Tag: Mike Conley

Memphis blog brother respects Spurs’ historic accomplishments

 Memphis blogger Chip Crain ofprovided some blog fodder earlier in the Memphis series when he ranked Marc Gasol over Tim Duncan and Mike Conley over Tony Parker in some of his positional analysis.

After the way the series played out, Crain’s analysis was spot-on. Even with the strong history from the two key players in the Spurs’ foundation, he was correct that their Memphis counterparts now are better. They certainly played that way in the series.

In his post-series analysis, Crain has some about the Spurs.  He praised Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, Duncan and Parker, along with the Spurs’ organization. In the process, he almost proclaimed brisket as the equal of  the Memphis dry-rub version of barbecue.

But his most prescient comments came when he ended his commentary. It might be something for Spurs Nation to pause and reflect on as they get ready for a long off-season.

“The Spurs never gave up. They never acted immature. They held themselves to higher standard,” Crain wrote. “They showed the same class in defeat as they have shown in their victories in the past. I won’t lie and say I feel sad that the Spurs lost but I do feel honored to have seen such an excellent example of how true champions behave.

“This may one day be looked back on as the end of an era for the Spurs but I hope the way they handled themselves in both victory and defeat will be a lesson for the teams that come. Thank you San Antonio. You have shown our young team how to handle themselves in good times and bad. I can only hope that the Grizzlies handle themselves with the same class that the Spurs have done for the past decade.” 

Here are some other takes from my blog brothers after the end of the Spurs’ season.

  • Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell.com explains why he still would vote R.C. Buford as his NBA Executive of the Year, during the next several months. Varner also proclaims that the Spurs lost the Memphis series
  • Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.com provides a about the Spurs and after the Game 6 loss to Memphis.
  • Grego21 of Pounding the Rock.com relates that Zach Randolph’s domination of the Spurs was reminiscent of the kind of to the rest of the NBA.
  • Craig “Junior” Miller, a noted Spurs fan from way back  and a big-time radio host in Dallas, writes that he’s as Memphis did in the recent series.  
  • Tom Ziller of SB Nation.com details the reasons why the in recent seasons.
  • Secretchord53 of Spurs Dynasty.com relates how the last five minutes of Memphis’ Game 6 victory over the Spurs
  • SilverandblackDavis of Pounding the Rock.com gives us a detailed reflection of the Spurs’ past season, saying that surprising presents sometimes come arrived in .
  • J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.com writes why the Grizzlies’ series victory over the Spurs .  
  • Paul Eide of Hoops Vibe.com doesn’t expect the Spurs to once the NBA resumes play next season.
  • Wayne Vore of Spurs Planet.com writes that the Spurs’ improbable Game 5 victory helpedto the Grizzlies.  
  • Scrappy-doo of Pounding the Rock.com opines that despite back-to-back championships, the Spurs were a .
  • Josh Guyer of Pounding the Rock.com provides the for the Spurs’ Game 6 loss to Memphis.
  • Alleyoop of Spurs Dynasty.com provides a .
  • The Pro Sports Exchange provides its post-season wrapup on the . 

McDyess happy to make amends

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

In the two days that passed between Games 1 and 2 of the Spurs-Grizzlies first-round playoff series, Antonio McDyess had a difficult time getting out of a deep funk.

Limited to just 13 foul-plagued, ineffective minutes in the Spurs’ Game 1 loss, he took it personally. He was embarrassed, admitting he had been “manhandled” by Memphis power forward Zach Randolph, who scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

As McDyess walked out of the ATT Center after the Spurs’ 93-87 Game 2 victory, he managed a tired smile as he discussed a defensive performance that limited Randolph to 11 points and helped the Spurs get an important victory.

“When we lost that first game, I thought I was dreaming — a nightmare actually,” he said. “Me, personally, I’m the type of person I don’t want to see us lose any time we play, especially in the playoffs.

“They had manhandled us. They came out and did what they had to do the first game to get that ballclub a win, and they manhandled us, I must say.”

The Spurs’ oldest player got some encouragement from team captain Tim Duncan, who was just as dissatisfied with his own defensive work on center Marc Gasol in Game 1. Gasol scored 24 points in that one.

“We knew we had to do a better job on them,” Duncan said. “They obviously killed us last game. That was a big part of their win, so we took it upon ourselves to go out there and battle them a little tougher, make everything a little harder, and it helped.”

Randolph was limited to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and just five rebounds. After making 9 of 10 shots in the series opener, Gasol made only 2 of 9 on Wednesday, scoring just 12 points. He did have 17 rebounds, a Grizzlies playoff record.

“Tonight we came out with our minds made up to make it as tough as possible on them, and I think we did that,” McDyess said. “We had a chip on our shoulders.”

The Spurs’ interior defense turned the Grizzlies into a perimeter-oriented team, which worked in the Spurs’ favor when guards O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley missed 18 of 26 shots and small forward Shane Battier missed 6 of 7.

“The Spurs were very physical, and they attacked (Randolph) every time he put the ball on the floor,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “He had opportunities, but not enough to be effective.

“They did what they set out to do: They took the ball out of his hands.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said all the Spurs big men played better in Game 2.

“Well, Zach’s a great offensive player, and ’Dyess takes a lot of pride defensively,” he said. “?’Dyess did a good job. They just didn’t go down for Zach.”

The biggest relief for the veteran came when he scored on a layin off a slick pass from Tony Parker with 2:42 remaining. The basket gave the Spurs a six-point cushion.

“Man, I was thinking, ‘Antonio, you can’t make a shot, can’t make a layup, you got to make this one,’” he said.