The Spurs are up 2-0 with both games resulting in blowouts, and this prompted Miller to claim that the TNT television crew could take down the Grizzlies.
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Boston’s All-Star point guard is coming off a tremendous performance in Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks in which he scored 27 points with eight assists, three rebounds, a block, a steal and four three-point shots.
Combine Memphis’ in-your-face defensive style and some of the circumstances regarding San Antonio’s journey into the playoffs, and some of the issues we’re seeing manifested in this series make plenty of sense. Memphis entered the playoffs having won just three of its final 17 games. “We got to be more active defensively and see if we can’t help…it turn into some offense for us”, said Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger.
Offensively Leonard led the Spurs with 20 points, more than enough as the Spurs coasted to a relatively easy 106-74 rout. The award will only serve as extra motivation for Leonard to display his full defensive skill-set in Game 2. He could easily top that stat line in Game 2, so while he is one of the more expensive remaining options on the board, he is also one of the most consistent and reliable choices for this spot. The game was close in the first quarter but got completely out of hand by the second half. San Antonio boasted a defensive rating of 94.9 with Leonard on the court and 99.2 when he sat, one of the greatest disparities in the league.
“(We have to be) not be so lackadaisical in our passing, not be so careless in execution”, Grizzlies guard Tony Allen said. “It’s on the players we’ve got to do a better job executing”. Randolph is a combined 8 for 30 in the series. The technical came shortly after Farmar was whistled for fouling Leonard on a defensive rebound.
The Spurs, who have the second seed in the Western Conference, were never challenged, taking a 22-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and 49-35 at halftime. The 6-foot-7 forward received 84 first-place votes and 547 points from the panel of 130 voting United States and Canada sportswriters and broadcasters. The Memphis Grizzlies have stumbled into the postseason because of injuries this regular season. Duncan appeared in his 243rd playoff game, leaving him one shy of tying former teammate Robert Horry for second all-time in National Basketball Association history.
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They do, of course, because NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a stickler about such things, but let’s hope someone finds a loophole between now and Games 3 and 4.
