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Right & Wrong: 28 Seconds Of Failure

June 19, 2013  ·  12:50PM

 

Five points and 28 seconds. It’s all that stood between the San Antonio Spurs and a stunning fifth championship.

Five points and 28 seconds to knock out hero-turned-goat-turned-hero again LeBron James and the Miami Heat on their home floor.

Five points and 28 seconds to immortality for Tim Duncan, who had delivered a masterful Game 6.

Five points and 28 seconds the Spurs might never live down.

San Antonio led 94-89 with 28.2 seconds left and it could have been a six-point bulge had Manu Ginobili not missed the front end of two free throws. From there the Spurs collapsed. Kawhi Leonard missed a free throw with 19.4 seconds left that could have been the clincher. The unflappable coach Gregg Popovich will reflect on some questionable strategic calls in the crunch, such as twice removing Duncan on Heat possessions. And twice, the Heat took advantage with offensive rebounds that led to 3-pointers, first from James to slice the deficit to 94-92 with 20.1 seconds left and then from Ray Allen with 5.2 seconds to go to force overtime.

Five points and 28 seconds that could ultimately define the 2013 NBA Finals.

A look at what went right and what went wrong:

Right: His critics ready to pounce, and in this case rightly so, James came through in the clutch with his team hanging onto life by a thread. Through three quarters, James had three field goals and two turnovers. He had missed nine shots and the Heat trailed 75-65, just 12 minutes away from elimination. Then James turned in a phenomenal fourth quarter with 16 points and a tremendous block of Duncan at the rim. However, there were also the three turnovers, two on consecutive possessions in a 12-second span with less than 40 seconds to play. The Spurs went up five, but the now-headband-less James nailed the crucial 3-pointer with 20.1 seconds to go. He ultimately finished with his second triple-double of The Finals.

Wrong: Was Popovich responsible for James and the Heat catching fire to open the third quarter? On the road, up 10 and 12 minutes away from claiming the title, Popovich opted to start the fourth quarter with Parker and Duncan on the bench and a five-man unit of struggling offensive players: Gary Neal, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. Ninety-four seconds later, the Spurs’ 75-65 lead was 77-73 and Miami charging hard. Popovich quickly summoned Leonard off the bench and then Duncan at the 9:23 mark. Parker sat until the 7:35 mark with San Antonio clinging to an 82-79 lead. With a chance to bury the Heat, Popovich chose to rest his two big guns at the same time, a move that backfired.

Right: Prior to Game 6, Chris Bosh said that Spurs sharpshooter Green wouldn’t find much open space to go off from the 3-point arc, where he had made 25-for-38 in the first five games. When Green got free for a wide-open 3 that he buried in the second quarter, there was plenty of sniping at Bosh in the Twitterverse. He’d get the last laugh as Green wouldn’t make another shot from beyond the arc, finishing 1-for-5 from back there and 1-for-7 overall for three points. Meanwhile, Bosh would grab 11 rebounds, including a huge offensive board in the final seconds of regulation that set up Allen’s game-tying 3-pointer. Bosh also blocked Parker’s jumper with 32.3 seconds left in overtime and then he swatted Green’s desperation corner 3 as the final buzzer sounded.

Wrong: The Spurs’ backcourt failed to come through on both ends. Parker, Ginobili, Neal and Green combined to go 11-for-42 from the floor (26.2 percent) and 4-for-14 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc with 10 turnovers, eight of which were committed by Ginobili. Each made just one 3-pointer and the Spurs’ five from beyond the arc were their fewest of the series. At the other end, Miami point guard Mario Chalmers killed Parker and anyone else guarding him with 20 points. He had 14 points in the first half, which was one more point than Chalmers had managed in the previous three games combined.

Right: Miami shooting guard Mike Miller remarkably recorded his first field goals of the series as a starter. Inserted into the starting lineup for Game 4 after going 9-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first three games, Miller could barely get a shot up as a starter, going 0-for-1 for no points in Games 4 and 5. In Game 6, he hit his first 3-point attempt in the first quarter and finished 2-for-2 from back there and with eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. His biggest contribution was his lone offensive rebound of the game with 22.9 seconds to go in regulation. He split a couple of Spurs and grabbed James’ 3-point miss, got it back out to James on the wing where he nailed his second attempt to cut the Spurs’ lead to 94-92.

Wrong: Manu, Manu, Manu. After his feel-good, 24-point, 10-assist breakout in Game 5, Ginobili reverted to his mostly bumbling ways in this series, low-lighted by eight turnovers, including two critical miscues in overtime. He was horrendous on the offensive end with just nine points and getting of just five shot attempts. He thought he got raked across the arm driving through the lane in the final seconds. No call was made and he could have just as easily been whistled for traveling. The ball popped free and into the arms of Allen, who was fouled and hit the two free throws for the 103-100 lead with 1.9 seconds to go.

Right: The Heat and Allen turned the tables on the Spurs from the 3-point arc, knocking down 11-for-19 while the Spurs went just 5-for-18 — and 18-point differential. Allen, the league’s all-time 3-point leader, has been overshadowed by Green during this series. In Game 5, Green broke Allen’s Finals record for most 3-pointers in a single Finals. Not to be outdone, Allen dropped the game-tying 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds to go and saved the Heat from elimination.

Wrong: After Parker hit a 3-pointer and a little dipsy-do shot in the lane and Ginobili made one of two free throws for a 94-89 lead with 28.2 seconds to go, the Heat (un)faithful started filing out of the building. Maybe for a January game against the Bobcats, but just up-and-leaving in Game 6 of the NBA Finals? No matter how dire the situation, this should never occur. In the words of Charles Barkley, “Turrrrrible!”

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Posted in 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs-Heat / Comment (1) /

Win 2 (Games) Or Fail To Win 2 (Rings)

June 17, 2013  ·  3:21PM

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MIAMI – If the Miami Heat can’t win two in a row, they can’t repeat as championships. It’s that simple.

Games are the building blocks of championships. Sixteen of the former equal one of the latter. There are multiple ways to get there, from a fo’, fo’, fo’, fo’ level of dominance that no team in NBA Finals history ever has quite achieved to a relatively mediocre 16-12 record if all four rounds of best-of-seven competition went the max. No one has done it that way, either.

But Miami has no options left. The team whose regular season was defined, and maybe gilded, by its ability to string together victories better than all but one of its predecessors – the Heat’s 27 straight ranks second only to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers – now must win Games 6 and 7 of the 2013 Finals this week at AmericanAirlines Arena. Either that or fall short of the legacy it staked out for itself in the summer of 2010 and turn what purportedly was going to rival the Lakers, Celtics and Bulls in a run of rings into something more befitting the Atlanta Braves.

This bizarre, one-step-forward-one-step-back ritual has been going on for more than a month now.

But the wiggle room is gone and the reality is one that necessarily flies in the face of sports’ grandest cliché: As much as the Heat say they want to play one game at a time, they must have two. There’s no getting around that and, probably, no forgetting it either as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest take the court for Tuesday night. The San Antonio Spurs will have the luxury of playing 48 minutes, but the Heat will be staring and maybe gulping at the prospect of 96.

How did this happen?

The Heat spent much of the three days between Games 4 and 5 talking about the same stuff. Enough is enough. Now is the time for our best road performance of the playoffs. Only enough wasn’t quite enough. And now wasn’t the time after all.

At least Miami is home for whatever remains of the championship series. Eight teams have been in the same pickle since the Finals went to its 2-3-2 format in 1985 – down 3-2 in the series – and three have dug out to win the NBA title: the Lakers in 1988, Houston in 1994 and the Lakers again in 2010.

Like this Heat, those teams faced mighty opposition too (the “Bad Boy” Pistons, the Pat Riley-led Knicks and the original blueprint “Big Three” Celtics). It’s entirely possible that what the Spurs put together Sunday was all about pride and saving face, exiting their arena for the summer on a high note and making some final fond memories of what might have been the last Finals home game for this particular group (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili).

That will be stirred into Miami fans’ hopes at least a little, because the alternative is downright unnerving. The Heat drip both talent and entitlement in equal doses and – though they talk of the respect they have for San Antonio’s run of excellence over 14 seasons – still come across as if these Finals are all about them.

The Spurs might be breaking it to Miami in the harshest way possible that the series just might be about them instead. They might wind up as equal to or better than the Heat over a span of six or seven games.

“We’re just trying to will it to happen,” Duncan said. “We hope we can respond better next game than we have after wins. That’s the one thing we want to clean up. Every one of us wants this very badly, from the top on down.”

Well, what d’ya know? The Spurs want to play better after winning. The Heat is frantic again after losing. That speaks volumes about Miami’s leadership, maturity and maybe even arrogance.

Any extended playoff series is about adjustments and there have been plenty. Also, the longer a series goes, the more flaws become visible on both sides. If this goes seven, whoever wins will be a three-time loser in the Finals.

Still, San Antonio made 60 percent of its field goals in the most pressurized game it has played this season. It didn’t exploit Miami’s greatest vulnerability, with a mere 36-34 edge in rebounds in game 5. The Spurs even survived 19 turnovers, which is like Superman surviving Kryptonite underwear.

Somehow, through it all, Boris Diaw, the Parisian doughboy, stymied the four-time Most Valuable Player through long stretches of Sunday’s game, a surprise switch-up from usual defender Kawhi Leonard. Parker reacted like a bull reacts to red whenever he saw Heat guard Norris Cole trying to guard him.

And Parker couldn’t help smiling and shaking his head at how neglectful the vaunted Miami defense has been on Danny Green, the unheralded role player who suddenly owns the NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a series (25) and is an improbable Finals MVP candidate for the team with the 3-2 lead.

The Heat, once again, was consistent only in inconsistency. Their adversity dials weren’t cranked up enough, this only being Game 5 of the NBA finals.

“There were times where we crawled back into it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “but we were not very efficient, did not move the ball the way we needed to, didn’t have the necessary patience in those key times, end of the first, end of the third. … We just weren’t executing with any kind of precision.”

James and Wade, in particular, were kept out of the paint or bothered whenever they entered. Defensively, neither showed the level of effort – which translates into leadership – required for the game’s highest level.

The two spoke afterward about fixing this or that, but whatever they need for Game 6 was there inside for Game 5. It just stayed untapped.

San Antonio tapped in instead.

“You just keep playing,” Popovich said. “We didn’t change defenses or put in a trick play or any of that kind of stuff. At this point it’s about competing. Players playing well and competing.”

The “Big Three” Heat will be facing the fifth and, if they’re lucky, sixth elimination games in their three postseasons together. They have trailed nine times in their 12 playoff series.

The most pertinent predicament to this: in the 2011 Finals, Miami went home down 3-2 to Dallas. Four quarters later, they went home, period.

“We challenge ourselves to see if we’re a better team than we was,” Wade said. “Everything happens for a reason and this is not a bad reason at all to go home for Game 6 on your home floor.”

At no point, however, in their 27-game winning streak did Miami beat the San Antonio Spurs twice in three nights.

Of the Spurs, Wade said: “They understand winning that last game is one of the hardest things you’re going to do.”

Miami can’t even think that way yet, forced to focus now on winning that next game.

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Posted in 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs-Heat / Comments (151) /

Right & Wrong: Ginobili, Green Deliver

June 17, 2013  ·  11:10AM

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SAN ANTONIO – With Manu Ginobili‘s 24 points and 10 assists in the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 5 win Sunday night over the Miami Heat, each member of each team’s Big Three has now had a big moment.

In Game 5, LeBron James (8-for-22 from the floor), Dwyane Wade (10-for-22) and Chris Bosh (7-for-11) didn’t shoot great, but they did combine for 66 points, 16 rebounds and 19 assists. Sounds like a winning formula just as the statistics of the Spurs’  Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and surprise starter Ginobili do: 67 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists.

With such even production, what was the difference in the Spurs’ 114-104 win in Game 5?

The role players.

San Antonio’s continue to come up big. Danny Green hit six more 3-pointers and scored 24 points. Kawhi Leonard went 6-for-8 from the floor for 16 points, plus eight rebounds and three steals. Boris Diaw used his girth to make James uncomfortable for much of the game.

With Ginobili in the starting lineup, the Spurs’ first five all scored between 16 and 24 points. For Miami, Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers combined for seven points on 2-for-11 shooting.

RIGHT: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich‘s decision to insert the struggling Ginboili into the starting lineup paid tremendous dividends. Playing alongside Parker more often allowed Ginobili to play off the ball more with less defensive attention — and often with Miller on him — and he was aggressive with his drives. He knocked down his first two shots early in the first quarter and dished a couple of assists and confidence that had been so elusive rushed back. Ginobili finished with a season-high 24 points and 10 assists and the Spurs moved to 23-2 this season when Ginobili has at least six assists.

WRONG: One reason Popovich put Ginobili in the starting lineup is because Heat coach Erik Spoelstra changed up his starting lineup for Game 4, going for offense with a smaller lineup that included Mike Miller instead of rugged forward Udonis Haslem. Off the bench, Miller was on fire, canning 9-for-10 shots from the beyond the arc. In two games as a starter, Miller is a combined 0-for-2 from the field (both shots from 3-point range) for zero points in nearly 46 minutes.

RIGHT: A few days ago Danny Green said he’s still waiting for someone to pinch him and wake him up. Yeah, well, the Spurs would like for that person to stay away for at least one more win. Green is on an historic hot streak and after he dropped another six 3-pointers in Game 5 on 10 attempts, he’s 25-for-38 (65.8 percent) from beyond the arc. He surpassed Ray Allen with the most 3-point baskets ever in an NBA Finals — and it’s only Game 5. He’s hit four, five, seven, three and six 3s in the first five games. Remarkable.

WRONG: The Heat’s defense on Green. As Parker said after Game 5, how in the world is Green open, ever, beyond the arc at this point in the series? Now, as Green said, he’s not actually open every time, he’s hitting contested 3s as well. The Spurs move the ball so well that it’s impossible to contain Parker, Ginobili and Duncan and still protect the 3-point arc. If the Heat want to stay alive for a Game 7, they’ll have to figure this out.

RIGHT: Dwyane Wade has really dialed back the clock. He had the huge 32-point, six-rebound, four-assist, six-steal Game 4 and followed it up with 25 points and 10 assists in Game 5.

WRONG: Have the tables turned for the Heat? Should we now be saying Wade can’t do it alone? James had his struggles in Game 5, scoring 25 points on 8-for-22 shooting, which included a ghastly 2-for-11 in the second half and 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter with just one free throw attempt in 10:54.

RIGHT: Another example of Pop pushing the right button at the right time was his use of Boris Diaw in Game 5. Diaw logged nine and 11 minutes, respectively in Games 1 and 2 and didn’t play at all in Game 3 before logging another 11 minutes in Game 4. In Game 5? Diaw played 27 minutes and much of that time was spent putting his weight on James, who finished 8-for-22 from the floor.

WRONG: Another example of the Heat getting nothing out of a role player is Chris “Birdman” Andersen — not that it’s his fault. He’s become a victim of Spoelstra’s small-ball lineup. A significant contributor in the East finals against Indiana, Birdman didn’t miss a shot until Game 7 of that series. He played the first three games of this series until Speolstra inserted Miller into the starting lineup and starting bringing Haslem off the bench. So not only have the Heat gotten no scoring out of Miller, they’ve kept their energy guy on the bench.

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Posted in 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs-Heat / Comments (149) /

Miami’s New Challenge? Slowing Parker

June 6, 2013  ·  1:04PM

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MIAMI – There should be no doubt what priority No. 1 for the Miami Heat is when The Finals tip off Thursday night (9 ET, ABC): they must contain Tony Parker.

Parker is the driver of the Spurs’ offense. Via points, assists and turnovers, he has used 31.0 percent of the Spurs’ possessions when he’s been on the floor in the postseason. That’s up from 28.0 percent in the regular season and is higher than LeBron James‘ playoff usage rate (29.1 percent). That number doesn’t include plays where he gets the defense moving, the Spurs get a basket after two or three passes and he doesn’t get credit for the assist.

Simply, the ball is in Parker’s hands a lot. He creates shots for himself and others, and he just tore up the No. 2 defense in the league, averaging 24.5 ppg and 9.5 apg in the Spurs’ sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies to support argument that he’s the best pick-and-roll point guard in the league.

Parker has always been a strong finisher at the rim, consistently shooting about 64 percent in the restricted area over the last 10 seasons. But he has become a much bigger threat to pull up from mid-range this season. He shot 47.2 percent from between the paint and the 3-point line in the regular season, up from 38.7 percent over the previous three seasons. (He’s 55-for-119 — or 46.2 percent — from mid-range in these playoffs.

So, he can do this pretty well …


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With Parker, great ball movement, and a bevy of (other) shooters, the Spurs have the formula to counter the Heat’s aggressive D. They rank first in assist rate, third in turnover rate, and second in 3-point percentage in the playoffs. When the Heat trap or hedge hard on pick-and-rolls, San Antonio should be able to take advantage. (more…)

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Posted in 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs-Heat / Comments (39) /

The Plays That Got Them Here

June 6, 2013  ·  11:06AM

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MIAMI – The most important play in a game isn’t always the one you remember most. Sometimes, it’s subtle and doesn’t even make the highlight reel. Sometimes, something as simple as a change in possession can be more important than a shot that does or doesn’t go in.

The NBA has a way to use analytics to figure out just which plays had the biggest impact on a close game. It’s a “leverage” model that was developed to evaluate and instruct referees by pointing out which calls or no-calls had the biggest impact on a game’s result.

Here’s the idea: At every point of a game, each team has a certain probability of winning. Putting the quality of each team to the side, when the game tips off, the home team has a 60 percent probability of winning and the road team has a 40 percent probability of winning. After the first basket, those numbers haven’t changed much. But if the home team is up 10 with the ball and five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, their win probability (WP) is obviously a lot greater than 60 percent.

So, by calculating win probability both before and after a play occurs, it can be determined just how important that play was. Score, possession and location are the factors. And obviously, plays in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter (or overtime) in a close game are more important than any others.

Using the league’s data model, we’ve determined the 10 most important plays made by the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs on their way to The Finals.

10. +18.7 percent – Conference semis, Game 5 – Heat get multiple stops on the Bulls’ final possession.
With 26 seconds left, Miami up by three (94-91) and Chicago in possession, Miami had an 81.3 percent WP. After the inbounds, Nate Robinson advanced the ball and attempted a 3-pointer with 18 seconds on the clock that was contested by Norris Cole. Just before the shot, Miami had a slightly better chance of winning (83.6 percent) than at the start of the possession because eight seconds had run off the clock.

Had Robinson’s shot gone in, Miami’s WP would have dropped to 60.3 percent (about -20 percent) with the tie, possession and about 18 seconds left. Instead, the shot missed and the Bulls got the rebound. With just three seconds left, they set up Jimmy Butler for another 3-point attempt to tie.

At that point, Miami’s WP was up to 95.5 percent, but had Butler’s shot gone in as time expired, sending the game to overtime, Miami’s WP would have been cut from 81.3 percent at the start of the possession to about 58.3 percent at the start of OT (-30%). Instead, the shot missed the series was over.

9. +18.9 percent – Conference semis, Game 1 – Boris Diaw hits a three with 2:27 left in the first overtime
With 2:49 left in the first OT, Diaw rebounds a Draymond Green shot that could have given the Warriors a five-point lead. With possession and down three (111-108), the Spurs WP was 28.1 percent. After they advance the ball and swing it around, Manu Ginobili drives into the paint, draws Diaw’s defender, and hits him in the corner for an open three. Diaw drains it, increasing the Spurs’ WP to 46.9 percent. They went on to win in double-OT.

8. +19.0 percent – Conference semis, Game 1 – Dwyane Wade’s steal sets up LeBron James’ three-point play.
With 7:18 left in the fourth quarter, Miami leading Chicago 70-69. and the Bulls in possession, the Heat had a WP of 57.4 percent. At 7:07, Wade steals a pass from Marco Belinelli, increasing Miami’s WP to 64.8%. That’s a jump of +7.3 percent just for the change of possession. But Wade then gets the ball to James, who is grabbed around the shoulders by Butler and still manages to hit a shot with his left hand at 7:04. He makes the free throw, increasing Miami’s WP to 76.5 percent. But the Bulls would come back to win the game, 93-86.

7. +20.9 percent – Conference finals, Game 1 – Chris Bosh gets an and-one tip-in
With 1:20 to go in overtime, Miami is down 99-96 when James rebounds a Lance Stephenson miss. At that point, their WP is 24.5 percent. Bosh misses a three, but James gets the offensive board and sets up Shane Battier for another three. At that point, the Heat’s WP is down to 23.3 percent.

Battier misses, but Bosh rises over Roy Hibbert, gets fouled by Paul George, and tips in the miss. The tip-in with no foul would have increased Miami’s WP 32.8 percent, but when Bosh ties the game with the free throw, Miami’s WP increased to 45.4 percent, for a total possession increase of 20.9%. The Heat went on to win with a play that’s further down this list.

6. +21.3 percent – Conference finals, Game 1 – Cole steals inbounds pass
This was a judgement call as to whether there was a change of possession, because Cole never really had control of the ball, but the scorer tallied it as two successive turnovers.

With the Pacers down three and 10.8 seconds left in OT, George Hill drops the inbounds pass and Cole gets his hands on it. There’s a scramble for the ball at the mid-court line and Hill gets the ball back. He gets it to George, who is fouled by Wade on a 3-point attempt.

Before the play, the Heat’s WP was 71.8 percent, and the first change of possession increased it to 93.1 percent.

5. +22.5 percent – Conference semis, Game 1 – Diaw steal leads to Danny Green lay-up
With the score tied at 111 and 2:08 left in overtime, the Spurs’ WP was 46.6 percent, because the Warriors have possession. But Diaw steals a Draymond Green pass in the lane and gets the ball to Tony Parker, who finds Danny Green for a lay-up with 2:02 left. The steal increased the Spurs’ WP to 59.3 percent and the basket increased it to 69.1 percent.

So Diaw made two huge plays in the Spurs’ Game 1 win over the Warriors. But there were two bigger…

4. +22.6 percent – Conference semis, Game 1 – Danny Green’s three ties the game in regulation



Down three with 29 seconds left, the Spurs’ WP was 22.4 percent. But they run a great misdirection play to get Green an open three from the right wing. He makes it with 20.8 seconds left, increasing their WP to 45.0 percent.

3. +23.6 percent – Conference semis, Game 4 – James’ steal leads to Wade’s three-point play
This one is interesting, because there were still six minutes left in the fourth, but it was essentially a four-point swing, because the Pacers scored about a point per possession in the series.

With the Pacers about to inbound the ball with exactly 6:00 on the clock, the score was tied at 83 and the Heat’s WP was just 41.9 percent (because they were on the road and didn’t have possession). But James steals George’s awful inbounds pass and gets the ball to Wade, who gets fouled by David West and goal-tended by George.

The steal itself increased Miami’s WP to 50.5 percent and the three-point put it at 65.5 percent. But the Pacers would recover and win the game.

2. +61.3 percent – Conference semis, Game 1 – Ginobili’s three wins it in double-OT



With the Spurs down one with 3.4 seconds left, their WP was 35.7 percent. Ginobili’s three left 1.2 seconds on the clock, but increased their WP to 97.0 percent.

1. +77.6 percent – Conference finals, Game 1 – James’ game-winner



From 22.4 percent to 100 percent.

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Posted in 2013 Conference Finals: Pacers-Heat, 2013 Conference Semis: Heat-Bulls, 2013 Conference Semis: Spurs-Warriors, 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs-Heat / Comment (1) /

A Challenge For Z-Bo; Motivation From Hollins

May 27, 2013  ·  4:08PM

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two weeks ago Zach Randolph carried the Memphis Grizzlies out of the second round for the first time in franchise history, averaging 18.4 ppg and 10.8 rpg. Two weeks prior he bludgeoned Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers with nearly 57-percent shooting to rally his team from an 0-2 hole.

T-shirts being sold on downtown’s Main St. read “Fear the Beast,” surrounding a face that is part Grizzly mascot and part Z-Bo. Just as the bandwagon had swelled to capacity in honor of Randolph’s four-year reclamation in Memphis, this headbanded beast can’t even buy a free throw in this quickly-slipping-away Western Conference finals.

The Spurs, with Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner, have done what Griffin and Serge Ibaka could not. They have sedated the beast by suffocation.

“I mean, I’m a decoy, it’s respect. I got the whole team focused on me, two or three guys,” Randolph said after Memphis’ Monday morning shootaround in preparation for tonight’s do-or-die Game 4 at FedExForum (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). “I’ve got to make plays and be a decoy.

“I’m all about winning. If it opens up for me, fine. But if we can win and knock shots down I’ll be happy with that. I’ve just got to do the best I can in picking my spots because the attention is on me. I’ve got a guy in front of me, a guy behind me; [they're] leaving the guys in the corner and we’ve got to knock down shots. So it’s just about winning with me.”

Sounds like Z-Bo has a lot on his mind. Either that or the Spurs’ defensive strategy is inside it and kicking things around.

Surrounded by defenders virtually each time the ball comes to him on the block, Randolph is missing shots from distances he typically drops with ease. Instead he’s made just 11 of his last 32 field-goal attempts after his ominous 1-for-8, two-point start to the series. Equally if not more disturbing for the career-76.5-percent foul shooter is that he can’t bail himself out at the line, going 7-for-16, including in the last two overtime losses including critical late-game misses.

“What we’ve done is the best job we can,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We’re just trying to make the bigs work for what they get. They’re very talented, very active. It’s impossible to stop them but we’re going to do the best job we can to limit them.”

The other half of “them” Popovich refers is 7-foot-1 center Marc Gasol, who hasn’t been able to make the Spurs pay for saddling Randolph. Gasol is 18-for-46 from the floor.

After a slow scoring start to the Clippers series, although he shot a high percentage, Randolph averaged 20.8 ppg. Oklahoma City block machine Ibaka made life tough for Randolph, whose shooting percentage dipped to 44.6, but he was highly effective, going for 51 points and 26 rebounds in the final two games of that series.

The Spurs are simply being far more effective than OKC harassing Randolph. They’re packing the paint and welcoming the few Grizz shooters on the roster to fire up jumpers. Quincy Pondexter, 9-for-19 from beyond the arc in the series is on his own. Mike Conley and Jerryd Bayless are a combined 6-for-25.

If all that makes for a bleak Memphis outlook, consider that no team has ever won a series after falling behind 3-0. Demoralization can hit swiftly in a Game 4 as the emotional and mental stresses become overwhelming against such steep odds.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, whose team has improved each season under his guidance, had a message for each of his players as they take the floor tonight.

“The motivation is just to go out and have pride and do whatever you can do,” Hollins said. “If they’re better than you, they’re better than you. But don’t quit and don’t go out there with a quitter’s attitude and just go through the motions; and the game is fairly close and you can walk away and say ‘this happened and that happened, that’s why we didn’t win.’ But if you just tie up your boot straps and reach down inside of you and be who you are and give all you have, and give a little more that you didn’t think you had, then possibilities are out there.

“That’s what it’s about. It’s about the big picture. Because if you give up now in an adverse situation, you’ll give up on life in an adverse situation. You’re trying to prove your character, your integrity and your self-worth. This is how you prove it. You go out and earn it.”

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Posted in 2013 Conference Finals: Spurs-Grizzlies / Comments (5) /

Trust In Pop: No Other Way For Spurs

May 26, 2013  ·  4:27PM

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After coaching a combined 1,536 regular-season and playoff games over 17 seasons, what still motivates San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from day to day? Is it the teaching? The film study and preparation? The tactical decisions within the actual games?

“I think dinner after the game,” Popovich said dryly as only he can. “Those things are hard. It’s not fun, I know that.”

Pop must’ve had a satisfying meal Saturday night after the Spurs clawed back from down 18 early for a 103-94 overtime victory to seize a commanding 3-0 lead over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals. Popovich’s 1,034rd career victory (regular season and playoffs) and 208th in the postseason moved him one win away from coaching in a fifth NBA Finals.

He and Tim Duncan, the two constants over this once-in-a-lifetime marathon of success, are on the verge of appearing in a Finals in three consecutive decades. Their first of four championships came in 1999 and was followed by titles in 2003, ’05 and ’07. After losing a 2-0 lead last season to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the favorite to win the West again until Russell Westbrook‘s unfortunate knee injury in the first round, the Spurs, who every year seem to be on their last, best chance to make it back, appear that they certainly will this time.

Although the Grizz have taken the last two games to overtime, they’ve been overmatched by the Spurs’ depth and their undeterred, everlasting trio of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, a Big Three that first took the floor together a decade ago.

“It’s amazing. It’s amazing being on this team and playing with those guys,” said Boris Diaw, who had his playoff battles against the Spurs when with the Phoenix Suns and was rescued out of Charlotte by a fortuitous trade last season. “They still play the same way. They’ve been playing great for years now together and they’re still the same leaders of this team.”

And Popovich is still coaching the same way, Duncan said, although these days far less frequently while wearing a neck tie on game nights.

“His fire and his passion is there and just like the rest of us he knows the opportunity we have here and how fleeting it is,” Duncan said before team’s late Sunday morning practice. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been there. We know the work it takes, we know how special it is and I guess you get a better appreciation for having gone that far and been that close for many years, and we just want to get back.”

Their first chance to lock up their first West title since ’07 comes Monday night in Game 4 back at the FedExForum.

“I think we should give them no hope,” Parker said. “And it’s always sweet to win on the road.”

The theme of the game will be to get it done for Timmy, now 37 and recently selected to the All-NBA First Team after a spectacular renaissance of a season.

“It would be amazing and hopefully I can talk about it more after a win [Monday],” Parker said. “Let’s focus on [Monday] and then we got, what, 10 days to talk about that.”

The Spurs are 11-2 this postseason and can complete a second sweep. Four times they’ve been taken to overtime and once, in the remarkable Game 1 comeback against Golden State, were challenged to two overtimes. Three times they were the fresher team in the extra period despite the high-mileage legs of their three stars.

Popovich gave no credence to his rigid management of minutes during the regular season as playing a role now, but his players certainly suggested that they felt good in Saturday’s overtime for a reason when they outscored Memphis, 18-7.

“I always trust Pop,” Parker said. “Whatever Pop decides is good with me.”

Trust is the operative word with the Big Three and their coach. Ultimate respect swings both ways. Pop will lay into his stars as quickly as a role player who erred. And the players hold each other accountable, too, such as when Duncan’s pass intended for Parker missed its target and skidded out of bounds. The two barked at each as they retreated on defense.

“I have a great deal of confidence in them and they’ve earned that,” Popovich said. “They’ve been together. They’re all very competitive. They may or may not do something perfectly, but they’re going to do it to the best of their ability. That allows one to go to bed at night and deal with whatever the consequences are.”

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Posted in 2013 Conference Finals: Spurs-Grizzlies / Comments (54) /

‘Red Mamba’ Defense Zeroes In On Z-Bo

May 21, 2013  ·  12:34PM

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SAN ANTONIO — When most people think of the hard-nosed defense in a playoff series between the Grizzlies and Spurs, the images that come to mind are the steely gaze and the locked-in intensity of Tony Allen, the quick hands of Mike Conley or those long arms and smothering style of Kawhi Leonard.

Then there’s Matt Bonner.

Don’t snicker. None other than Kobe Bryant nicknamed him the Red Mamba for Bonner’s ability to fearlessly knock down big shots in big situations. But in the playoffs, Bonner has also been part boa constrictor for helping to put the squeeze on opposing big men.

In the first round, Bonner often got under the skin of Lakers center Dwight Howard with his willingness and ability to bump and grind. On Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Bonner played a key role in limiting Grizzlies inside force Zach Randolph to 1-for-8 shooting and just two points.

It was a team effort with Tiago Splitter, Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw all sharing the rugged duties. Bonner’s main responsibility in Game 1 was to front Randolph and try got prevent him from getting the ball in the first place. The eight shots by Z-Bo were his fewest in a game since April 15 and the single bucket scored was his career playoff low for any game in he’s played at least 10 minutes.

“We found something that works for him,” Duncan said. “He’s comfortable doing that. I think when the whole team is locked in knowing he’s going to do that, we feel pretty confident.”

The added bonus of Bonner’s defensive contribution is that it allows Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to give him more playing time and take advantage of his outside shooting ability that stretches Memphis’ defense. Bonner drilled four 3-pointers in Game 1 as the Spurs set a franchise record with 14 3-pointers.

That’s the Red Mamba showing all of his fangs.

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Z-Bo’s Play Leaves Grizzlies Feeling Empty

May 19, 2013  ·  9:16PM

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SAN ANTONIO — It was early in the third quarter when Zach Randolph simply did the kind of thing that he does.

Mike Conley had driven into the teeth of the Spurs defense and had his layup attempt pop out. So there was Randolph, all 260 pounds and city-block wide of him of him, rising up out of the crowd in the paint to tap the ball back into the basket. It was notable only because Randolph had taken seven previous shots and not made a single one.

Z-Bo had been Z-B000000.

When itwas  finally over, Randolph had just those two points to his name, which meant that he was outscored by all but two players on the Spurs’ 12-man active roster  — and that’s using the term quite loosely, since Tracy McGrady hasn’t truly been relevant in half a decade. It took Aussie Patty Mills, cuddly as a koala, just 66 seconds off the bench to pop in a 3-pointer and move ahead of Randolph on the day’s scoring list.

All of which goes a long way toward explaining the ugly 105-83 thumping the Grizzlies took from the Spurs and why Randolph chose to enter the post-game locker room and express regrets to his teammates.

“He tried to apologize first off, and we wouldn’t accept that,” said the point guard Conley. “We said, it’s not you, it’s all of us.”

There were so many things wrong with how the Grizzlies came out and played the opener of the first Western Conference finals game in franchise history that Z-Bo might as well have been holding a bucket to catch the water when the dam broke.

Tony Parker merely took the ball almost from the opening tip and drove it anyplace he wanted toward the Memphis basket, finishing at the rim and stabbing in mid-range jumpers. The Spurs’ wing men set up residence in either corner and all they had to do was wait for the ball to find them for open shots. The Spurs finished the day making 14 of their 29 attempts from deep, setting a franchise playoff record for 3-pointers. It was hardly the kind of performance you might have expected from the No. 1-rated defense in the NBA during regular season and more like playing a game of keep-away with a class of kindergartners.

“We didn’t play well,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. “I mean, it’s not anything specific.”

However, it can specifically be said that Grizzlies will be done if Randolph doesn’t even bother to show up. Z-Bo and his partner Marc Gasol punished the Spurs with their inside game two years ago when the Grizzlies became just the second No. 8 seed in history to knock off a No. 1 seed.

But that was a different Spurs team, one that was not as healthy, not nearly as deep and not as remotely capable of coming at Randolph with the overwhelming force of a tsunami.

“They were disrupting my rhythm,” Randolph said. “It was just one of those nights. I played like I did against the Clippers in L.A.” (more…)

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Spurs-Grizzlies Means No Apologies

May 18, 2013  ·  4:59PM


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SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan sat down heavily and breathed a sigh of someone who had just been asked to lift the back end of a school bus off the ground.

“It’s not going to be pretty,” he said. “Sorry.”

But the playoffs mean never having to say you’re sorry.

So when the Spurs and Grizzlies open the Western Conference finals on Sunday night, there will be no apologies offered.

Only elbows and hips, pushes and shoves, pulls and grabs and tugs and slaps and takedowns that could turn seven games into one gigantic bruise.

Having already dealt with the front-line size of the Lakers Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol and the aggressive play of the Warriors’ Andrew Bogut, Carl Landry and Festus Ezeli, the Spurs realized it was all just a warmup to the tandem of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, for whom grit and grind is more than a slogan.

“If you thought (the Golden State series) was physical, it’s going to turn up about 10 notches,” Duncan said.

It’s possible the Spurs might still have a few black and blue marks left over from their run-in with the Grizzlies in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. San Antonio entered that series as the prohibitive favorite and wound up becoming only the second No. 1 seed in history to lose to a No. 8 seed in a best-of-seven series.

By the time the series was over, the Spurs were as bludgeoned as they were beaten by Memphis’ inside game. Duncan, who played with a sprained ankle, and Manu Ginobili, who played with a fractured elbow, were exhausted and exposed.

Now though, the Spurs are feeling like a team that is much more equipped to deal with the Grizzlies’ size and force, having added Tiago Splitter to their starting lineup and Boris Diaw to their bench.

“It’s going to be a big-man series,” Duncan said. “I think the size definitely helps us. We’re a different team than when we faced them a couple years ago.”

The 6-foot-11 Splitter was a rookie in 2011 and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did not feel confident using him two seasons ago, choosing to go with 6-9 veteran Antonio McDyess in his final NBA season. Splitter played just 51 minutes in the entire season and did not set foot onto the court until Game 4.

“Of course, you always want to play, because you believe that you can help,” Splitter said. “That’s the part of you that is the competitor. But that is the past and now I feel good.”

In the four regular season meetings this season, Splitter averaged 10.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and was able to stand his ground against the low-post relentlessness of Randolph.

“Its just nonstop fighting,” Splitter said. “He’s a warrior over there with the rebounding and positioning.”

The experience two years ago gave the Spurs a head start on the rest of the league in recognizing the Grizzlies as powerful, growing championship contenders.

“I’ve seen them as a major threat for years now,” Duncan said. “Obviously, they beat us in the first round when we were the top seed. They’ve been a very solid team, a very good team. They have always played us really tough. We respect them and their capabilities and we’re not surprised they’re here.”

Popovich rates the Grizzlies with Miami and Indiana as the top defensive teams in the league. But the Spurs themselves turned around the battle against the Warriors and put the clamps on the backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with a defensive job that was aggressive, thorough and a throwback to their old championship ways and days.

Now it’s toe-to-toe, elbow-to-elbow, hip-check to bump-and-grind with the Grizzlies at a time when the 37-year-old Duncan can see the finish line.

“This run this year is extremely special to me,” he said. “People continue to count us out, year in and year out, and we continue to make runs deep into the playoffs. This is a special one.”

And certainly no reason to say you’re sorry.

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