Rudy Gay forgets Spurs existed in awkward walk down memory lane

I'm all about being confident in oneself. I even enjoy the occasional "irrational confident" guy who says crazy stuff out of sheer belief in his abilities, but there's a line. That line is named the San Antonio Spurs, and Rudy Gay crossed it when he claimed that the Memphis Grizzlies would have beaten the Heat in 2013 had he not been traded before the deadline that year.

There's only one problem with that logic. The Grizzlies didn't play Miami in the NBA Finals that year. Tim Duncan and company had that pleasure. Memphis was dispatched in the Western Conference Finals with relative ease. San Antonio swept the Grit-N-Grind specialists who used toughness and defense to reach high points in the West. That didn't work on the Silver and Black.

The Grizzlies were dominated by the Spurs back then

My, how the tables have turned over time, but back then, San Antonio dominated that series. The Grizzlies were fortunate enough to take down the number one-seeded Spurs in the first round in 2011, and it was like a switch was flipped after that. SA was banged up entering that series, and the Lionel Hollins-led ball club took advantage, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.

It was painfully embarrassing as a fan, and it felt like the Spurs felt that as well. They swept the regular series against the Grizz the next year and split with them during the 2012-13 season that Gay is referencing. But there were caveats. They pulled off a three-point victory that took them overtime to claim. The two squads played again two games later and San Antonio blew their doors off by 21 points.

The last game Memphis won that season was by two points, and SA was without Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Duncan. Rudy seems to forget that he may have had one great game against the Spurs after Leonard joined the team in 2012. Unfortunately for him, he usually drew the attention of the Klaw, and we all know how stellar Kawhi was on defense at that time.

It's a nice sentiment that he believes that he would have made a difference in the series, but it's delusional to think that his presence alone would flip a sweep to a win for the Grizzlies. Anyway, after being swept in the playoffs, the Spurs swept them in the regular season series again the next year, and the bullying continued until Ja Morant showed up a couple of years after Kawhi left.

Those were good times.