Adams stalls as Grizzlies advance
Big not always better when teams opt for small-ball
Steven Adams' Memphis Grizzlies have advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, but Kiwi basketball fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the big man in action might have to wait a little longer.
Memphis dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 in their best-of-7 series, setting up a second-round encounter with the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have won three titles since 2015, and became title favourites for the 2021-22 season following their 4-1 first-round victory over reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets.
Adams might find himself on the outside of the rotation looking in for the second series in a row. Missing at least the first two games in the series due to a positive Covid-19 diagnosis, Adams may be lucky to see the court for the remaining games.
Throughout the regular season, Adams played less minutes per game against the Warriors than any other team at 21.5 minutes per game — he averaged 26.3 minutes per game across the entire league.
This is in part due to Golden State's ability and willingness to play “small ball” — a line-up without a traditional centre or big man on the court — with power forward Draymond Green moonlighting as a very capable centre. When 2013-14 MVP Kevin Durant appeared in Golden State's small-ball lineups, they were appropriately nicknamed Golden State's “death lineup”.
While Durant is no longer with Golden State, their small-ball line-ups are often favoured by head coach Steve Kerr — with good reason.
Of all the five-man units the Warriors used in their first-round series against the Nuggets, the best line-up featuring centre Kevon Looney ranked ninth when looking at the plus/minus (the net score while on the court) among the various five-man groups.
This means there was eight line-ups
Adams might find himself on the
outside of the rotation looking in for the second series in a
row.
that were better without Looney, the centre, on the court.
In Game 1 of the current Grizzlies series, Golden State started Looney on the bench, opting for a small-ball lineup of Stephen Curry, Gary Payton II, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green.
This gives a clear indication of how Kerr and the Warriors are approaching this series. Small-ball is favoured over playing a traditional centre, potentially nullifying Adams' strengths.
Golden State opted for a small-ball line-up again in Game 2, with Looney seeing just shy of nine minutes of game
time. While Adams' rebounding, passing, and screen-setting abilities may be missed by the Grizzlies, his inability to switch on to guarding smaller players may not.
Given the Grizzlies’ previous opponent, the Timberwolves, viscously targeted Adams with success, it's hard to see Golden State employing a different tactic if/when he's on the court — especially given how potent their smallball line-ups can be.
New Zealand basketball fans will be hoping to get a glimpse of the big Kiwi before the series is wrapped up. If cleared from health and safety protocols, Adams could feature as early as Game 3 on Sunday (NZT) with the series tied at 1-1.
With the NBA trending in the direction of small-ball, and Adams unable to see game-time in the playoffs as a result, questions remain as to the value of his next contract. Typical centres are still important in the NBA, but it's hard to demand close to US$18M per year when sitting on the bench at the business-end of the season .
■ All statistics are courtesy of Nba.com.