Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles (Clippers) – April 20, 2013
The Summary: The Clippers and Memphis have met in the playoffs consecutive times now, and we all know about the lead Memphis blew that lead to Clippers taking the series. There was no big lead to blow for the Grizzlies because the game was pretty close until the mid point of the 4th where the Clippers went on a run to close out any loss probabilities. The fourth had the front court doing work, where most of the points came from the paint and nobody on the Grizzlies could defend it. One striking factor in the game was how much LA out rebounded Memphis. 47 rebounds compared to Memphis’ 23, which weren’t helped by the Point-Center we love, Marc Gasol. We all love his passing ability and assisting but when you’re getting beat so much on the glass, it’s difficult to bare – you’ll get that later – and tough to beat a team getting many second chance points. Jerryd Bayless had 19 points to lead the Grizzlies but it really wasn’t enough to beat Paul’s 23 off of 7-11 shooting. Memphis’ game wasn’t terrible and it was a close game for the most part but if they can’t close out games, what’s the use.
How Memphis Can Improve: Rebound. That’s all. (This may seem like a lazy answer, but really, look at the numbers)
After Game One Series Prediction: Clippers in 6. I thought this was going to be a close series and would go to 7 games but after Game One I don’t see any hope for a series win over the Clippers.
Denver & Golden State – April 20, 2013
The Summary: Denver and Golden State went at it in Game One, probably the most exciting Game One this round and it has many interesting points to back it up. First off, Kenneth Faried did not play the game due to an injury/sprain that should be healed by Game Two. Now, onto the actual game where it was too close, even though the three point specialist Curry wasn’t hitting, his sharpshooting counterpart, Klay Thompson was. There were almost no big leads unless you count eight points as ‘BIG’, but really, no team overtook the other, no team slacked off defensively or offensively. There were a few bumps in the road such as Denver’s rusty looking 3pt shooting going for 18% from behind the arc but late in the 4th, Cory Brewer made two to keep Denver in the game. One tough patch for Golden State, though that may jeopardize the whole series for them, is the loss of David Lee, who went down grabbing his thighs and barely being able to run or walk after. David was one of the anchors for scoring and rebounding but with him gone; Carl Landry will have to fill that void. Back to the game, there was a dark-horse with Andre Miller, going under the radar and shooting 11-16 with a clutch lay-up at the buzzer to win the game by two. The overall flow of shots and scoring was even and Bogut had an overall good game for the Warriors leading the charge but Denver took them out 98-96.
How Golden State Can Improve: Curry needs to shoot better, Carl Landry has to pick-up the offense to where David Lee was at and Andre Miller has to be watched more closely so he pick apart their defense. Make sure they know what they’re up against when Faried comes back because he’ll light up the stat box when he gets in his zone, and it’s not good for the defenseless Warriors.
After Game One Series Prediction: Denver in 6. This will be a close series but with David Lee out it wipes out any chances of the Warriors passing the first round.
