San Antonio Spurs Going For the Sweep

Fans are ready to bring their brooms out, because the San Antonio Spurs are going for the sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies in game 4.
Games 1 and 2 were blowouts, but game 3 was close up until the end. The Grizzlies were clearly able to feed off of their home crowd’s energy, and made it a more competitive game.
Role players typically play much better at home than on the road, and with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol absent, the Grizzlies are comprised of mainly role players at this point.
More from Spurs News
- Spurs show remarkable poise against Bulls, unlike many fans
- Devin Vassell is the latest in the Spurs’ collection of silent assassins
- San Antonio Spurs: 5 Players to avoid in any LaMarcus Aldridge deal
- Is Gregg Popovich hiding Luka Samanic as a secret weapon?
- San Antonio Spurs News: More DeRozan trade talk from Chris Haynes
The difference in game 3 for the Grizzlies seemed to be Zach Randolph. After abysmal performances in games 1 and 2, Randolph scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in game 3. His shooting percentage also drastically improved, as he shot 9-21 from the field. In the first two games, he shot a combined 8-30.
The Grizzlies appeared to have more success with their small ball lineup in game 3. Tony Allen started at small forward, and Chris Anderson was moved to the bench. Matt Barnes shifted to power forward and Randolph switched to center.
Along with Randolph, Barnes responded with his best game of the series. He scored 17 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.
Although the game was closer than the first two games in San Antonio, the Spurs still won by 9 points. Kawhi Leonard shot 6-9 from downtown and finished with 32 points.
No team has ever come from 3-0 down to win a series, and even if the Spurs don’t win game 4 to complete the sweep, they appear to be in good shape to advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Next: My Ballot For All-NBA Second Team
Extra rest is the ultimate luxury at this point, and look for the Spurs to be extra motivated to close out this series as quickly as possible to buy some time to relax and prepare for the next round.