San Antonio won a close game four 87-81 over the Utah Jazz Monday night, joining Oklahoma City as the only teams to sweep their first round series. The Spurs dominated Utah in virtually every facet, winning by an average of sixteen points per game, including a 114-83 drubbing in game two. In typical Spurs fashion, each victory was a team effort, though Tony Parker stepped up with two big performances in games one (28 points, eight assists) and three (27 points, 6 assists). Manu Ginobili, who missed last year’s disappointing first-round exit due to an arm injury, was relatively quiet in limited minutes off the bench. However, the Argentina-native will certainly see plenty of playing time as the playoffs progress. Coach Gregg Popovich has consistently gone eleven-deep with his team throughout the season, utilizing a strong, young bench to give provide rest to Ginobili and fellow veterans Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. The Spurs now await the winner of what has been the most exciting series of these playoffs thus far between the Grizzlies and Clippers. Los Angeles, after a thrilling overtime victory in game four, leads the series 3-1 and will look to close it out Wednesday in Memphis.
Oklahoma City had a slightly tougher time handling the defending champion Mavericks in their opening-round series, but was able to get by Dirk and Co. behind some strong performances from their big three. Though Kevin Durant struggled from the field for most of the series, he was able to draw fouls on the Mavericks’ big men and get to the line consistently. Russell Westbrook also experienced some shooting woes, but played very well in games one and two, scoring 28 and 29 points respectively. However, it was James Harden who came through in the closing game, pouring in 29 points on 11-16 shooting to go along with five boards and five assists. Oklahoma City will likely face the Los Angeles Lakers (who lead Denver 3-1) in round two, a matchup that certainly has the potential to go seven games.
The third-seeded Lakers appear to match up well with Oklahoma City on paper and will certainly hold the advantage in terms of size. The Thunder’s front line of Kendrick Perkins and Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Serge Ibaka will have their hands full defending talented seven-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the paint. The Lakers will also welcome back Metta World Peace from his seven-game suspension for elbowing Harden during the teams’ final regular season matchup back on April 22nd.
As for San Antonio, a potential matchup with the Clippers would represent an “old school vs. new school” dynamic sure to produce some memorable playoff moments: The Spurs, who many believe may be making their final run at a championship during the Tim Duncan era, versus the Clippers – whose young core of Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan, Nick Young and Chris Paul are making their first trip to the playoffs together. Both clubs are extremely deep, particularly in the backcourt, and boast two of the best point guards in the league in Parker and Paul. The Griffin-Duncan matchup down low will also be interesting, as the Clippers’ star has struggled to effectively make post moves against savvy, physical defenders like Duncan.
