After the Spurs finally disposed of the Warriors, they get to play the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals. This will be a great grind-it-out series. Both teams don't really play at a fast pace and both play solid defense. San Antonio will have home court advantage, but as we have seen this may not matter to the Grizzlies.
Mike Conley has played very well in the playoffs, but he should be no match for Tony Parker. Parker is too good on offense for Conley to stop him. Parker should be able to dominate this series and I think he will have to if the Spurs want to win this series.
The Grizzlies need Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to play very well. I assume they will stick Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol, on Tim Duncan while Randolph will have to worry about Tiago Splitter. If Duncan can be held in check and either Gasol or Randolph have a great offensive series, look out for the Grizzlies in the finals.
Manu Ginobli had a terribly bad series against the Warriors. The Warriors don't have a premiere defensive stopper on the wing. The Grizzlies do have one in Tony Allen. Ginobli will have a very hard time scoring whenever Allen is on him. I could also see Allen spending some time on Tony Parker if he starts getting hot.
I think the Grizzlies win this series in 6. The only advantage the Spurs have, besides experience, is Tony Parker. The Grizzlies should be able to steal one in San Antonio and then close it out in the Grind House.
I have the Griz too but this will be a great series
ReplyDeleteYes, it will be a great series. I hate when people think it wont be a fun series to watch because they arent high scoring teams.
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