For roughly a month and a half, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers were on a collision course to meet in the first round in the 4-5 match up. Even home-court advantage appeared to be locked in since the Clippers clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Grizzlies with a win in late March, during what was arguably Memphis’ darkest stretch of the regular season.
Oh, but how these things can change. In this pressure-cooker of a regular season where the standings can turn upside down overnight, and any three game losing streak can send you from contender status to an also-ran (especially in the west) the Clippers went from having division championship aspirations at the beginning of the week to cheering on the Magic Thursday night to keep the Clippers at home in round one.
It’s just another brick in the wall for the typically dysfunctional Clippers, owned by one of the most despicable owners in all of sports. Some say that the Clippers, as a franchise, has been cursed since they left Buffalo in 1984.
That seems ridiculous, and maybe it is, but seeing as how I’m a Cubs fan, I not only believe in curses, but also have first-hand knowledge as to the damage that they can do to a team, it’s players and fan base. Even if you’re someone that doesn’t believe in super natural things like that, at some point, when enough bad things happen, you start to buy into it, even if it’s just a little bit. It makes you constantly look over your shoulder and wait for the wrong thing to happen.
The Clippers going 0-2 down the stretch when they only needed to go 1-1 to clinch home-court could be the difference between an appearance in the Western Conference Finals and going home in the first round. As great as Oklahoma City has been this year, they’ve struggled against Flop City*, going 1-3 and losing the last two decisively. The Clippers have been very good at home this season and the Grizzlies have struggled on the road, especially against play-off caliber teams, and the opposite is also true. The Clippers have really struggled away from Staples and the Grizzlies can set the franchise record for consecutive home wins tonight if they beat Orlando.
Basically, the 4-5 match-up is always close because the two teams are evenly matched. In an even series, home-court becomes huge. With teams like the Grizzlies and Clippers involved, being at home is even more crucial. Memphis was 3-0 against the Spurs at home in the 2011 playoffs, and all three occurred in front of a raucous, sell-out crowd at the Bluff City. You can expect more of the same this year, with Flop City drawing even more of the home crowd’s ire.
The Clippers are still a very good team, and will have the best player in the series in Chris Paul, but their supporting cast has been all but invisible away from Staples and no matter how great Paul is, he will need someone else to hit shots and his best teammate, Blake Griffin, is still a work in progress offensively.
But we’ll deal with the Clippers eventually, because the Grizzlies still have one big game left and that’s at home tonight against the Orlando Magic.
The Magic have been a team in turmoil all season, and it’s mostly been traceable back to Dwight Howard. The talented big man is still one of the five or six best players in the game, but we saw some prima donna creep out this season as his bizarre “will he stay or will he go” saga hung over everything in the Magic Kingdom from the time the lockout ended until the present. Heck, a report came out Monday that Dwight was going to request a trade the second that the Magic’s playoff run ended.
The problem with the report, in my mind, is that Dwight was injured and had been injured for at least two weeks. He wasn’t even on the floor and was the biggest story around the Magic.
Almost on cue, my entire Magic game preview so far has been about a guy who won’t even be suiting up at the Forum tonight. Funny how that works.
Orlando, somewhat predictably, has been slumping since news that Howard would be lost for an extended period of time. They’re going to finish as the 6th seed in the east, but are only 2-6 without Howard. The 6 seed is almost a direct reflection of the good work they did with Howard in the lineup.
A discrepancy like that is stunning. Obviously, teams are better with their best player, that’s no mystery, but in this season we’ve seen Memphis and Chicago survive without their best players for extended stretches and not only survive, but even thrive. Orlando has fallen apart almost completely, and mainly because Orlando relies on Howard’s unique skills more than another other team in the league. Their entire franchise is built around him commanding a double-team and kicking to an open jump shooter. Without him, the Magic have trouble creating their own shot and there’s no need to talk about Orlando’s defense without Howard as he’s the best shot-blocker and rebounder in the league.
Quite simply, without Dwight, the Magic are one of the worst teams in the league. I’m basically telling you what you already know.
My Prediction:
Magic: 77
Grizzlies: 95
This is a huge game for the Grizzlies franchise. Too often we don’t realize how little there is to play for on the last night of the regular season, but that’s not the case here. Home-court is so vital to the Clippers and Grizzlies that it’s exceedingly possible that this Magic game tonight will swing the first round series before it even begins.
The Grizzlies have had trouble getting up for these games against mediocre teams down the stretch, but I don’t anticipate that being the case tonight as Memphis has everything to play for and will want to close the regular season out in a big way for what’s sure to be a packed Grindhouse on headband night.