Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies, NBA Playoffs 2015: Series preview, schedule and prediction

The Trail Blazers will face an uphill battle against an opponent that has dominated them throughout the season.

Apr 17, 2015, 2:30 PM UTC

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The Grizzlies and Trail Blazers will battle in the first round of the Western conference playoffs in what promises to be an entertaining series between two very dissimilar teams. The Blazers' "flow" offense, characterized by crisp ball and player movement, will try to create enough holes in the impregnable Grizzlies' defense before Memphis' physicality wreaks havoc on Portland's interior defense. It will be a battle of styles between two squads that were among the West's best until injuries and untimely losses caused them to drop in the standings.

The Grizzlies finished second to last in three-point attempts per game and in the bottom third of the league in three-point field goal percentage. They still rely on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to dominate the paint and on Mike Conley to keep the offense going and attack the seams. In this matchup their disdain for the three-point shot could actually help them, as the Blazers' defense often surrenders mid-range looks to prevent outside shots, which plays right into Memphis' strengths. If Conley and Gasol are over their maladies, the Grizzlies could prove to be too much for Portland to handle.

The Trail Blazers were a much scarier team when they were healthy. The mid-season acquisition of Arron Afflalo had finally given them much needed wing depth and Nicolas Batum was rounding into form after a slow start. Unfortunately, Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles and Batum, Chris Kaman, Afflalo and C.J. McCollum are all going into the postseason with nagging injuries. LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard will have to carry the team and hope that clever scheming and a potent offense can be enough to beat an opponent that seems designed to counter Portland's strengths.

THE MATCHUP

Trail Blazers (51-31, expected record 53-29) vs. Grizzlies (55-27, expected record 50-32)
Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency: 105.5 | Grizzlies’ offensive efficiency: 103.1
Trail Blazers’ defensive efficiency: 101.4 | Grizzlies’ defensive efficiency: 99.9
Season series: 4-0 Grizzlies. Memphis completely dominated the Trail Blazers during the regular season, winning by an average of over eight points. Mike Conley and LaMarcus Aldridge missed a game each.

4 questions that’ll decide this series
We asked our Grizzlies site Grizzly Bear Blues and our Blazers site Blazer’s Edge to give us the lowdown on these two teams.

1. What is your team’s biggest advantage in this series?

Grizzly Bear Blues: The Grizzlies can definitely use their physicality against a hobbled Portland squad. Zach Randolph's brute force combined with his knack for shellacking his former team frames things nicely for Memphis.

Blazer’s Edge: LaMarcus Aldridge. He’s one of the few Trail Blazers that the Grizzlies haven’t packed up and mailed home to mama. Also he defends Zach Randolph fairly well.

2. What is your team’s biggest disadvantage in this series?

GBB: If Mike Conley has to miss any playoff games the Grizzlies will have Beno Udrih guarding Damian Lilard. The last thing Memphis wants is to let that guy get going early in the series.

BE: Defense. The shooting percentages of nearly every Portland wing shriveled against the Grizzlies this year. The shooting percentages of all those Grizzlies wings ballooned against Portland.

3. Who is the X-Factor that needs to step up?

GBB: Courtney Lee has got to start shooting and making more threes like he was back in November and December. Things can get ugly for the Grizzlies when there's no one making the Blazers pay for doubling and tripling Z-Bo.

BE: Nicolas Batum. He slumped all season but was horrible against Memphis, including defensively. Batum has to show something or the Blazers, already lacking Wesley Matthews and perhaps Arron Afflalo, will not make it.

4. What is your prediction?

GBB: I think a motivated Marc Gasol tips off the playoffs in similar fashion to how he tipped off the season: smoking hot. The Grizzlies should be able to glide through the first round of the playoffs in 5 games with Big Spain playing elite basketball.

BE: I don’t see how you could predict a Portland win with a straight face given injuries and a 4-0 regular season series sweep by Memphis, so let’s say somewhere between 4-1 and 4-2 Grizzlies. The onus is on the Blazers to turn the matchup radically. If Memphis keeps things going as normal, they’ll dominate. Caveat: if Mike Conley doesn’t play the door opens for Portland.