Written by Michael C. Wright at ESPN.com
The San Antonio Spurs blasted a shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies squad 106-74 in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs Sunday, giving coach Gregg Popovich his sixth postseason victory by 30 points or more.
Overcoming a slow first-half start, San Antonio nailed 10 of its first 11 shots in the second half to put away the game by outscoring the Grizzlies 33-14 in the third quarter to go into the final frame ahead 81-51. The sizeable lead sent the core group to the bench, as Popovich finished the contest with his most well-rested team after the opening game of the postseason, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
San Antonio’s starters combined to play 118 minutes, the fewest combined minutes for the group in a postseason opener since 2006, when the Spurs faced the Sacramento Kings. No starter played more than 28 minutes.
But an overabundance of rest won’t necessarily prove positive for the Spurs, who are now looking to catch a rhythm in the playoffs, after an odd combination of time off and injuries near the end of the regular season conspired to knock the team offbeat.
Interestingly, the Memphis Grizzlies might be the perfect opponent for the Spurs to strike the balance between rhythm and rest.
“Down the stretch, we did rest some guys,” Popovich said. “A couple of guys got a little bit banged up. LaMarcus [Aldridge] on his hand, and Boris [Diaw]’s groin. So it was a little bit more than rest. But they’re pros, and they’ve all been in the league a long time. It’s not a complicated job really when you think about it. It’s about competing and executing, and if you take a night off, I don’t think you forget how to do those two things.”
Perhaps so, but the case could be made that all the rest added difficulty to the San Antonio’s efforts to peak heading into the playoffs.
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