G1: Grizzlies(0-0) @ Spurs(0-0)

[darkangle901]

They're cutting off our post entry passing lanes and we are still not able to throw it over the top. When they double Randolph, someone is open.

It's the same strategy they used in 2011. When we try to enter the ball to randolph from the wing, they front the post. Back then, the counter was to swing the ball into the high post to Gasol, which changed the angle of the entry pass and allowed Gasol to hit Randolph for easy buckets with the defender out of position.

But this time, they've decided to simply let Gasol shoot 18 footers. I think he needs to take them quicker and Allen and Prince need to help on the offensive boards.

Defensively, we just have to stop helping off the corners so much. We could also think about running under some screens, even though that's not our M.O. I'd rather get beat letting Parker hit 18 footers than having him get in the paint.

[jman3134]

^ Perfect characterization of their strategy. But if Gasol looks opposite off Randolph, he should be able to find either a Pondexter or Tony Allen cutting, right?

[bobobolas10]

We just need to cut the advantage to 10 or less. Hopefully they might get nervous and stop scoring three easily.

[bobobolas10]

0-7 for zach. that is shutting down a guy.

[bobobolas10]

here we are...

[jman3134]

Pondexter and Bayless really fueled a comeback here.

[vanjulio]

Momentum ....

[jman3134]

Prince should not play in this game. He can't find shooters defensively and he is useless on O.

[bobobolas10]

very very bad decisions by grizz players. i am very disapointed they could not keep "the momentum". I guess we will have another slight chance to get close in the 4th. but if in the offensive end, you score 57 in 36 minutes you cant beat a d-league team.

[Snoopie]

Very disappointing to lose in the manner we did. I only caught the 2nd half as the game started at 5:30am for me and I was not happy with what I saw. Hopefully Zach has a better game in Game 2 as it is going to be impossible for us to win this series if he doesn't play well..

[darkangle901]

The only good news is that our problems look correctable. It's just disturbing that they occurred for 45 minutes of game time.

Defensively we just have to be sharper with our rotations. Everyone just looked lost out there. Sometimes two guys running at the same shooter. We haven't really looked that bad since mid-season.

We also should consider tinkering with our pick and roll defense. This is not the kind of team like LAC and OKC where we can basically focus all our attention on one player. The Spurs make you honor everyone. I think we shouldn't be afraid to throw different looks at them in PnR situations. Hedge and run under, trap, switch, or all of the above. Our usual strategy of having the guard run over and the big protect the paint may not work well for a couple reasons:

1) Parker and Ginobili are too good at weaving through traffic. The big guy standing there in the lane doesn't really seem to deter them much. Not only can they generate points this way, but there is also serious risk of foul trouble.

2) Matt Bonner. With the big guy sagging into the paint to protect against penetration, Bonner is just sprinting to the three point line. If we play our usual defense, he will either kill us with threes or force switches which creates a whole new set of problems.


Offensively, I think we just have to get more shooting on the floor. Pondexter and Bayless are the best we've got, and I'd like to see them play more minutes than Allen and Prince. Arthur's shot can help in this situation as well (and he's a better P&R defender than Randolph). However, if he keeps picking up boneheaded fouls at the end of quarters, we should consider Leuer, who always looks good when he gets out there and can shoot it as well.

We also have to figure out how to get Zach going. Shooters will help, but they won't make the Spurs abandon their strategy of denying entry passes to Randolph. I think we may need to run him off some screens to help get him good catches.

But the most important thing is to space the floor. They've just got all 5 guys in the paint on seemingly every possession. And the poor offense is really hurting our defense because they're sprinting down the court after we miss.

Hopefully Hollins can make the necessary adjustments for game 2.

[dark-child]

For whatever reason, there is no nervousness about the loss, as we have pretty much seen this act before. The Grizz have lost the opener in every series so far, it was almost expected. I would not be surprised if we won the next four.

[SD2042]

The game was bad for the Grizzlies. They play the Spurs 4 games during the regular season. Why did they feel the need to double team players when they know the Spurs have players who are capable of makin it rain from beyond the arc. The Grizz got killed for that and poor rotations on defense.

Zbo got shut down in a way I haven't seen in a long time. Here's the business, Zbo has to recognizing double and triple teams may come his way in this series. That means that ppl will be open. Those players have to be ready to take the shot and make the Spurs pay for triple teaming Zbo.

The mistakes the Grizz made today can be fixable and expect adjustments to be made by Tuesday's game.

[jumivi]

The mistakes the Grizz made today can be fixable and expect adjustments to be made by Tuesday's game.

AMEN

[darkangle901]

After thinking about it and reviewing the game a bit, I think the one thing that I noticed is the low FT totals for both teams. Only 20 for us and 14 for them for a grand total of 34 (including only 2 by Gasol and none by Randolph). I think our team was averaging around 34 FTA's per game in the playoffs.

To be clear, I'm not complaining about the refs. I'm complaining about us, and our total lack of physical play.

The spurs are a finesse team, and we have to disrupt that. Just like we did against LAC and OKC. The difference is that we have to be physical with everyone against SAS, not just one or two players.

When Green and Leonard are coming off those flare screens, they should be getting hit and grabbed by multiple players. When Duncan tries to sprint to the top of the key to set a screen, he shouldn't just be able to run out. Randolph needs to be standing in his way.

If Gasol/Z-bo feel they are getting hit, they need to let everyone know that. We need to see Z-bo in a wrestling match again. We need to make it chippy. Anything to get the refs to call the game tightly, particularly in the post. We can live with a couple technicals if it means the refs start focusing on what's going on in the paint.

Bottom line is that if its another up and down game, everyone running around cleanly, shooters dictating the outcome... we lose.