The Morning Tip-Off

The Morning Tip-Off is where we scour the internet, to bring you all the San Antonio Spurs news from different outlets, all on one page. Here are your links for May 24th:

NBA Trends: How Western Teams Make Their Picks – CBS Sports

We’re in the midst of the 10-week period on the calendar that blends the basketball universes of the NBA and college hoops. It’s the systemic benefit to the draft: the event brings all us hoop lovers together. With that in mind, I wanted to look at draft patterns and trends — on both ends. How have NBA teams been selecting over the course of a generation? Which college hoops programs have earned the most draft selections? How has the foreign influx coursed during that period?

Spurs Always Find Help In Unexpected Places – Sports on Earth

At some point this weekend for the Spurs you’ll see a former second-rounder who couldn’t stick with the Cavaliers, an undrafted player forced to start his career in Europe, a flabby Frenchman who dealt with the indignity of being bought out by the Bobcats and a guard who was getting run in the D-League just three months ago.

This is what the Spurs are trying to win the Western Conference with, a small collection of rejects who somehow are in the rotation and collectively giving Tim Duncan a lift. Before you laugh or figure the Spurs are in deep water against the Grizzlies, understand this is how the Spurs win every year, turning another team’s trash into their treasure. This is who they are. This is what they do.

Conley: Parkers’ Playmaking Puts Defense ‘At Its Mercy’ – Project Spurs

“Well, on pick-and-rolls, they had such good spacing that it allowed him (Parker) to manipulate and move the ball different ways, get into the paint and draw-and-kick,” Conley said. “When you have a guy that’s able to create plays like that for other people, it really puts the defense at its mercy.”

San Antonio Spurs: Why These Spurs Will Win The West – Yardbarker

The Spurs also have players able to stop the majority of the Memphis attack. Danny Green proved against Stephen Curry, that he is more than able to cover the best point guards in the NBA and will get the opportunity to face another one, in Mike Conley. Duncan will effectively guard Marc Gasol, which is more than most can say and with a mixture of players, they should be able to keep Randolph from causing too much damage. They also have Kawhi Leonard on the perimeter to stop any player that may get hot throughout the series, even though the Grizzlies do not have a consistent offensive force on the wing. Basically, they can take anything the Grizzlies throw at them and if they are able to keep the Memphis attack at bay, their superior offense should be enough to win the series.

Parker Calf Tests Out Fine – San Antonio Express-News

An MRI on Tony Parker’s sore left calf Thursday revealed the bruise he suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals seems to be healing on schedule.

 Position By Position Breakdown of Spurs-Grizzlies – Bleacher Report

The San Antonio Spurs easily took Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals away from the Memphis Grizzlies. Yet, even after watching that disaster, one cannot rule Memphis out, especially since they went down in their previous two series and still managed to advance.