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Next Day Notes: Game 3: Grizzlies 115, Trail Blazers 109

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Larry Kuzniewski

Mike Conley was great last night, but left the game after an elbow to the face.

Last night the first round series shifted westward to Portland, where the Grizzlies defeated the Trail Blazers 115-109 in Game 3. This was a much closer game than the first two between these two teams, with Portland getting a clear boost from being at home in front of their fans, from Damian Lillard finally showing up 

and having a solid (offensive) game, and from a scoring outburst from Nic Batum, who had 27, including 6-12 from three.

After a Game 2 in which Portland actually led after the first quarter (albeit only 21-19), it was surprising to see the Grizzlies come out and lock the Blazers down to the extent they did, given that this was bound to be an emotional game for the home team, when they’d give the Grizzlies the best shot they could possibly give them after two frustrating, short-handed losses in Memphis. The first quarter ended 24-19, but the Griz lead was larger than that for a long stretch, growing to 22-11 before a Portland 8-2 run in the last 2:34 of the quarter.

In what promised to be hard-fought game for the Blazers, they never led, and even with Arron Afflalo back—which did improve Portland’s offense, even though he’s clearly not 100%; Afflalo resorted to lots of post-ups, which usually drew fouls from Griz defenders too small to stop him that way—it just wasn’t enough of a difference to keep the Grizzlies from winning Game 3 just like the two before it, and now the Grizzlies have a 3-0 series lead headed into Game 4 on Monday, with a clear mission to prevent the series from requiring another game at the Grindhouse to be decided.

Game Notes

➭ The biggest story here has to be that Mike Conley is now even more hurt than he was before the game. He was playing a great game, taking on an increased minutes load in the absence of noted Blazer-killer Beno Udrih (who was out with an ankle sprain). In the third quarter, he took an elbow to the head from CJ McCollum (an elbow which didn’t look intentional—that is, he stuck his elbow out to keep Conley off him and protect the ball, not to jack Conley in the face, which is actually what happened). Conley was on the floor for quite a while and then went to the locker room with a towel over his face, and he was then “taken to a local medical facility for further review.”

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Conley has been playing hurt the entire series so far. Everybody’s heard by now about the foot injury that feels like he’s stepping on a golf ball every time he plants his foot. For him to now be playing through an injury to his face just feels like piling on—and yet if anybody is tough enough to play through this foot injury, this face injury, and probably also through having a bear trap closed around his left hand, it’s Conley.

But not just in this series, but in the next one, too (assuming the Grizzlies advance past Portland), Conley’s health is an issue. If he’s not able to play well, the Grizzlies are going to struggle, period. One hopes that whatever facial injury he suffered isn’t going to hamper his ability to play his best basketball.

➭ The flip side of the injuries to Conley and Udrih is that Nick Calathes played 26 very solid minutes last night. Calathes scored 13 points (including 2 of 4 from 3) and didn’t commit a single turnover, and generally did a great job of running the second-unit offense (and then the first-unit one after Conley went down) and keeping the Grizzlies on top. We knew when the Grizzlies signed Calathes that he was a big-time player in Europe, and after last year’s disappointing suspension, it’s great to see him in a high-pressure playoff situation actually out there playing with poise and composure—like a guy who’s played in a lot of big games before.

If Udrih is able to go in Game 4, and Conley is looking at having to wear a facemask or something, I think it makes all the sense in the world to just sit Conley for Game 4 and let Calathes and Udrih—both of whom have played very well against Portland—carry the Grizzlies’ point guard duties. Make Russ Smith active just in case. Keep Conley from having to play and let him sit there and look nice in a suit. If that option is available to the Griz for Game 4, I think they should take it.

Larry Kuzniewski

Courtney Lee continued his elevated scoring, putting up 20 points last night.

➭ Courtney Lee scored 20 points on 8 shots. That number is skewed somewhat by the free throw numbers from the intentional fouls by Portland down the stretch (Lee went 6-6 from the line in the last 3 minutes of the game) but still: when Courtney Lee reaches 20 points, no matter how he gets there, the Grizzlies are a much different and much more dangerous team.

Lee has been especially killer in first quarters for Memphis, starting the games off with a scoring outburst that more often than not has carried the team through some lackluster offense from the taller portions of the starting lineup. Gasol and Randolph have both struggled to score in this series, so Lee’s big scoring nights (he’s averaging 15.7 points per game in the playoffs so far, or, maybe more mind-boggling, 152 points per 100 possessions) have been a big boost to a team that, as always, needs as much offensive firepower as it can scrape together.

➭ Though it does feel like he’s played well—making smart plays and not trying to force anything that isn’t coming to him—it feels like we’re still waiting for a Jeff Green game. He hasn’t shot well in the series so far, but he has gotten to the free throw line a fair bit, but still: it feels like Green could be scoring more while he’s in with the second unit. He’s being somewhat aggressive, but it feels like if he were to push it a little more, the scoring opportunities would be there. Green is on the list of Grizzlies playing through injuries in the playoffs—he’s been suffering from back spasms for weeks now—but we’ve yet to see the kind of instant-Vine highlight dunk that Green has been reeling off all year long. I feel like those dunks are a good indicator of Green’s aggressiveness on offense, and I’d like to see him getting to the rim even more than he is.

Larry Kuzniewski

Jeff Green has been good but hasn’t had a breakout performance yet.

The Chess Match

One wonders what adjustments Terry Stotts and the Trail Blazers have left up their sleeves. Last night, they finally got big scoring nights from Lillard and Batum, and LaMarcus Aldridge still put up his now-customary 20, but he didn’t look good doing it, hitting only 6 of 18 shots. Aldridge has been playing hurt for months now, foregoing surgery on a torn thumb ligament to keep playing and keep fighting for the division title (before Kevin Durant went down and took the Thunder out of that race). It’s hampered his ability to move in the post, limiting his range of options, and certainly the Grizzlies know that and have taken advantage accordingly, but last night he looked worse than he has yet, struggled more.

Fortunately for Portland, Batum and Lillard finally got going offensively last night, and Arron Afflalo came back and played. Unfortunately for Portland, (1) that wasn’t enough to win them a game and (2) their defense is still allowing the Grizzlies, especially their guards, to do whatever they want whenever they want to do it. I’m just not sure what adjustment Portland could make to win the series other than “play much better defense,” and the truth is that they may just not have the personnel—either healthy or at all—to make that large of an adjustment this late in the game.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies might have to figure out how to beat Portland on the road without Mike Conley if they think they can buy him that much rest. I’m not sure they’d have to deviate significantly from their current game plan, but Conley has been spectacular on both ends of the floor in this series, and anything that takes him off the floor is a negative for Memphis, something to be overcome.

Everyone said it in the series previews, including me: health is the most important factor in this matchup, period. That was the prediction, and that looks like the way things are playing out.

Tweet(s) of the Night

Too many good ones to pick just one, on a playoff Saturday night. Matt Hrdlicka was actually in the building making this observation:

This is also exactly what I look like immediately after I post a new piece to Beyond the Arc:

The less we know about Marc Gasol’s training regimen, the better:

Up Next

Game 4 on Monday night, again at 9:30PM Memphis time. The Grizzlies have a very real chance to close out this series on the road, but Portland will be playing with nothing to lose, so it won’t be an easy win. If the Griz feel like they can get away with resting Conley in this one, they should. Either way, they’re sure to get the last, best shot the Blazers can give them, and though they’ve weathered every blow dished out so far, they haven’t seen true desperation from the Blazers yet. That will be Game 4. It won’t be easy, but if the Grizzlies get a sweep—the first in franchise history—and buy whatever extra rest they can, that’s the optimal outcome here.