Games grades: Grizzlies vs. Spurs, Game 2
By Daniel Nicks
May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) passes the ball under the basket against San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (behind) in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT
It wasn’t pretty. It certainly wasn’t clean. Hell, you could even argue that it was downright ugly. But it was the brand of basketball Grizz fans have grown to know and love.
Memphis trailed by as many as 18 points with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but battled back to force overtime with sheer grit-and-grind.
Even so, a loss is a loss. And what good is losing unless we get to over-analyze and overreact to each players performance.
So with that in mind, here are my grades of each Grizz player in Game 2:
Tayshaun Prince: F
Sorry, Tayshaun. But not really.
Prince was absolutely retched from the field, shooting 1-5 on wide-open 15 footers and did absolutely nothing to help the Grizz in his 16 minutes. It’s harsh, yes. But I’m trying to have a standard here and his backup flat-out outplayed him.
Zach Randolph: B-
18 rebounds is outstanding, 7 offensive rebounds is ridiculous and 6-18 from the field is decidedly subpar.
He didn’t necessarily have a bad game and even found a nice rhythm in the fourth quarter, but his overall body of work – at least on the offensive end – was less than stellar. Plus, the fact he went 3-8 at the line and coughed up four turnovers didn’t do the Grizz any favors either. He needs to pull it together offensively if Memphis is going to turn things around in this series.
Marc Gasol: B
He was a foul magnet and his reluctance to look for his own shot continues to hurt the team. That said, he showed why he was deserving of this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award with
two
(the box score is lying, it was three) blocks and a game-high 11 defensive rebounds. He also posted a team-high four assists alongside Mike Conley.
Tony Allen: C+
So Tony Allen can’t shoot (2-11), but he’s definitely got a future in acting with what is now being referred to as “the flop of the century” and his effort effort alone won’t allow me to put his grade any lower – his four offensive rebounds and two steals can attest to that.
Mike Conley: C+
By Conley’s standards, this was a pedestrian game – especially after what we’ve seen from him so far this postseason. But the fact he managed to keep cool and keep his head in the game – even after getting into early foul trouble from a phantom foul call – is worth commending. He finished with 18 points (6-14), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot in 35 minutes.
Quincy Pondexter, Jerryd Bayless: B
Even though Bayless ultimately lost the game for the Grizz with an errant shot selection in overtime, they wouldn’t have been there without him, or Pondexter.
These two were critical in spreading the floor enough for Randolph to finally find his shot and Lionel Hollins may have found his go-to offensive lineup moving forward. Bayless finished with 18 points (7-18) and Pondexter with 7 points, 8 rebounds – including this poster over Boris Diaw.
*Players did not appear if they did play at least 15 minutes.
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