Tag: Pau Gasol

All-Time San Antonio Spurs vs. All-Time Memphis Grizzlies

Well this doesn’t seem fair. The plucky Grizzlies, who have recently emerged as a Western Conference power, face a brutal first round match up against the All-Time Spurs. Can Memphis make this competitive? Here’s the tale of the tape.

San Antonio’s Advantages

Offensive firepower: We’ll keep it simple with the Spurs’ advantages. They can score from every position on the court, and play any style, depending on their opponent. Memphis’s strength is the play of their big men, but the Gasol brothers, Zach Randolph, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim are outmatched by Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Larry Kenon, John Beasley, and Artis Gilmore. They have no chance of hanging with George Gervin, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and the deep Spurs bench on the perimeter. Tony Allen will struggle to stay on the floor in this series; smart teams tend to sag off of him, knowing he won’t be able to hurt them from the outside. Shane Battier, a much better shooting threat, will get plenty of minutes, but he, Mike Miller, and Rudy Gay are still at a huge disadvantage offensively.

Defensive suffocation: Memphis is not an explosive team, relying primarily on their defensive might. With Duncan and Robinson, San Antonio has one of the best inside defensive tandems in the tournament. In addition, Alvin Robertson and Kawhi Leonard can shut perimeter opponents down off the bench. The Grizzlies also don’t have a go-to option who can consistently break down a defense.

Memphis’s Advantages

Sure, that’s not entirely fair. Memphis is a tough-minded team who will be very difficult to score against. However, it’s difficult to identify where they have an advantage over a deep San Antonio team.

X-Factor

49 – 21. That’s the number of years that the Spurs and Grizzlies have been in existence, respectively. While we’ve seen several newer franchises thrive earlier in this tournament (Orlando and Miami), it’s still very difficult to overcome this kind of age disparity.

Results

No surprise here. The Spurs control the series, and overwhelm Memphis on both ends of the court. Much like the 2013 Western Conference Finals, San Antonio dominates.

NBA_Playoffs_2013_Western_Conference_Finals_Spurs_vs_Grizzlies_Recap

Spurs sweep, four games to none.

Next Round

San Antonio faces the winner of the All-Time Kings vs. All-Time Nuggets.

All-Time Memphis Grizzlies Team

All-Time Memphis Grizzlies Team Infographic

Considering their origins, the All-Time Memphis Grizzlies team is pretty solid. In their six seasons in Vancouver, the franchise accumulated a woeful .220 winning percentage, which translates to 18 wins per season. In their 15 years in Memphis, they’ve improved to close to .500 (.487), and made the playoffs eight times. Even if their youth prevents them from having a realistic shot in our tournament, it’s worth celebrating the talent they’ve accumulated in that time.

The starting backcourt should look familiar to anybody who has watched the ‘Grit & Grind’ Grizzlies of the past few years. Mike Conley has turned into a borderline star point guard, who, despite being slightly undersized, is a plus defender. Tony Allen is one of the premier defensive players of his generation, who, unfortunately, doubles as an offensive liability. Off the bench, Jason Williams is one of the flashiest playmakers in this tournament, who had more style than substance, shooting 39.4% from the field during his time with the franchise. O.J. Mayo never seemed to live up to the high expectations people had for him out of high school (this cover proved to have been slightly inaccurate), but he was a solid scorer with Memphis who will give this team more firepower when Allen rests. Shane Battier was another plus defender who could shut down opposing wings. He was also a much better shooter than Allen, so expect him to play plenty of minutes.

Mike Miller, the starting small forward, provides desperately needed long-range shooting ability (a team high 42% three point shooter as a Grizzly). He’ll split time with Battier and Rudy Gay, a talented scorer who is better suited to the secondary role that he’ll play on this team. The Gasol Brothers, two of the greatest passing big men in this tournament, round out the starting five. Pau was a tremendous offensive player for Memphis, who could score down low and hit the mid-range jump shot with regularity. Marc, who was acquired in a trade for his brother, is a brilliant two-way player who might be the best current center in the NBA. Zach Randolph, an offensive beast who has perfected the art of creating separation from his defender without an ounce of athleticism, is the first big man off the bench. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, another offensive talent who played on the horrendous Vancouver teams, will also get minutes at the four, and can also play sparingly at small forward. Bryant “Big Country” Reeves has no business being in this tournament, but he’ll serve as the team’s 12th man, and provide bulk and six extra fouls when needed (side note: I spent about five minutes debating whether to put Reeves or Stromile Swift in for the last roster spot. I think I need help.)

This team has the potential to be a defensive force, featuring Allen, Marc Gasol, Conley, and Battier. Like the current Memphis team, they don’t have the high-scoring ability of many other teams in this tournament, but their size and grit will make them difficult to play.

Coach: There’s no obvious answer to me, so I’ll go with Hubie Brown, who won Coach of the Year in leading the team on its first playoff run.

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .410

All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team

All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team

The All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team is…pretty good. Some might call it elite. Consider that the 12 selected players AVERAGED 8.5 all-star game appearances and 6.9 all-NBA appearances during their tenure with the team. The starting lineup AVERAGED 13.2 all-star game appearances, and 11.4 all-NBA appearances. Three of the greatest players of all time, George Mikan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Wilt Chamberlain, have to come off the bench. Every single player is either in the hall-of-fame, or will be enshrined as soon as they’re eligible (Shaq and Kobe).

It’s hard to even choose a coach for this team. John Kundla, who won five titles in 11 seasons, and had a .583 winning percentage? Pat Riley, who won four titles in nine seasons, and had a .733 winning percentage? Or Phil Jackson, who also had five titles in 11 seasons, coupled with a .676 winning percentage?

The easiest call on this team is at point guard, where 6’9” Magic Johnson provides greatness, leadership, and positional flexibility. His size makes it easier to start two other guards beside him – Jerry West and Kobe Bryant. There’s really not much that I can say about this trio. West and Kobe might fight to the death over who gets the last shot in the game, but talent (usually) trumps all in the NBA, and this is the greatest backcourt in this tournament.

Elgin Baylor is the greatest forward in franchise history, and gets the start in the frontcourt alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem’s consistency over a long period of time gives him the slight edge over Mikan, who has a case as the most dominant player relative to his competition in league history, and O’Neal, who has a case as the most statistically dominant player in franchise history. In his four Finals appearances as a Laker (20 games), Shaq AVERAGED 33.6 points per game, 14.1 rebounds per game, and shot 60.2 percent from the field.

The bench consists of trailblazers from the first era of team greatness (Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, and Mikan), secondary stars who helped the team continue to flourish in the subsequent decades (Gail Goodrich and James Worthy), and the two most physically imposing superstars in league history (Chamberlain and O’Neal). There’s not even room for the likes of Pau Gasol, Jamaal Wilkes, or Slater Martin due to the greatness of the 12 selected players.

I can’t identify a weakness with this team. We can quibble with the fact that they have no backup point guard, but West can slide over to that position if Magic needs a rest. The starting lineup will have to find a way to share one basketball, but that’s certainly a nice problem to have, and one that Magic Johnson should help to alleviate. Even though this team enters as the two seed in our tournament, they’re the favorites to win it all, and it will be interesting to see who will be able to challenge them.

Coach – If I have to choose, I’ll go with Riley, but you can’t go wrong with Jackson or Kundla.

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .609