- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Rudy Gay got to his spots in Game 2. Will the Clippers adjust today?
Game 3 between the Grizzlies and Clippers begins at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Los Angeles. Before the tip, 10 things on my mind as the series moves West:
1. Grizzlies in Control?: While that whole “giving away Game 1” thing has imperiled the Grizzlies chances of winning the series, they’ve clearly looked like the better team through two games with the Clippers. The Grizzlies have controlled six of eight quarters so far, only faltering in that disastrously complacent Game 1 fourth quarter and in the Game 2 first quarter, where it took them a little while to adjust to the Clippers’ increased physicality. Through 96 minutes of basketball so far in this series, the Grizzlies have led for 80:08.
2. Defending Rudy Gay: With Caron Butler out with a hand injury and journeyman Bobby Simmons and slight scorer Nick Young as his primary defenders, Rudy Gay was very strong in Game 2. He missed his first three shots — a contested 17-footer and a couple of strong drives where lay-up attempts rimmed out — and was then 9-10 from the floor the rest of the game.
That opening shot was the only long two-pointer Gay took the entire game. Gay’s lone three-point attempt — his only miss from the mid-first-quarter on — came when Kenyon Martin switched onto him on a pick-and-roll and pushed Gay out with the shot-clock about to expire, forcing a 35-foot prayer. Gay’s other 12 shots — including a fastbreak lay-up attempt where he was fouled — all came within 15 feet. All game long, Gay used his size and strength advantage to drive or back down Simmons (against whom Gay was 4-7) and Young (a perfect 5-5) into the paint for a series of short jumpers and hooks.
