Post by DiamondThief on Apr 15, 2015 19:47:40 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies
The fourth seed Portland Trail Blazers will face off against the fifth seed Memphis Grizzles in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Blazers won the Northwest Division. The Grizzlies, who finished second in the Southwest Division, finished with a better record (see below) than the Blazers and, therefore, have home-court advantage. The Grizzlies won the season series, 4-0. The teams have never met in the playoffs. The Blazers are led by forward LaMarcus Aldridge, guard Damian Lillard and forward Nicolas Batum. The Grizzlies are led by center Marc Gasol, power forward Zach Randolph and guards Mike Conley.
Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge; Grizzlies' Zach Randolph
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1 -- Blazers at Grizzlies - Sunday, April 19, 5 p.m. (KGW, TNT)
Game 2 -- Blazers at Grizzlies - Wednesday, April 22, 5 p.m. (KGW, TNT)
Game 3 -- Grizzlies at Blazers - Saturday, April 25, 7:30 p.m. (KGW, ESPN)
Game 4 -- Grizzlies at Blazers - Monday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. (KGW, TNT)
Game 5* -- Blazers at Grizzlies - Wednesday, April 29, TBD (KGW)
Game 6* -- Grizzlies at Blazers - Friday, May 1, TBD (KGW)
Game 7* -- Blazers at Grizzlies - Sunday, May 3, TBD (KGW)
* if necessary
RECORDS
Blazers -- 51-31 overall; 32-9 Home; 19-22 Away.
Grizzlies -- 55-27 overall; 31-10 Home; 24-17 Away.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SEASON RESULTS
November 30 -- Grizzlies 112, Blazers 99 (at Portland)
Grizzlies: Marc Gasol 26 pts; Zach Randolph 13 reb; Marc Gasol 10 ast.
Blazers: Wesley Matthews 26 pts; Chris Kaman 11 reb; Damian Lillard 9 ast.
January 17 -- Grizzlies 102, Blazers 98 (at Memphis)
Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge 32 pts; Chris Kaman, 11 reb; Steve Blake 8 ast.
Grizzlies: Zach Randolph 20 pts; Zach Randolph 15 reb; Marc Gasol 6 ast.
February 22 -- Grizzlies 98, Blazers 92 (at Portland)
Grizzlies: Marc Gasol 21 pts; Zach Randolph 9 reb; Mike Conley 8 ast.
Blazers: Damian Lillard 18 pts; Nicolas Batum 10 reb; Damian Lillard 7 ast.
March 21 -- Grizzlies 97, Blazers 86 (at Memphis)
Blazers: Damian Lillard 27 pts; Robin Lopez 7 reb; Damian Lillard 7 ast.
Grizzliles: Jeff Green 23 pts; Tony Allen 11 reb; Mike Conley 9 ast.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Damian Lillard, Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum.
TEAM STATISTICS OVERALL
Points - 102.8
Rebounds - 45.9
Assists - 21.9
Steals - 6.4
Blocks - 4.5
Turnovers - 13.6
FG - 45.0%
FT - 80.1%
3pt - 36.2%
TEAM STATISTICS VS. GRIZZLIES
Points - 93.8
Rebounds - 43.8
Assists - 20.3
Steals - 5.8
Blocks - 4.5
Turnovers - 11.8
FG - 40.5%
FT - 82.8%
3pt - 33.6%
ROSTER
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
INJURY REPORT
G - 4 Arron Afflalo (shoulder) - doubtful
G - 3 CJ McCollum (ankle) - probable
G - 2 Wesley Matthews (achilles) - out
F - 88 Nicolas Batum (knee) - probable
F - 33 Alonzo Gee (foot) - questionable
F - 1 Dorell Wright (hand) - out
C - 35 Chris Kaman (back) - probable
Injury status applies to game 1. Please check individual game threads for updated injury statuses.
REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
ANGI'S TAKE - BLAZERS
Portland is making its second straight playoff appearance and fifth in the past eight seasons. They defeated the Houston Rockets in a wild first round series last season, culminating with Lillard's buzzer-beating three in game six to send them to the conference semifinals where they would be eliminated by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. Portland has made the NBA finals three times, winning the NBA championship in 1977. The Blazers are led by their all-star duo of Aldridge and Lillard. Aldridge put off surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left (non-shooting) thumb to finish out the season. Lillard earned his second all-star bid. Matthews was a staunch defender and third option for the team until he was lost for the season with a torn Achilles in March. Batum struggled early in the season, but became more reliable after the all-star break. Lopez defended well inside and was a viable offensive option some nights. The story of this season could be the bench, which saw huge improvements from McCollum and Leonard. Kaman was exactly what the free agent doctor ordered, while Blake was a consistent distributor and defender. Freeland has emerged as one of the team's best defenders and Wright proved he is more than just a three-point shooter. The team was 8-0 with Crabbe as a starter. Trade acquisition Afflalo was still adjusting to the Blazers system when he went down to injury, but he should be back early in the series. Gee may be as good a defender as Matthews. Late-season signee Frazier averaged 8.5 assists in the last two games of the season.
FACT I
LaMarcus Aldridge led the NBA in field goals made with 659. He was third in attempts with 1,415.
FACT II
Steve Blake assisted on over one-fifth of Chris Kaman's made field goals.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
TEAM STATISTICS OVERALL
Points - 98.3
Rebounds - 42.6
Assists - 21.7
Steals - 8.5
Blocks - 4.2
Turnovers - 13.3
FG - 45.8%
FT - 77.3%
3pt - 33.9%
TEAM STATISTICS VS. BLAZERS
Points - 102.3
Rebounds - 46.3
Assists - 22.5
Steals - 8.5
Blocks - 3.3
Turnovers - 10.0
FG - 48.1%
FT - 69.6%
3pt - 50.9%
ROSTER
HEAD COACH
Dave Joerger
INJURY REPORT
Tony Allen (hamstring) - probable
Mike Conley (foot) - probable
Jeff Green (back) - questionable
Injury status applies to game 1. Please check individual game threads for updated injury statuses.
REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
ANGI'S TAKE - GRIZZLIES
Memphis makes the playoffs for the eighth time in their history. Each of those appearances have come since the team moved from Vancouver, B.C. in 2001. Last season, the Grizzlies faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, taking the series to seven games before falling to the Thunder. The teams combined for an NBA record four straight overtime games during the season; games 2-5. The Grizzlies won all but game 4 of the overtime matches. The furthest the Grizzlies have advanced in the playoffs was the Western Conference finals in 2012-13, when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Gasol can be a force at both ends of the floor and is commonly referred to as the top center in the NBA. Former Blazer Randolph excels at cleaning up the boards. Conley, whose injury may keep him out of games at the beginning of the series, is one of the better defending point guards in the game. Allen, whose injury status also is undetermined, excels at defense and can hit some shots. Lee is an exceptional defender who can be deadly from beyond the arc. Jeff Green brings the offense and can do some damage against a lax defense. Udrih, who will start if Conley can't go, has hurt the Blazers in the past. Carter is the veteran of the group and has a few drops of fuel in his tank. Koufos, who played high school ball with the Blazers' McCollum, is the back-up big man. Leuer and Calathes will see some spot minutes. Stokes, Adams, Smith and JaMychal Green will likely be called upon only in the event of injury, foul trouble or a blowout.
FACT I
The Grizzlies got out to a quick start during the regular season, winning 21 of their first 25.
FACT II
Zach Randolph is fifth among active NBA players in double-doubles with 439.
QUOTABLE
Blazers guard Lillard on the Grizzlies (via the team's official website): “They’re just a grind it out type of team. I think we’ve had a lot of games where we’ve played well and had the lead and then they just overcame us. There’s been games where they just beat us, there’s been games where we were short-handed, there’s been games where we just didn’t play well. They’ve beaten us four times this year; it’s tough to beat a team eight times.”
Grizzlies coach Joerger on the course of the season (via the team's official website): “By and large we’ve been pretty healthy and guys have been together a lot. Everyone’s on the same page. We came with a quick start; we had a good training camp and got off to a quicker start. You have room for error as the season goes on, just like if you had a quick start into a game. It’s a lot easier for me to sub in a position of strength than it is from being down and behind,”
FEATURED TWEETS
EXTRA
The guys at NBA Game Time take a brief look at this series.
Note: As with regular season games, we will have threads for each playoff game.
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