the basket than they did in Game 1. If he moves to 15 feet outside of the paint, instead of residing on the block, the Spurs' fronting defense will have to adjust. Fronting from that distance doesn't work well because it makes the seal, backdoor move a very easy play to make. The Spurs will have to go to a 3/4 defensive position and allow the entry pass. He'll get the ball from that distance and make one of his Z-Bo moves. He's going to create a lot of contact and draw fouls, which will slow the game down. He didn't shoot a single free-throw in Game 1. Tonight, expect that to definitely change. Even if those two things happen, I think the score is close but I don't think the Grizzlies will be