NBA Playoffs | Western Conf | Conf-Finals | (2) San Antonio vs (5) Memphis

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The Spurs finished off a tired, yet resilient Golden State Warrior team in 6 games. The contest seems to have been just the shock they needed to wake them up after their walk-through of a series versus the Lakers. Memphis on the other hand has scratched and clawed their way to a place I can’t imagine too many people predicted they might be – except perhaps newly minted VP of Basketball Operations, John Hollinger. The Grizz are rugged, whereas the Spurs have been much more graceful in their approach. Which team will be able to impose their will?

Keys to Victory – Defending the 3-pt Line
The Grizzlies have been pretty superb at defending everything thus far in the playoffs. However, the types of teams they’ve been defending in the first two rounds are most dangerous with ball-in-hand. The Spurs are most dangerous when the ball never touches the ground -- and they’ve been hot from 3 for a while. The Grizz will need to cool them off to come away on top.

X-Factor – Mike Conley
The Big-3 for San Antonio has been Ginobili, Parker and Duncan for quite some time. It’s a tried and true formula. We know what to expect. The Grizzlies have had their big-2 truly clicking throughout this playoff run – Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. If Conley can elevate his game like he did (and beyond) against the Westbrookless-Thunder, I think I’d give them a good shot.

Prediction – San Antonio in 7
As I stated up front, the Grizzlies are going to fight. It’s what they do. My big question-mark for them is whether or not they’ll be able to score enough points to keep pace with San Antonio. The experience of Pop. The savvy of Manu. The speed of Parker. And the Tim Duncan-ness of Tim Duncan. Seems too big of an ask for the Grizz in my humble opinion.