Apr 13, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) reacts during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Los Angeles Clippers defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 91-87. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden–USA TODAY Sports

The Clips shot the 10th most 3s in the league this year while the Grizz practically ignored them altogether. The Grizz could play 5 guys 40+ minutes, while the Clips go 9 or 10 deep.

Clippers probable starting lineup:

PG Chris Paul

SG Chauncey Billups

SF Caron Butler

PF Blake Griffin

C DeAndre Jordan

Billups’ minutes will be limited due to Father Time’s nagging injuries, but he’s said to feel fine. The Clippers have more quality depth than Memphis with Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Green and Lamar Odom coming off the bench.

The quickness of Tony Allen is likely to be wasted on Billups. An intriguing cross-matchup with Allen on Paul and Conley on Green, Crawford or Bledsoe when Billups ends up missing time could turn the tide for Memphis.

Grizzlies probable starting lineup:

PG Mike Conley

SG Tony Allen

SF Tayshaun Prince

PF Zach Randolph

C Marc Gasol

Z-Bo stands a chance against Griffin inside, but is likely to foul out if Blake can get him on the perimeter and try and take him off the dribble. Ed Davis could end up getting some significant minutes, which could be interesting, but letting Blake shoot 15-footers is a good strategy.

The matchup in the middle poses some serious contrasts, with Gasol’s mammoth, immovable presence inside and deft touch in the high post (for 13 million dollars this year) lining up against Jordan’s athletic and… dunking… blocking shots… fouling… (for 10 million dollars this year.)

Unlike the Eastern Conference’s 4/5 matchup of terribly slow and boring teams, this one has a highlight factory with depth and a serious defense with size — so you could at least argue they each would have a shot against the #1 seed next round.

I like the Clips’ depth and ability to hit the 3 and Memphis’ better frontline and coach, just not their ability to consistently hit shots.

Prediction: Clippers in 7.

Mar 18, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 92-77. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

The solid, consistent offense the Wolves ran to victory against the Thunder and the massive lull that took them out of the game against Memphis is well noted in Zach Harper’s recap of the Thunder-Grizlies back-to-back.

If you can stay even keeled throughout the course of a game, you’re almost always going to be in great shape to win that game. It’s hard for even the toughest teams to do because the peaks and valleys that occur in the NBA are so commonplace.

Against the Thunder, it didn’t happen to be a problem. Against the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night, that was the Wolves’ undoing. The final score makes the game look like a typical Grizzlies’ blowout of their lesser opponents, but really this was a highly competitive game. Without Nikola Pekovic and without Kevin Love, the Wolves had the daunting task of trying to handle the tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph inside. And I was actually quite impressed with what we saw from the undersized Wolves.

Not really rocket science; the Grizzlies are a punishing team to play against. Without your own bruising front line, you’d better pack a lunch.

Zach Randolph is one of the best low post scorers in the NBA and he was being guarded by Derrick Williams. Marc Gasol is one of the best overall big men in the NBA and he was being defended by Greg Stiemsma. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Impressively, it wasn’t a disaster at all. Z-Bo finished with 14 points on 11 shots and just seven rebounds. He didn’t have a single offensive rebound, despite leading the NBA in total offensive rebounds and being 14th in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage. Williams was physical with him, bodied him up whenever he needed to, and took advantage of his quickness to make up for his lack of strength.

Credit for Williams is tough for me to hand out. I feel begrudgingly admitting D-Will did a good job would mean I wasn’t doing mine (which has been complaining about Derrick Williams). But there it is, soo….

Gasol had a much better game than Z-Bo. He finished with 21 points on 12 shots, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocked shots. And yet, I thought Stiemer played him incredibly well. He played a career-high 40 minutes, scored efficiently, had a nice effort battling on the boards, protected the rim pretty well, and was disruptive most of the time. The Wolves’ frontcourt was able to hold their own individually with the Grizzlies’ bigs, and for much of the game the Wolves led.

And where was Derrick’s help defense on Gasol, hmmmmm?  There it is.

But the two moments that were the major deciding factors in this game happened at the start of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter.

For the first 5:17 of the third quarter, the Wolves held the Grizz to just six points on six shots and forced four turnovers. That’s an incredible start to a quarter against a team that is fighting for the 3-seed in the West and also boasts the best third quarter net differential in the NBA. The problem is the Wolves didn’t score during that first 5:17. Didn’t score at all. And that’s what Memphis does to you. They clamp down defensively, grit and grind (sometimes simultaneously), and they capitalize on your concentration lapses.

The second moment was the first 5:19 of the fourth quarter, when the Grizzlies went on a 16-2 run. This was fueled entirely by Memphis’ bench unit of Jerryd Bayless, Austin Daye, Quincy Pondexter, Ed Davis, and Darrell Arthur. It didn’t matter what the Wolves threw at them; they just managed the game perfectly and took down what was in front of them. Granted, there were moments in which the Wolves got good shots and just flat-out missed them. However, the bench unit for the Grizzlies took advantage of whatever favors they did for themselves or had done for them by the Wolves.