Tuesday's Game of the Night: Memphis at San Antonio, in a familiar battle
The 2016-17 NBA regular season, thankfully, is nearing an end. Though the tops and bottoms of the standings have all been straightened out since January or so, little has been made certain yet beyond the Golden State Warriors’ move to ensure home-court advantage through the Finals. Even with just a short run left, there is still plenty to figure out as the NBA takes to April.
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Since we all need the reminders as to who is set to start the playoffs where, who needs a bump during awards season or with a statistical accomplishment, and who is doing their best work in losing in order to grab improved lottery ball odds, Ball Don’t Lie is set to look at what should be your game of that particular day between now and the end of the term on April 12.
Tuesday’s Game of the Night: Memphis at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET
So far, as a nod to the bits and pieces of playoff races that still exist, these games have mostly been about seeding opportunities. In a nod to the NCAA tournament working its way down to zero seeds and zero games, and a settled schedule from Monday night (with only an ice-delay to make up for on the NBA schedule), we’re making Tuesday’s edition all about the actual performers.
The Grizzles and Spurs are just about locked into the No. 7 and No. 2 seeds in the West, respectively. The Grizzlies and Spurs have been locked into each other, sometimes respectfully, during playoff matchups from 2011, 2013, and in 2016. The Spurs have swept the last two, against underrepresented foes at times, while the Grizzlies shocked some by toppling San Antonio (then ranked as the No. 1 seed in the West) in the first round back during the 2011 postseason.
Things have gone about as you’d expect, in the years since.
The Grizzlies benefited from the spectacular maturation of stars Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but with both players now in their 30s the duo doesn’t pack the same punch that threatened the West’s elite repeatedly during the early part of this decade.
The 35-year old Zach Randolph comes off the bench, and the franchise’s rare massive offseason signing (what with Gasol, Randolph and Conley making what they make) in swingman Chandler Parsons has not panned out. Gasol, suffering from a left foot sprain, has missed his last five games (the Lakers grabbed nearly 38 percent of its available offensive rebounds against the de-Marc’d Grizz on Sunday) and remains only “questionable” for the Spurs contest on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are about as great as they’ve ever been. Even without Tim Duncan. I don’t get it either.
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What we do have here, is a genuine playoff preview. The Spurs can only tie the season series at 2-2 with Memphis following a win tonight, though they can (in an oddity) hit for consecutive 60-win seasons for (weirdly) the first time in team history.
Since Duncan was drafted in 1997, and somehow (two locked-addled 50 and 66-game seasons helped) the Spurs have yet to nail 60 wins in consecutive years. This is the team that’s been good – no, great – since it was somewhat tolerable to yell “show me the money!” in respected company. I don’t get it either.
The Spurs dominated the Grizzlies during the regular season last year prior to that playoff sweep, so there’s no doubt that Memphis’ 2-1 record against San Antonio (even with Feb. 6’s conquest coming against the Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs) has San Antonio’s attention, as does the idea that both teams will have to find a way to beat the other one four times in seven tries in order to get out of the first round in a week and a half.
Spurs and Grizzlies, in the first round? I thought the West was supposed to be weaker this year?
Also worth watching
It took the Cavaliers 42 overtimes and the noted rebirth of Kevin Love to topple Indiana at home on Sunday, so what’s Tuesday going to look like against the supposed tankers from Orlando? … It appears as if the Raptors and Pacers won’t get to treat us to another (semi) scintillating first round matchup this year, and the NBA strangely hid all three of their pairings deep into the regular season (with Toronto winning twice so far). It seems an odd way to handle what could have turned into a burgeoning rivalry.
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, we hope, will have basketball teams starting in 2020 … The Wizards just wrapped up one of the nastiest road trips of the season – 12 of 16 games away from home, touring the world and elsewhere in just 27 days, a 9-7 record but three straight losses – and their treat is to welcome the desperate, scrappy Charlotte Hornets in CHA’s last chance (a game out of the playoff bracket, five contests to play) for a postseason comeback.
New Orleans is similarly down to its last chances as well, five games out with five to play, and they’ll host Denver in the Nuggets’ last grasp for a berth. Denver is on a road trip, a game and a half back of Portland with six to play, looking to make the postseason for the first time since George Karl Karl’d his way out of Colorado … The Bulls and the Knicks lol … Milwaukee and Oklahoma City should present the most entertaining, if fitful, game of the night. OKC is just about lodged in at No. 6 in the West, while the Bucks (No. 5 in the East!) are looking to once again vault four games over .500 behind the sterling play of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Dallas and Sacramento will not be worth too much of your time, on a night such as this … The Blazers, smarting from a game they shouldn’t have had to play on Monday, could knock the Jazz out of the No. 4 slot with a win on Tuesday, clinging to that No. 8 seed … Minnesota is done, and Golden State may look to sit some stars against the Timberwolves at home. Not so much as a reaction to Washington’s headache in the wake of GSW’s blowout win over the Wizards on Sunday, but because (regardless of carping) Stephen Curry and others were in the contest far longer than they probably should have been.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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