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.
Spurs sweep, four games to none.
Next Round
San Antonio faces the winner of the All-Time Kings vs. All-Time Nuggets.