Grizzlies solid frontline
The Grizzlies will continue to be paint-centric against the Warriors in the Conference Semifinals. It doesn’t matter that their opponents have small-ball predilections; they aim to control the tempo and pound the ball inside.
As expected, the Grizzlies closed out their first-round series against the Blazers yesterday on the strength of their solid frontline. With starting point guard Mike Conley out, they banked on their twin-towers combine of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to keep their opponents at bay. In particular, the former proved essential to productivity; they were far more efficient, and far less errant, on offense when they ran it through him.
No doubt, the Grizzlies will continue to be paintcentric against the Warriors in the Conference Semifinals. It doesn’t matter that their opponents have smallball predilections; they aim to control the tempo and pound the ball inside. They won’t shy away from taking long bombs, but it’ll be largely for the purpose of allowing Gasol and Randolph to operate with less congestion in the lane, especially with Conley’s immediate future remaining uncertain.
Lest all and sundry forget, the Grizzlies won 55 games in the regular season against any and all sorts of competition. If nothing else, their experience and capacity to become greater than the sum of their parts in the crunch should serve them in good stead as they stand up to the Warriors.
It’ll be an interesting matchup, to be sure. The Grizzlies will be decided underdogs, but if there’s anything their fans can count on, it’s that they’ll be committed to their style of play. They’re collected, so they won’t be goaded by the Warriors into pushing the pace as well. And who knows? If they manage to offset their talent handicap with no small measure of grit, they may yet stay competitive throughout the best-of-seven affair.