Pacers, Grizz good bets to move on
The weekend began with a chance at five Game 7s in the first round of the NBA playoffs; fans were left with just one. A look at two of the conference semifinals that begin Sunday afternoon:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
NO. 2 NEW YORK VS. NO. 3 INDIANA
The storyline — A study in contrasts: The Knicks didn’t exactly inspire great confidence in their first-round series, losing two close-out games before almost blowing a 26-point lead in the clincher over Boston. When the going got tough, they reverted to hero ball and isolation play, neither of which tends to lead to great success. Their overreliance on three-point shooting is troublesome, and they don’t seem to be able to recover when it’s a cold-shooting night.
That will be especially difficult against a Pacers defence that can be unrelenting — and overly physical — at times, perfect for playoff pressure. Indiana probably can’t score with as much consistency as the Knicks but that’s less of a problem when they’re not giving up many points each night. Fun matchup — Carmelo Anthony
vs. David West: Anthony is a pure and prolific scorer who led the league in scoring this season and never takes a shot he doesn’t think is a good one. West is crafty and tough — not to mention one of the best midrange-shooting big men in the league — but he’s going to have his hands full with Anthony.
What will happen: Nothing the Knicks did in the Boston series showed they have the maturity nec- essary. Maybe they get it, maybe they don’t.
Pacers in seven.
WESTERN CONFERENCE NO. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY VS. NO. 5 MEMPHIS
The storyline — Of absent friends: It’s impossible to quantify how much Oklahoma City misses the injured Russell Westbrook but it’s not hard to understand how much the Thunder will miss his offence. It would be nice for OKC to get huge production out of guys like Kevin Martin and Reggie Jackson but that’s going to be tough to do against one of the best defences in the NBA. It’ll put even more pressure on Kevin Durant and the Grizzlies will load up defences against him. Memphis won’t beat you with its offence too many times but they have a dominant front court of Zach Ran-
dolph and Marc Gasol to help them work inside-out. Mike Conley is going to have to knock down some shots; perimeter shooting is the weak spot for the Grizzlies. Still, their defence is otherwordly. Fun matchup — Kevin Durant vs.
Tony Allen: It may be forward versus guard and not something you’ll see on every possession but Allen is Memphis’s defensive stopper and with the Thunder so reliant on Durant with Westbrook out, it will happen. And it should be fascinating. Allen is considered the premier perimeter defender in league, while Durant is one of the best scorers of this era. Who wins this one might ultimately be who wins the series.
What will happen: Tough one to call but Memphis just seems to impose its will on opponents.
Grizzlies in six.