Did you see the Spurs and the Grizzlies last night? I think this is going to be a very interesting series. San Antonio blew the Grizzlies out in game 1 and very nearly blew Game 2. When it mattered most, the Spurs rode Tim Duncan to the overtime win.
If you recall, last season, San Antonio led Oklahoma City, 2-0 in games going to OKC. The Thunder then won four games in a row to finish off San Antonio. I don’t get a feeling for this series one way or another, even though Tony Parker is going to have an MRI on his troublesome calf. I think its interesting because Memphis has such a huge home court, similar to Oklahoma City last year. Because Oklahoma City did come back on San Antonio, starting in a Game 3 the Spurs had pretty much ceded to the Thunder, I think San Antonio will be far less generous this year. With a three-day rest between games, the Spurs have to be loading up to win Game 3, get it to 3-0 and get back to the edge of the Finals. If it comes back to San Antonio 2-2, I have to lean hard to the Grizz to win the series. If it goes back to SA with the Spurs up 3-1, it’s over.
One thing I do have to mention: home court for Memphis isn’t such a big deal as it was for Oklahoma City last year. The Spurs have three players who’ve won 96 playoff games together. I don’t look for the Spurs to get too rattled. I thought it was interesting Memphis put on the 15-2 run at the end of Game 2 but didn’t win the game outright. That’s a mistake. San Antonio came right back in OT with their designated winner, Duncan. Last year, Oklahoma City could come back with Durant, Westbrook or Harden. Memphis is a great team but they’d need efforts from non-superstars to equal and exceed the Spurs push.
This is not San Antonio’s best team by far. Their 2005 title team is clearly the best of their runs, and the 1999 team is the least talented. Any of those teams could have beaten this one. I don’t know if the Spurs have enough left in the tank to pull off two more wins and get them into the Finals.
