- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Tipoff! — Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan will jump it up on Sunday night.
The playoff series that begins at FedExForum at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday will be quite the study in contrasts.
One of the league’s smallest markets vs. one of its biggest.
Grit and grind vs. glitz and glam.
The Western Conference’s top-ranked defense against the NBA’s fourth-best offense.
Of course, these teams have a few things in common too.
This series will also pit two of the most unfortunate franchises in league history. The Grizzlies, who hadn’t won a playoff game until last spring. The Clippers, who hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2006, which was also the only season in which they’ve made it past the first round since moving the California in 1978. One of those franchises will be advancing this season.
The schedule:
Game 1 — Sun. April 29th — 8:30 PM TNT
Game 2 — Wed. May 2nd — 8:30 PM TNT
Game 3 — Sat. May 5th — 3:30 PM ESPN
Game 4 — Mon. May 7th — TBD
Game 5 — *Wed. May 9th — TBD
Game 6 — *Fri. May 11th — TBD
Game 7 — *Sun. May 13th — TBD
Ten Questions and Attempted Answers:
1. The Grizzlies we know all about. [And if you don’t, check out my playoff-preview column from this week’s paper.] What’s the quick take on the Clippers as the playoffs start?:
I expected the Grizzlies to pass the Clippers for the fourth seed because of the differences in the two teams’ closing schedules, but I expected it to happen a lot earlier than it did. Though they stumbled in their last two games — both on the road against playoff teams, the last without Chris Paul — to open the door for the Grizzlies, the Clippers were impressive in the season’s final month or so. The Clippers were on a 14-3 run before the final two games, including taking both sides of a home/road split against Oklahoma City, winning at home against Memphis and Utah, and winning on the road against Dallas and Denver.
Though they lost veteran shooter/leader Chauncey Billups early on, the Clippers come into the playoffs with one of the most stable and cohesive lineups in the league. The current starting five — Paul-Randy Foye-Caron Butler-Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan — was the third most-used lineup in the NBA this season.
And they tend to stick to a nine-man rotation, the starters spelled by a couple of playoff-tested vets (guard Mo Williams and forward Kenyon Martin) and a couple of very untested kids (guard Eric Bledsoe and swingman Nick Young).
Stylistically, the Clippers are known for their highlight-ready lob dunks, but they’re actually a slow-paced team (25th in pace) built around Chris Paul’s pick-and-roll skills. They’re big and athletic up front and use that to excel on the offensive boards (4th in offensive rebound rate). They keep turnovers down (2nd in turnover ratio). And they’re good from long-range (5th in attempts per game, 12th in percentage). Defensively (18th overall), they’re vulnerable, especially from the outside, where they’re 27th in opponent three-point percentage.
