Wednesday, May 6, 2015

A Golden State surprise

Likely most, including yours truly, thought the Memphis Grizzlies had little chance of defeating the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the NBA western conference playoffs. The reasoning was obvious. Golden State had posted the best regular season record in the league, had home court advantage, and had blistered the Grizz by 15 points in Game One of the series. Everything was going as planned. The guys from Elvisville might win a game at home, but no way could they compete with the high-flying Warriors, replete with the Splash Brothers named Curry and Thompson.

Just prior to the actual contest, Stephen Curry was honored as the NBA MVP with the new Commish (Adam Silver, sometimes aka Mr. Peanut/Potato Head) doing the presentation. The crowd was in a frenzy over their hero. Surely their Warriors would roll.

But then something unforeseen happened. The Grizzlies weren't impressed. They came out and methodically controlled the game from start to finish to even up the series at 1-1. This was particularly notable because Golden State had only been beaten twice before during the entire season on their home floor. Once apiece by San Antonio and Chicago.

A fluke? Maybe. The Warriors could reel off three wins in a row to dispatch Memphis and move on to the western finals. Or maybe it was no fluke at all. On a night when most, likely including Curry himself, thought he would light it up, the Grizz had devised a risky strategy to neutralize him.

If nothing else, Curry is a superb ball handler and might just be the best shooter in the game these days. He can easily beat one-on-one coverage off the dribble to drive to the basket, or step back and knock down 3-pointers all night long. The ultimate double offensive threat.

But Memphis tried something different. Every time Curry was within shooting and/or driving range, they immediately double covered him. He couldn't penetrate and couldn't shoot. He had to give up the ball. That itself is not so unusual. Yet most teams will only "double" a player until he gives it up, then one of the defenders will rotate to guard another player. What WAS unusual was Memphis kept the double on Curry even after he had given up possession. The quick return passes to the MVP for an easy shot weren't going to be allowed either.

Of course, that left another Warrior player wide open. But Memphis had decided to negate Curry at all costs and take their chances elsewhere. If the other guys knock down the open shots -- so be it. But Curry was not going to get his usual 30 on this night.

And it worked, to perfection, at least for this one game. Golden State missed a lot of wide open looks and all the while the much more physical front line of the Grizz were beating them up in the "paint". A run and gun dunk-a-thon was not to be an option either. Come inside, and pay the price.

Memphis had a plan, if risky, and they executed it all game long. The result was a victory to improbably hand the Warriors only their third home defeat of the season. On Steph Curry's MVP night, of all things.

Sure, they have a few days off until Game Three, and all teams make adjustments from game to game. No doubt, head coach Steve Kerr and his Warrior coaching staff are all too painfully aware of what happened to give them their first playoff loss. The chess match is on.

Thing is, there's not a whole heck of a lot they can do about it if Memphis deploys the same strategy for the next game. Taking away Curry and packing the paint for one game worked, so why not do it again and see what happens on their own home court?

Could the MG actually pull off a series victory over the highly favored GS?  Likely not, but if they win Game 3 while frustrating the MVP again, things will definitely get interesting.

Idle thought: And if that happens in Memphis, what are the chances Elvis will be back IN the building for Game 4?











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