Griz

“The next one is very dangerous, because everything went so well (in Game 1),” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili told media Sunday. “We beat them by 30. We didn’t turn the ball over. We controlled the rebounds. So we know they are going to come at us very hard because they know they need to win.

“Hopefully, we are smart enough and experienced enough to be mentally ready and not take anything for granted. That’s the biggest danger. I’ve seen 15year vets that after a win, they relax. We’ve got to know that they need this win, that they are tough, hard-nosed and they are going to come after us. We’ve got to bring the same aggressiveness or even more.”

Memphis spent time working on how to free up point guard Mike Conley from taller, more physical defenders, giving young, unproven players confidence and guidance, and forming a strategy that allows Zach Randolph to make a strong contribution offensively.

Conley scored just 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting in Game 1 with a host of defenders (mostly Danny Green) hounding him with aggressive, hard-nosed defense.

The Spurs concentrated on slowing down Conley, and they crowded the paint to limit Randolph’s touches. San Antonio appeared content with Marc Gasol carrying a heavy offensive load and daring Memphis’ wing players to shine on the perimeter.

Fizdale said too many of Randolph’s touches came from random action and not organized plays.

“It’s one game,” said Randolph, who had just six points on 3-of-13 shooting in Game 1. “They denied the post. They denied our wings. We’ve got to be strong with the ball. We worked on some things today and made some adjustments. We’ll be ready (in Game 2).”

Conley cautioned that the Grizzlies must keep their emotions in check. They jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter but led only 30-25. From there, the Spurs disrupted the Grizzlies’ offense with ball pressure and turned defensive stops into easy scoring opportunities.

The Grizzlies became demoralized and didn’t score more than 19 points in any of the final three periods. Memphis lost the third, 32-15, and that sealed its fate. Miscommunication and blown assignments led to visible frustration and verbal confrontations between Grizzlies teammates on the court.

“I believe we had too much emotion going into the first quarter,” Conley said. “We might have drained ourselves in the sense we were so amped and up for the game. Game 2, hopefully, we can dial back those emotions a little bit and concentrate on X’s and O’s and what needs to be done.”

Reach Ronald Tillery at Ronald.Tillery@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @CAGrizBeat.