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NBA Playoffs, Grizzlies vs. Spurs: Split season series previews Western Conference Finals

2013-05-19T16:18:02Z

The Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs haven't exactly met one another with their current roster makeups. The trade of Rudy Gay from the Grizzlies came after three of those games, and in the series finale the Spurs held out Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. But if their season series is any indication, the Western Conference Finals matchup that begins Sunday could be quite the nailbiter.

The two teams split their four contests — two went into overtime, two ended with a margin of a single possession and two included buzzer-beating shots.

A Game 1 of the playoff battle could include a great deal of feeling one another out, but the trend over the regular season included big games from Tony Parker -- he averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 assists per game against Memphis this year -- and enough San Antonio defense to limit Memphis' big men. Nonetheless, Memphis had enough elsewhere to pull out two games.

Here's how the regular season series went down.

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Dec. 1, 2012

The Grizzlies visited San Antonio in the series opener between the two teams. The Spurs were coming off their nationally-televised appearance against the Miami Heat that cost the club $250,000 for sending Duncan and Tony Parker home to rest, and the fresh-legged duo combined for 57 points in a 99-95 overtime victory. It was the worst shooting games for each team in the season series as neither shot above 42 percent.

Jan. 11, 2013

In another overtime contest, the Grizzlies pulled out a 101-98 home win to stave off a big game from Parker. The Spurs point guard scored 30 points and hit a 27-foot jumper at the end of regulation to force overtime. But that's where Gay took over. He hit the go-ahead jumper with 27 seconds left in overtime and Memphis held San Antonio to a single three-pointer in the extra period. The Grizzlies surprisingly scored 19 fastbreak points in the victory, a sign that the usually-apprehensive tempo of Lionel Hollins' team could find success against the Spurs in the right spots.

Jan. 16, 2013

Memphis' heads must have gotten bloated from the Jan. 11 victory against the Spurs. They lost to the Dallas Mavericks by 21 points the next night, fell by 26 points to the Los Angeles Clippers two days after that, then made a trip to Texas where they lost 103-82. Memphis scored only 28 points in the second half, its big man duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for just eight boards and the team scored a measly 26 points in the paint. Part of that was due to Duncan, who scoured the paint to record five blocks. San Antonio shot 58 percent from the floor in the rout.

April 1, 2013

The only game played after Gay was traded to Toronto went in Memphis' favor. The Spurs kept it close without Duncan, Ginobili and Leonard, but the Grizzlies won 92-90 on a Mike Conley driving layup with 0.6 seconds left. On another night where Gasol and Randolph put in lackluster scoring efforts, the Grizzlies got help elsewhere. Tayshaun Prince had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals and Jerryd Bayless scored 17 off the pine to push Memphis over the top.

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NBA Draft Combine 2013: Solomon Hill talks to the Arizona Republic

2013-05-16T23:07:12Z

Solomon Hill discusses what he must prove at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

Kevin Durant says Thunder's season wasn't a waste

2013-05-16T22:49:12Z

The Oklahoma City Thunder's 2012-13 season was disappointing. Expectations were high for Kevin Durant and his crew coming off a NBA Finals appearance, but once Russell Westbrook went down with an injury, the roster was shaken.

The Thunder got past the Houston Rockets in the first round but fell in five games to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals. Durant, who struggled to carry the load, isn't about to forget about the year, reports DailyThunder.com.

"Nothing is ever wasted," Durant said. "Of course the ultimate goal in this league is to win a championship. But I'm never going to say I wasted a year. I'm blessed to even wake up and do something I love every day. So it's never wasted. We take that for granted a lot."

Nevertheless, the blame game will begin. Scott Brooks at times struggled to find a fixed rotation as he looked for answers in filling in Westbrook's role. Meanwhile, Serge Ibaka struggled to step into a No. 2 role, Kevin Martin had consistency issues coming off the bench and Kendrick Perkins failed to make a mark against the Grizzlies frontline led by Marc Gasol.

So much of the blame has targeted the Thunder's leader. Durant shot 10-for-27 in his second-to-last game and finished the season with a 5-for-21 shooting performance in the elimination contest. Durant told DailyThunder.com he was exhausted by the end of the series with Memphis, but he's not about to change how he goes about things.

"I don't give a damn. I'm going to be who I'm going to be," Durant said. "I'm not Kobe Bryant. I'm not Michael Jordan. I'm not LeBron James. I'm not Magic Johnson. I'm me. I'm not ever going to compromise myself and my integrity and what I believe in for winning some basketball games or winning a championship."

The Thunder enter the offseason with questions despite what should be a renewed hope of a championship run next season behind Durant and a healthy Westbrook. Among other things, Martin comes off the books and the team will be looking to either re-sign him or fill in his sixth-man role.

Most importantly, though, is how much Durant takes from this disappointing outcome.

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George Hill injury: Pacers guard out with concussion for Game 5

2013-05-16T22:44:36Z

Point guard George Hill was ruled out of Game 5 of the the Indiana Pacers-New York Knicks Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday due to a concussion, according to the team . Hill reportedly suffered a concussion in Game 4, a 93-82 win against the Knicks on Tuesday.

The Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells reports that Hill's injury was sustained via a hit to the head by New York center Tyson Chandler in the first quarter of Game 4. The point guard told the team he was suffering from a headache after the team's shootaround on Thursday and then failed concussion tests.

The news couldn't come at a worse time for the Pacers. Leading the Knicks 3-1 heading to Madison Square Garden, the Pacers had Hill humming during Game 4. He was putting up his best performance of the postseason by scoring 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting and was also played a big role in limiting Knicks point guard Raymond Felton.

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During the playoffs, Hill has averaged 16 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Backup D.J. Augustin will take Hill's spot in the starting lineup. He is averaging 6.6 points per game during the Pacers' postseason run.

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NBA Playoffs 2013, Spurs vs. Warriors Game 6: Time, TV schedule, odds and more

2013-05-16T20:20:45Z

The Golden State Warriors have been the surprise story of this year's playoffs, upsetting the Denver Nuggets in the first-round and playing the San Antonio Spurs to a draw for most of their thrilling second-round series. However, it could all be over on Thursday, as the Warriors head back to the Oracle Arena down 3-2 and facing elimination.

No one predicted Golden State would make it this far at the beginning of the season, but a moral victory would offer them few consolations if they lose in Game 6. Were it not for their dramatic 16-point collapse at the end of Game 1, the Warriors would likely have been the ones poised to move on to the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs, on the other hand, don't want to extend this series any further, not with a dangerous Memphis Grizzlies team watching from home. San Antonio needs to wrap up this series and get their older players rest before what would likely be a long, drawn-out blood bath against a bruising Memphis frontline.

Can San Antonio continue to harass Curry and Thompson?

Some of it could be heavy legs, but the lack of production from the Warriors backcourt in Game 5 could very well be a defensive battering by the Spurs. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry shot 6-of-22 for 13 combined points as Gregg Popovich sent different bodies at the duo. For the first time this entire season, Thompson didn't get off a three-point shot -- he averages 6.4 attempts per game during the regular season and five per game in the playoffs -- and Curry went 1-for-7.

San Antonio is locking down on the backcourt, and Golden State needs to create different opportunities for the duo in this chess match.

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Does Bogut make the most of his time?

The Warriors' interior game isn't going to put up gaudy numbers, but they need Andrew Bogut to especially be invested in the game. Staying out of foul trouble is key. In the Warriors two wins and even in the Game 1 overtime loss, he was involved and played good enough minutes to make a difference. While he's banged up, Bogut getting the most out of his limited floor time will help a Golden State team without much else in terms of interior defense.

Will Mark Jackson and the crowd push Golden State?

The Warriors, unlike many young teams, have responded following each loss of the series. Battered and bruised, they'll need to do it one more time with the rowdy crowd behind them. Coach Mark Jackson's message has been to equal the cagey Spurs, but an 18-point loss in Game 5 could have been the breaking point.

San Antonio shot a healthy 51.9 percent from the floor and got contributions across the board as unselfish play turned into redhot shooting. The Spurs' confidence reached a high, and the Warriors must come out in attack mode to truly cut off their opponents momentum entering Game 6.

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Odds: The Warriors opened as one-point favorites, according to OddsShark.com.

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Adam Silver: 'We fully expect we'll return' to Seattle in future

2013-05-15T22:57:36Z

With the NBA Board of Governors' decision Wednesday not to allow the Sacramento Kings' relocation to Seattle, commissioner David Stern and future commissioner Adam Silver said the league will keep the city in mind down the road.

"We fully expect to return there one day," Silver, who will take over for Stern after this season, said of Seattle.

The league wasn't put off by the aggressive nature of the Seattle groups' push to land an NBA franchise, and Stern added there were "generalized" talks of expansion in the board of governors meeting. He said there would be "fair dealing" and "consideration" for Seattle as an eventual place for an NBA team, but that wouldn't be a discussion until after the league finalizes its TV contracts set to expire after the 2015-16 season.

The league is expected to enter into deep negotiations about new TV rights deals this summer, Sports Business Daily reported earlier this week.

Stern called Wednesday's vote a win for Sacramento, not the NBA -- the decision was to keep the Kings in Sacramento, not to short-change the city of Seattle. The 22-8 vote against relocation ended an agreement between the current owners, the Maloof family, and the Seattle-based ownership group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen.

After the Seattle group raised the offer that put the valuation of the franchise at what would have been a record $625 million this week, Stern said that it did nothing wrong. Sacramento had an advantage because of its incumbency.

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NBA Board of Governors votes to keep Kings in Sacramento

2013-05-15T22:21:19Z

The NBA's Board of Governors voted against the sale and relocation of the the Sacramento Kings franchise to a Seattle ownership group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, David Stern confirmed Wednesday. In order for the franchise to relocate, a majority vote was required, and the outcome was expected.

"We will talk to the Maloofs and seek, in the next 24 to 48 hours, whether we can help facilitate an agreement to be signed between the [prospective Sacramento ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive] and the group for the sale of the franchise in Sacramento," Stern said in a press conference televised on NBATV.

The NBA's relocation committee on April 29 unanimously recommended that the league not move the Kings from Sacramento. Members of a finance committee -- also composed NBA owners -- upheld that belief.

The vote against relocation was 22-8.

In a separate vote, support from three-fourths of the Board of Governors were needed to approve a sale. ESPN's Marc Stein reports representatives of the 30 NBA teams were also against the sale to the Seattle-based group.

Now it's a matter of whether the current Kings owners, the Maloof family, will be willing to sell the team to the Sacramento-based group led by Ranadive. They had an agreement in place with the Seattle group and had been adamant about seeing the original deal through.

Though the Maloof family has only been negotiating with the group led by Hansen and Ballmer, co-owner George Maloof told the Sacramento Bee he's never said he wouldn't consider doing business with the Ranadive-led group of bidders, should the Seattle possibility fall through. Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson also said he has no reason to suspect the Maloofs wouldn't be willing to reach an agreement.

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Johnson, a former NBA point guard, has led the charge to keep the team in town. The Sacramento-based group headlined by Ranadive, a tech executive, countered the Seattle group's offer of $341 million to buy 65 percent of the franchise. Sources told the Sports Business Journal that Ranadive's group made several concessions to the NBA before the relocation committee meeting. The biggest was offering to limit the Kings' shared revenue intake that is given to small-market teams, and the Sacramento group also reportedly promised to completely cut ties from the revenue-sharing program once the franchise moved into the proposed downtown arena.

Since, the Seattle group upped the bid of the 65-percent share to $406 million -- that would make the total valuation of the franchise a record $625 million.

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Dwyane Wade injury: Heat star will play in Game 5

2013-05-15T21:56:08Z

Guard Dwyane Wade will "give it a go" on Wednesday night as his Miami Heat attempt to eliminate the Chicago Bulls and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, according to CSN Chicago's Aggrey Sam. Wade came into Game 5 listed as day-to-day because of ongoing knee issues.

In the playoffs, Wade has averaged 12.3 points and shot 43.9 percent from the floor. He has played in seven of the eight playoffs games, but was held in Game 4 of the Heat's opening series against the Milwaukee Bucks. With a sweep, Miami gave Wade ample rest, and he fared much better in the first three games of the Chicago series, shooting 55.9 percent.

But in Game 4 on Monday, Wade struggled by hitting 3-of-10 shots from the floor. He ran into Bulls forward Jimmy Butler in the second quarter and reinjured the knee that has been plagued by more than one bone bruise. The issue has been bothering Wade for about two months now, and it kept him from playing in a number of games toward the end of the regular season.