NBA Playoffs 2017: What We Learned Over The Opening Weekend

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Apr 15, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) is fouled while shooting by San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the first half in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

Grit and Grind Might Never Die

Marc Gasol scored 25 points against San Antonio, which is a great game for anyone; let alone a center.

Did I mention he did that in the first half?

Marc Gasol has really taken his game to the next level this season, adding the 3 ball and creating more space for Fizdale’s offense as he tries to modernize the Grizzlies’ offense that was left in shambles when former head coach Dave Joerger split for Sacramento. While the Grizzlies did finish 17th in 3P% in the regular season (up from 29th last season), their old ways came up in their blowout loss to the Spurs.

Fizdale can’t pin the loss on Gasol. If it wasn’t for his first half explosion, the margin would have been even worse. Yet, instead of drawing up plays out of timeouts for the shooters he was subbing in (namely Troy Daniels, but more on that in a bit), Conley or Selden would just throw it down to Z-Bo who would either get fouled, turn it over, or take a bad shot 7 times out of 10. The other 3 shots were makes, but they weren’t pretty.

Now, the Grizzlies did have 7 players shoot over 35% from deep this season, but there a few problems:

One only averaged 13.3 MPG. (Jarrell Martin)
One is 40 years old. (Love ya Vince, but you’re not going to be around forever for the Grizzlies).
Only 3 of them are in the starting lineup, and the 3rd guy on the list is a center who’s a tick behind the 2nd, who’s a shooting guard. (Marc Gasol and Troy Daniels respectively)

Many will go back and watch Game 1 and say that Conley was too hesitant. He didn’t (doesn’t?) deserve the mega-contract extension he was given. I say no.

The problem is that Conley doesn’t have a lot of help, and he’s a part of an aging core that isn’t getting any younger.

Chandler Parsons was supposed to help with that, but he played in only 34 games in the regular season.

Lastly, but definitely not least, a lot of these guys might go elsewhere in free agency since they’ve shown they can thrive in an archaic-ish offense.

Fizdale can praise his guys for going modern, but they may be stuck in the past.

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