Game Preview: Spurs v Grizzlies

The San Antonio Spurs play host to the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of the
Western Conference first-round playoffs, at AT&T Center on Monday evening. The
Spurs lead the series 1-0. The Spurs drew first blood in the series, as they
took Game 1 with a convincing 111-82 win. After a close first half, the Spurs
pulled away by outscoring the Grizzlies 59-33 in the second half. The Spurs shot
53.2 percent from the field, and held the Grizzlies to only 39.2 percent
shooting in the game. Kawhi Leonard came up huge in Game 1, with 32 points on
11-of-14 shooting, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, in 32 minutes.
LaMarcus Aldridge also fared well, with 20 points, six rebounds and two assists,
in 30 minutes. The only other player to score in double digits for San Antonio
was Tony Parker, who chipped in 18 points. Eight players came off the bench for
the Spurs in Game 1 and only three of them shot worse than 50 percent from the
field. The Spurs will certainly look for more of the same in Game 2 and could
even look to a couple of their bench players to carry a bit more of the load.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have to look to carry the type of play they showed in
the first half of Game 1 for a full 48 minutes. They certainly miss Tony Allen,
who went down with a strained calf in the last game of the season, as he is a
wily veteran that can help them maintain that concentration. Marc Gasol poured
in 32 points in Game 1, but the next-highest contributor was Mike Conley with
only 13 points. The Grizzlies will need to get a couple more guys contributing
at a high level in order to have a shot at stealing one in San Antonio.