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Ball Don't Lie on the Spurs

  • The onus falls on Mike Conley, as his Memphis Grizzlies return home to defend their turf

    The Memphis Grizzlies don’t lack for direction. They’re not adrift, attempting to figure out a way to keep up with a San Antonio Spurs team that boasted the best record in the Western Conference. After two games in San Antonio, including a close Game 2 overtime defeat, the Grizzlies are rightfully and (to some) expectedly down 0-2.

    The team could stand to streamline things, though, against an impressive Spurs outfit that is championship-worthy but still quite beatable. And while most might look toward former All-Star forward Zach Randolph’s return to form as the quickest way between overcoming a tough deficit and creating a best of three series following the team’s return to Memphis, there’s another potential shaker that could put this team over the top. He’s actually been that guy for years, if you think about it, and he answers to the name “Mike Conley.” Unless his dad is in the room.

    [Related: Memphis guard Tony Allen fined $5K under flopping guidelines]

    Conley has not played terribly against the Spurs in the third round, but there is certainly room for improvement. The entire San Antonio defense has gone all out in an attempt to prevent clear post-up position for Randolph, while taking away Marc Gasol’s passing angles from both the high and low post, along with Gasol’s abilities to adapt to a broken play and answer with either a face-up or turnaround jumper. Meanwhile, Tony Allen was baited into shooting 11 times (missing nine of his attempts) in Game 2, and Tayshaun Prince (3-10 in the series, 34.9 percent in the playoffs) has been a mess offensively.

    Considering the demands of his workload, Conley may actually be his team’s best offensive player in this series, averaging 16 points and six assists with 2.5 turnovers in the first two games, shooting 42 percent along the way. He helped rescue the Grizzlies from another blowout loss in Game 2 with his play, dishing three fourth quarter assists along with a tough right-handed (Conley, to those perhaps watching Memphis for the first time on Saturday night, is left-handed) push shot in the lane to help Memphis send it to overtime.

    And yet, with the eyes of the Spurs focused elsewhere, shouldn’t we engage another gear?

    Conley isn’t floating, but he’s not exactly pressing either. The Memphis guard is the longest-tenured player on his team, he has the trust of coach Lionel Hollins and he’s more than overcome the noise from some of us that could not understand why the Grizzlies would not ask Conley to try out restricted free agency as opposed to handing him a five-year, $40 million contract extension at the start of the 2010-11 season. By all accounts he is this team’s steady hand, a needed element in a locker room (one that added the previously combustible Tony Allen during that offseason and the just-as warily-regarded Zach Randolph the summer before) that never loses its edge but still has a chance to lose its mind.

    [Related: Tim Duncan reportedly delaying divorce until after end of season]

    Now, though, if he has it in him? Mike Conley needs to play out of his mind.

    He’s not going to be able to shut down Tony Parker. The Spurs All-Star is averaging 17.5 points and 13.5 assists in the series thus far, stellar numbers against the West’s best defense, playing in a style that limits possessions and the opportunity for big stats. Worse for Conley is the unfortunate realization that, for long stretches over the first two games, the Spurs have gone away from their offense in order to attack Zach Randolph’s lacking pick and roll defense. San Antonio still has its usual quirks and flourishes away from the ball as Parker dives toward Randolph on either side of the court, but no amount of length and defensive know-how (or the presence of Tony Allen on Parker, instead of Conley) can save poor Zach.

    This shouldn’t preclude Conley for trying to counter things on the other end. To attack a San Antonio pick and roll defense that likes to sag and force guys like, say, Mike Conley into hitting makeable midrange jumpers. To attempt to put the sainted Spurs in the penalty early while working at home, as the notoriously home-swayed Joey Crawford is set to work Game 3.

    At the very least, even with the knowledge that no team walked the ball up slower than the Memphis Grizzlies this year, Conley can attempt to initiate the team’s offense earlier in the shot clock. Even when Randolph and Gasol are beating their teammates down the court to set up on the blocks, Conley is still waiting too long to make that initial move in a possession the Spurs are 12 seconds into steeling themselves to defend against.

    Mike Conley doesn’t have to take a star turn, but he does have to raise his game. He’s a damn good player with a respected game, but those sorts of plaudits aren’t what lead teams to the Finals. Mike Conley is going to have to be the straw that stirs the drink, if Memphis wants to hold serve at home.

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  • Tony Allen fined $5K for flopping on Manu Ginobili flagrant foul in Game 2 vs. Spurs (Video)

    Following the San Antonio Spurs' Game 2 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, our own Eric Freeman wondered whether Grizzlies guard Tony Allen — renowned throughout the league as one of the toughest, most physical, hardest-nosed players in the game — faked the severity of any injury he might have sustained when fouled on a layup attempt in the final minute of regulation by Spurs guard Manu Ginobili. In case you've forgotten what went down, watch it again:

    After coughing up the ball for an Allen runout, Ginobili raced back, grabbed Allen's left forearm and pulled him down to the ground. It was a hard fall, but Allen appeared to get both of his hands down in front of him to break it; after impact, though, he grabbed his head with both hands and began writhing along the baseline in apparent pain. The referees on the scene called a flagrant foul, headed over to the replay monitor to review the incident and, despite widespread perception that Allen had embellished things, upheld the call, granting Allen two free throws (which he made) and the Grizzlies another offensive possession (with which they tied the game and forced overtime).

    While the officials on the scene apparently saw nothing untoward in Allen's behavior, after a couple of days to review the play, the league office begged to differ. The NBA announced Friday afternoon that Allen has been fined $5,000 for violating the league's anti-flopping policy with his embellishment on the play.

    Allen now joins Derek Fisher, Jeff Pendergraph and J.R. Smith as the only players penalized for simulation this postseason; should Allen run afoul of the league's flopping rules again, he'll have to cough up $10,000 for a second offense, $15,000 for a third and $30,000 for a fourth violation, in accordance with the NBA's stricter postseason flopping punishments.

    It seems kind of weird to accept that the play could result in penalties for both Ginobili and Allen — on the face of it, it would seem that if the officials thought Allen oversold the degree of the contact, then Ginobili's foul shouldn't have been ruled a flagrant, and that if it was indeed a flagrant foul, then Allen shouldn't be punished for reacting strongly to a hard fall. However, as our man Freeman wrote after the play, the two don't necessarily need to be mutually exclusive:

    The NBA has expanded its definition of flagrant fouls in recent seasons with the goal of keeping players safe. While players like Ginobili certainly aren't actively trying to injure players at the rim, the fact is that certain kinds of plays are more dangerous than others.

    [...] under the NBA's now-standard enforcement of flagrant fouls, this play qualifies as a dangerous action with the potential to injure. Allen looked like he sold the contact beyond its apparent impact, but that doesn't mean the play was perfectly safe.

    After review of the play, the referees judged Ginobili's contact — grabbing an airborne Allen's arm and pulling him to the ground — to be "unnecessary," and deserving of a flagrant foul. After review of the aftermath, the league office judged Allen's reaction "inconsistent with the degree of contact received on the play, and deserving of a flopping fine. It can be both. Maybe it shouldn't be, but the way the rules are written, it can be, and as a result, the Grizzlies' top grit-and-grind guard is out five grand.

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