After failing to hold off the Rockets late in the fourth quarter the Memphis Grizzlies look to finish strong Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons.
The Memphis Grizzlies fought for three quarters against the Houston Rockets Tuesday night but ultimately suffered a devastating blow in the fourth quarter and lost 107-91.
Mike Conley didn’t play against the Rockets but there’s a chance he could be back in action on Thursday versus the Detroit Pistons and man do they need him.
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That’s not to say that Mario Chalmers isn’t an acceptable replacement at point guard but he can’t do everything that Conley does often for Memphis on both ends of the floor.
Chalmers is at his best playing off of the pick-and-pop and picking spots off the ball where he can spot-up to shoot. Conley on the other hand has no problem driving towards the basket and possesses better court vision which allows him to find open shooters off the dribble.
Simply put Conley is the Grizzlies’ best option driving the basketball and getting into the lane. Without him Memphis is left relying heavily on more inexperienced full-time orchestrators of the offense such as Jeff Green and Tony Allen.
Many have said before that Marc Gasol is the engine that drives the Memphis attack because of his versatility in terms of posting up near the basket and stepping away and playing from the high post. The Grizzlies can run their offense through Gasol because of his passing ability, outside shot and proficiency finishing at the rim. However he doesn’t have the ball handling and quickness that Conley has from the lead guard spot.
Getting Conley back would be Memphis’ best chance of beating the Pistons because Detroit has one of the best defensive big men in the NBA in Andre Drummond.
Drummond does everything a coach wants from a center. He rebounds well on defense (10.1 defensive rebounds per game) and protects the rim thanks to his freakish athleticism and leaping ability both allowing him to challenge shots from multiple angles. Drummond loves to roam the paint and look for block opportunities and he’s more than capable of sliding over and helping his teammates defend in the lane.
Gasol can bring Drummond out of the post area but he can’t distract enough of the defense with penetration like Conley can. Drawing a double team off the dribble is a key to beating any team with a dominant rim protector and mobile defensive unit. As long as guys like Green and Courtney Lee are hitting perimeter shots from Conley’s passes the Grizzlies have a great chance at cracking Detroit’s suffocating defense (ninth in opposing points allowed per game at 99.2).
If Conley can’t play then the focus shifts to Zach Randolph who’s still been productive (14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game) despite coming off the bench for a big part of this season. Randolph has had big games against the Pistons before primarily because Detroit doesn’t have any great options at power forward to bully Z-Bo out of his favorite spots.
Randolph can hit a mid-range shot just like Gasol and stretch the defense at times for Memphis. If Gasol or Randolph can act as that perimeter shot-making big for the Grizzlies then things become a lot easier for the rest of Memphis’ guys on the floor to drive and attack the defense (hopefully) without Drummond standing right in the center of everything.
In short, the most important key for the Grizzlies is getting the Pistons’ defense moving. If Detroit plays a set zone defense and exploit Memphis’ main weakness of outside shooting then the Grizzlies don’t have a large chance at winning.
A lot is riding on you, Conley. I hope you’re ready to go against a quality Eastern Conference opponent.