The San Antonio Spurs are the first team to advance past the opening round in the 2016 NBA Playoffs after their 116-95 win on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Spurs vs. Grizzlies 2016 final score: San Antonio moves to second round with 116-95 win
The Spurs sweep Memphis, just like everyone expected.
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
More than any other first-round matchup, this series for the Spurs was merely a formality. Memphis' Grit-N-Grind propelled them to another playoff season, but injuries derailed their final month and sent them slowly coasting into the postseason like a car running out of gas on the highway. Without Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and others, San Antonio T-boned them with the intensity of an 18-wheeler before they could pull off the road. That's not Memphis' fault, but there simply wasn't much they could do.
On Sunday, the Spurs needed three quarters until they really turned the game into a blowout, but even their two-point halftime deficit felt like a double-digit lead with the way the game was going. San Antonio crushed Memphis, 37-21, in the third quarter, and, just like that, the series was all but over. For the game, Leonard led the Spurs with 21 points on just 10 shots while Tony Parker had 17 while shooting 11 times.
1. Long live the Grit-N-Grind
Even without their star players, Memphis ground every game against the Spurs into a slow crawl as frequently as they could. Games 1 and 2 weren’t close, but they made things interesting in Game 3, despite a roster almost completely foreign to the one the Grizzlies began the season with. It’s hard to predict which direction Memphis’ front office will take this team during the coming offseason -- certainly, a huge part of that depend on Mike Conley’s decision to re-sign or go elsewhere. But if the end of the Grit-N-Grind era comes to a close this season, however that happens, then what an era it was.
2. The Spurs could not be more rested
Every Finals contender wants to sweep their first-round opponent, and the extra rest is a huge part of that. Not only did San Antonio do that, though, but they were able to rest their stars during the games, too. The only Spur to average more than 30 minutes was Kawhi Leonard, and he just barely did that. LaMarcus Aldridge also played a little over 100 minutes, but those were the only two. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the rest of the Spurs roster all hovered around the 15 to 22 minute mark for the series, enough to keep them active and engaged without tiring their old legs out for their coming second-round series.
3. Thank goodness this series is over
The first round has mostly been a dud and none more so than this series, which had to be played but really served no purpose given Memphis’ injuries. As Sunday progresses, Cleveland could close out their series, with a couple more potentially series-closing Game 5s being played Monday. The second round is where the real drama of this NBA season lies, and we’re so close to getting there.
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