- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- It’s been a Mike Conley and Marc Gasol series so far.
The Grizzlies return to Oklahoma City tonight for Game 5 and a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a win. The Grizzlies have come up short in two previous shots at road close out games, both in 2011 — Game 5 in San Antonio and Game 7 in OKC.
Can they do it tonight? Ten takes ahead of the game:
1. Uncharted Territory: The Grizzlies have already matched the franchise record for playoff wins with 7. One more would break new ground for the franchise. Over the past 10 seasons, only 16 of the NBA’s 30 teams have reached a conference finals, so it would not be an achievement to take for granted.
Out of curiosity, I jotted down how many conference finals each team has made since 1980. Here’s how it breaks down:
Lakers: 18
Celtics: 12
Pistons: 11
Spurs: 10
Bulls: 9
Suns, Jazz: 7
Pacers, Sixers, Thunder/Sonics: 6
Heat, Rockets: 5
Knicks, Bucks, Magic, Mavs, Blazers: 4
Cavs: 3
Kings, Nets, Nuggets: 2
Timberwolves: 1
Two teams haven’t been there since the 1970s: Wizards/Bullets and Warriors
That leaves six teams that have never made the conference finals: Grizzlies, Raptors, Bobcats, Pelicans/Hornets, Clippers, Hawks (who appeared in some “divisional finals” in the pre-conference era).
A Grizzlies-Warriors West finals would be pretty sweet.
2. Are the Thunder Ready to Break? I can only answer this crucial question with the existential response my three-year-old son now gives to every question we ask: “I can’t know.”
A 3-1 series lead seems pretty commanding, but every one of these games has been up for grabs in the final minutes. It won’t take much for the Thunder to rally on their home floor and force the series back to Memphis, where the pressure would even out with the Grizzlies trying to avoid a road Game 7.
Do the Thunder have it in them or is the trifecta of a 3-1 deficit, no Russell Westbrook, and squandering a big lead in Game 4 all just a bridge to far for this near-broken team?
3. “Clutch Defense:” The Grizzlies’ 3-1 lead can be largely attributed to late-game execution. Overall in these three wins, the Grizzlies have scored at a rate of 101.7 points per 100 possessions while yielding 94.5 points per 100 possessions. That’s good. But in “clutch” situations — defined as in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, when the scoring margin is within five points, and 19 of a possible 20 minutes in these three games fit that description — the Grizzlies offense has ticked up slightly (106.7) while the defense (64.2!) has been dominant.
