Former Kia MVPs Stephen Curry and LeBron James collide in a potentially climactic Play-In clash.
The 2021 postseason is finally here. And before we get to the playoffs, we begin with the Play-In, four teams in each conference playing for the final two spots in the first round.
In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will play Wednesday (10 ET, ESPN) for the No. 7 seed and a series with the Phoenix Suns. The Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs will face each other earlier Wednesday (7:30, ESPN) for the right to stay alive for at least one more game. The winner of Grizzlies-Spurs will face the loser of Lakers-Warriors on Friday. And the winner of that game will advance as the eighth seed to face the first-place Utah Jazz in a best-of-seven first-round series.
Before the games tip off, here are some statistical notes to get you ready for the No. 7-8 and No. 9-10 games in the West, with links to let you dive in and explore more.
Pace = Possessions per 48 minutes
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions
Los Angeles Lakers (42-30)
Despite an injury-riddled season, Anthony Davis and the Lakers still managed to be the best defensive team in the league.
Pace: 98.9 (21)
OffRtg: 109.8 (24)
DefRtg: 106.8 (1)
NetRtg: +2.9 (8)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. Golden State: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Lakers notes — General:
1. Saw the league’s sixth biggest drop in winning percentage (-0.149) and its eighth biggest drop in point differential per 100 possessions (-2.7).
2. Were 30-15 with LeBron James and 12-15 without him.
3. Only team with a top-five mark in clutch winning percentage in each of the last two seasons. Were 21-14 (fifth best) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes (13-6 with LeBron James) this season.
Lakers 2020-21 shot profile
| Area | FGM | FGA | FG% | Rank | %FGA | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 1,391 | 2,074 | 67.1% | 7 | 33% | 6 |
| Other paint | 407 | 982 | 41.4% | 21 | 16% | 22 |
| Mid-range | 333 | 895 | 37.2% | 28 | 14% | 10 |
| Corner 3 | 213 | 585 | 36.4% | 24 | 9% | 11 |
| Above-break 3 | 581 | 1,652 | 35.2% | 19 | 27% | 23 |
%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts
Lakers notes — Offense:
1. Saw the league’s fourth biggest drop (-1.9) in points scored per 100 possessions, from 111.7 (11th) last season to 109.8 (24th) this season.
2. 79% of their 3-point attempts, the league’s highest rate, were catch-and-shoot attempts. Ranked last in effective field goal percentage on pull-up jumpers (40.5%).
3. Were the league’s slowest moving team on offense, averaging 4.24 miles per hour. Ranked fifth in ball movement (345 passes per 24 minutes of possession), but 30th in player movement (10.5 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession).
Lakers four factors:
| Own/Opp. | eFG% | Rank | FTA Rate | Rank | TO% | Rank | OREB% | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own | 53.6% | 18 | 0.271 | 6 | 15.2% | 28 | 26.9% | 14 |
| Opponent | 52.6% | 5 | 0.237 | 11 | 15.2% | 4 | 25.2% | 7 |
eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained
Lakers notes — Defense:
1. Led the league in points allowed per 100 possessions for the first time in 21 years (since the 1999-00 seasons). Were the first LeBron James team to rank first defensively.
2. Were just a few opponent free throw attempts short of ranking in the top 10 in all of the four factors on defense. The last team to do so was the 2016-17 Spurs.
3. Allowed a league-low 1.04 points per possession in transition, down from 1.10 (13th) last season.
Lakers notes — Lineups:
1. Were 19-8 with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis and outscored their opponents by 11.2 points per 100 possessions with both on the floor, better than their mark of +8.0 (in more than twice as many minutes) last season.
2. The Lakers were 11.1 points per 100 possessions better with James on the floor (+9.2) than they were with him off the floor (-1.9). That was the tied for the fifth biggest differential among 233 players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team.
3. 37% of their scoring, the league’s second highest rate, came from reserves.
Lakers notes — Individuals:
1. Among 230 players with at least 100 field goal attempts in the paint and at least 100 field goal attempts outside the paint, Anthony Davis had the third biggest difference between his field goal percentage in the paint (64.1%) and his field goal percentage outside the paint (31.8%). LeBron James had the fourth biggest difference (68.0% vs. 36.5%).
2. Andre Drummond led the league in defensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 33.6% of available defensive boards while he was on the floor. He’s ranked in the top four in total rebounding percentage in each of his nine seasons in the league.
3. Marc Gasol is the only player who played at least 400 total minutes (378 players total) without registering a single fast break point.
4. Montrezl Harrell scored 1.43 points per possession as a roll-man, the best mark among 37 players with at least 100 roll-man possessions.
5. Harrell tied for the league lead with 22 drawn charges.
6. James shot 75.6% in the restricted area, the second best mark among 54 players with at least 250 restricted-area attempts. He took less than half of his shots in the paint (47%) for the first time in the last six seasons and, for the third straight season, he set a new career high for 3-point rate (34.6% of his shots).
7. James (13-for-32, 40.6%) is one of three players who shot better than 40% on at least 30 clutch 3-point attempts. He shot just 3-for-8 on clutch free throws.
8. James and Davis averaged 3.58 and 3.67 miles per hour, the slowest and fourth slowest rates among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes, respectively.
9. Kyle Kuzma averaged just 0.8 deflections per 36 minutes, fifth fewest among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
10. Dennis Schroder led the league with 1.4 secondary assists per game.
Golden State Warriors (39-33)
Golden State’s strength hasn’t been on offense, but defense this season.
Pace: 102.8 (3)
OffRtg: 110.5 (20)
DefRtg: 109.4 (5)
NetRtg: +1.1 (15)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. Lakers: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Warriors notes — General:
1. Were the league’s most improved team, both in regard to winning percentage (+0.311) and point differential per 100 possessions (+9.7).
2. Saw the league’s fourth biggest jump in pace, from 101.0 possessions per 48 minutes (15th) last season to 102.8 (third) this season. Ranked last in time of possession (19.5 minutes per game).
3. Had the league’s biggest home-road differential, both for winning percentage (25-11 at home, 14-22 on the road) and for point differential per 100 possessions (+5.1 at home, -3.0 on the road).
Warriors 2020-21 shot profile
| Area | FGM | FGA | FG% | Rank | %FGA | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 1,222 | 1,824 | 67.0% | 8 | 29% | 21 |
| Other paint | 413 | 979 | 42.2% | 16 | 15% | 24 |
| Mid-range | 293 | 763 | 38.4% | 23 | 12% | 17 |
| Corner 3 | 250 | 620 | 40.3% | 12 | 10% | 9 |
| Above-break 3 | 794 | 2,145 | 37.0% | 8 | 34% | 5 |
%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts
Warriors notes — Offense:
1. Saw the league’s third biggest jump (+6.0) in points scored per 100 possessions, from 104.4 (30th) last season to 110.5 (20th) this season.
2. Ranked third in assist percentage, recording assists on 67.0% of their field goals. Led the league with 4.5 secondary assists per game and ranked last in average seconds per touch (2.73).
3. Had the league’s smallest differential between their catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage (38.0%, 13th) and their pull-up 3-point percentage (37.4%, second).
Warriors four factors
| Own/Opp. | eFG% | Rank | FTA Rate | Rank | TO% | Rank | OREB% | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own | 55.1% | 7 | 0.239 | 20 | 14.6% | 24 | 22.2% | 30 |
| Opponent | 52.2% | 4 | 0.286 | 29 | 14.6% | 7 | 27.3% | 22 |
eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained
Warriors notes — Defense:
1. Saw the league’s second biggest drop (-3.5) in points allowed per 100 possessions, from 113.0 (26th) last season to 109.4 (fifth) this season.
2. Were one of three teams – New York and Utah were the others – that ranked in the top five in both opponent field goal percentage in the paint (56.4%, fourth) and opponent effective field goal percentage on shots from outside the paint (50.0%, fifth).
3. Ranked 28th in clutch defense, allowing 119.8 points per 100 possessions with the score within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Warriors notes — Lineups:
1. Were outscored by 7.3 points per 100 possessions in 423 minutes with Curry, Green and James Wiseman on the floor together, but outscored their opponents by 11.6 per 100 in 1,314 minutes with Curry and Green on the floor without Wiseman.
2. Latest starting lineup – Curry, Bazemore, Wiggins, Green and Looney – recorded assists on 73.6% of its field goals, the second highest rate among 30 lineups that played at least 200 minutes.
3. Were 10.5 points per 100 possessions better with Green on the floor (+5.4) than they were with him off the floor (-5.1). That was the seventh biggest differential among 233 players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team. Curry had the 10th biggest (10.2 per 100).
Warriors notes — Individuals:
1. Kent Bazemore had an effective field goal percentage of 61.2% at home and just 48.0% on the road. That was the fourth biggest home-road differential among 235 players with at least 150 field goal attempts both at home and on the road.
2. Stephen Curry led the league in scoring at a career-high 32.0 points per game. His 11.4 points per game in the third quarter were 1.4 more than any player has averaged in any quarter in the 24 seasons for which by-quarter stats have been tracked.
3. Curry scored 1.13 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, the best mark among 43 players with at least 300 ball-handler possessions.
4. Curry shot 30-for-31 (96.8%) on clutch free throws, the best mark among 26 players who attempted at least 25.
5. Draymond Green ranked fourth in both assists per game (8.9) and steals per game (1.7). He had 194 assists to Curry, 51 more than any other player had to a single teammate.
6. Opponents shot 47.3% at the rim when Green was there to protect. That was the best rim-protection mark among 72 players who defended at least 200 total shots at the rim. He also allowed just 0.46 points per possession on isolations, the best mark among 86 players who defended at least 50, according to Synergy tracking.
7. Kevon Looney accounted for just 9.1% of the Warriors’ field goal attempts while he was on the floor, the third lowest rate among 362 players who played at least 500 minutes. Juan Toscano-Anderson (10.4%) and Green (10.4%) had the 10th and 11th lowest rates, respectively. Curry had the second highest rate (34.0%).
8. Mychal Mulder attempted 214 3-pointers and just two mid-range shots. That (107/1) was the highest ratio of 3-point attempts to mid-range attempts among 201 players with at least 200 total field goal attempts from outside the paint.
9. Jordan Poole had an effective field goal percentage of 53.5%, up from 40.6% last season. That was the biggest jump among 250 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons. Damion Lee saw the third biggest jump (from 50.0% to 60.8%).
10. Andrew Wiggins was one of eight players with at least 60 total steals and 60 total blocks.
11. Wiggins shot 37.3% from mid-range, the worst mark among 18 players with at least 200 mid-range attempts.
Lakers-Warriors regular season matchup
Warriors, Lakers to battle in Play-In Tournament
LeBron James and Anthony Davis facing off against Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. This showdown could be fun ... and special.
• Warriors 115, Lakers 113 (Jan. 18 @ Los Angeles)
• Lakers 117, Warriors 91 (Feb. 28 @ Los Angeles)
• Lakers 128, Warriors 97 (March 15 @ Golden State)
Pace: 104.2 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes
Boston OffRtg: 114.0 (11th vs. Golden State)
Charlotte OffRtg: 97.4 (29th vs. Lakers)
Total points scored, season series
| Area | LAL | GSW | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 144 | 120 | 24 |
| Other paint | 36 | 22 | 14 |
| Total in paint | 180 | 142 | 38 |
| Mid-range | 16 | 18 | -2 |
| 3-point range | 93 | 99 | -6 |
| Total outside paint | 109 | 117 | -8 |
| Free throws | 69 | 44 | 25 |
| Fast break points | 44 | 42 | 2 |
| 2nd chance points | 52 | 26 | 26 |
Matchup notes:
1. LeBron James played in all three games, but Anthony Davis played in only the Jan. 18 meeting and Andre Drummond was not with the Lakers for any of the three. James Wiseman played in all three games for the Warriors.
2. The Lakers’ Feb. 28 win was the Warriors’ second worst offensive game of the season (91 points on 108 possessions). The Lakers’ 31-point, Mar. 15 win was their second biggest margin of victory. Their 63% shooting on Mar. 15 was the fifth highest mark for any team in a game this season.
3. The Warriors grabbed just 39.5% of available rebounds over the three games. That was their worst mark against any opponent this season. The Lakers’ 17.3 second chance points per game was their second best mark against any opponent.
4. Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell each had an effective field goal percentage of 72.4%, tying for the fourth best mark among 88 players with at least 25 field goal attempts against the Warriors this season.
5. Dennis Schroder was the primary defender on Stephen Curry, while Kelly Oubre Jr. was the primary defender on James. The Lakers outscored the Warriors by 19.1 points per 100 possessions in the 66 minutes in which James and Curry were both on the court.
Memphis Grizzlies (38-34)
The Grizzlies’ injuries haven’t stopped them from ranking solidly in most key statistics.
Pace: 100.8 (8)
OffRtg: 111.7 (15)
DefRtg: 110.5 (7)
NetRtg: +1.2 (14)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. San Antonio: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Grizzlies notes — General:
1. Were a better-than-average team on both ends of the floor (just a hair better than the league average on offense) for just the second time in the last 10 seasons.
2. Ranked third in turnover differential, committing 1.5 fewer per game than their opponents. (The Spurs ranked second at -1.8 per game.)
3. Tied for the second most losses (they were 37-12) after leading by double-digits. Were also 0-22 after trailing by 15 points or more. Sacramento (0-23) was the only other team without a win in a game it trailed by at least 15 points.
Grizzlies 2020-21 shot profile
| Area | FGM | FGA | FG% | Rank | %FGA | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 1,218 | 1,916 | 63.6% | 16 | 29% | 18 |
| Other paint | 791 | 1,802 | 43.9% | 11 | 27% | 1 |
| Mid-range | 274 | 633 | 43.3% | 8 | 10% | 26 |
| Corner 3 | 233 | 611 | 38.1% | 17 | 9% | 16 |
| Above-break 3 | 569 | 1,642 | 34.7% | 24 | 25% | 27 |
%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts
Grizzlies notes — Offense:
1. Led the league in fast break points (17.3), points in the paint (55.8) and second chance points (15.0) per game. Only one other team (New Orleans) ranked in the top 10 in all three.
2. Ranked first in the percentage of their shots that came in the paint (56%), but just 25th in free throw rate (23.2 attempts per 100 shots from the field).
3. 94% of their 3-point attempts, the league’s highest rate, were open or wide open, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
Grizzlies four factors:
| Own/Opp. | eFG% | Rank | FTA Rate | Rank | TO% | Rank | OREB% | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own | 52.8% | 22 | 0.232 | 25 | 13.1% | 6 | 28.5% | 4 |
| Opponent | 53.5% | 12 | 0.249 | 14 | 14.6% | 8 | 26.4% | 15 |
eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained
Grizzlies notes — Defense:
1. Had the two best defensive games for any team this season, holding the Magic to 75 points on 100 possessions on Apr. 30 and the Rockets to 84 points on 110 possessions (76.4 per 100) on Feb. 28.
2. Ranked fourth in deflections per game (16.3), but last in charges drawn per game (0.22).
3. Were the league’s fastest moving team on defense, averaging 3.97 miles per hour.
Grizzlies notes — Lineups:
1. Lineup of Ja Morant, Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson and Jonas Valanciunas played 457 total minutes, seventh most of all five-man units. It outscored its opponents by 8.7 points per 100 possessions, a mark which ranked 16th among 30 lineups that played at least 200 total minutes.
2. Outscored their opponents by 12.6 in 453 total minutes with Morant and De’Anthony Melton on the floor together, but were about even with one on the floor without the other, much worse defensively with Morant on the floor without Melton and much worse offensively with Melton on the floor without Morant.
3. Got 40% of their minutes, the league’s third highest rate (highest among teams still playing), from rookies (17%, seventh highest) or second-year players (25%, fifth highest).
Grizzlies notes — Individuals:
1. Kyle Anderson scored 16.3 points per 36 minutes, up from 10.6 last season. That was the third biggest jump among 187 players who played at least 1,000 minutes in each of the last two seasons.
2. Desmond Bane shot 39-for-78 (50.0%) on corner 3s, the fifth best mark among 60 players who attempted at least 75.
3. Dillon Brooks passed on just 21.9% of his drives, the second lowest rate among 115 players with at least 300 total drives.
4. Brandon Clarke had an effective field goal percentage of 53.7%, down from 64.2% last season. That was the fourth biggest drop among 250 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons.
5. Tyus Jones led the league in assist/turnover ratio (5.40) for the third straight season. He committed turnovers on just 2.2% of his drives, the lowest rate among 115 players with at least 300 total drives.
6. Jones was the only player who played at least 1,000 minutes and committed fewer than one foul per 36. He was also one of three players to play at least 1,000 minutes with more steals (64) than personal fouls (31), doing so for the third time in his career.
7. De’Anthony Melton saw the third biggest jump in 3-point percentage (from 28.6% to 41.2%) among 202 players with at least 100 3-point attempts in each of the last two seasons.
8. Melton averaged 4.4 deflections per 36 minutes, third most among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
9. Ja Morant ranked seventh with 10.3 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions per game. The 0.81 points per possession he scored as a pick-and-roll ball-handler ranked 36th among 43 players with at least 300 total ball-handler possessions. Brooks’ 0.80 ranked 38th.
10. Morant ranked second with 1.3 secondary assists per game.
11. Jonas Valanciunas led the league with 5.2 second chance points per game and ranked fifth in total rebounding percentage, grabbing 21.0% of available rebounds while he was on the floor. He ranked seventh in offensive rebounding percentage (13.5%) and fifth in defensive rebounding percentage (28.8%).
12. For the third straight season, Valanciunas was one of exactly five players who shot 65% or better on at least 200 attempts in the restricted area and 50% or better on at least 100 attempts elsewhere in the paint.
San Antonio Spurs (33-39)
DeMar DeRozan remains one of the best isolation players and crunch-time options in the league.
Pace: 99.5 (15)
OffRtg: 110.5 (19)
DefRtg: 112.0 (17)
NetRtg: -1.5 (21)
Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
vs. Memphis: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups
Spurs notes — General:
1. Were one of two teams (Indiana was the other) with a winning record (19-17) on the road and a losing record (14-22) at home.
2. Had the second biggest differential between their record against the 15 teams that finished at or below .500 (22-11, 0.667) and their record against the 15 teams that finished above .500 (11-28, 0.282).
3. Were the league’s best second quarter team (+10.8 points per 100 possessions).
Spurs 2020-21 shot profile:
| Area | FGM | FGA | FG% | Rank | %FGA | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 1,182 | 1,880 | 62.9% | 21 | 29% | 19 |
| Other paint | 539 | 1,288 | 41.8% | 17 | 20% | 8 |
| Mid-range | 577 | 1,304 | 44.2% | 4 | 20% | 1 |
| Corner 3 | 161 | 436 | 36.9% | 21 | 7% | 29 |
| Above-break 3 | 555 | 1,605 | 34.6% | 25 | 25% | 28 |
%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts
Spurs notes — Offense:
1. Ranked second in assist/turnover ratio at 2.14, the fourth highest mark in the 44 seasons for which turnovers have been counted.
2. Took only 31.4% of their shots, the league’s lowest rate, from 3-point range. Led the league (by a wide margin) with 20.5 pull-up 2-point attempts per game. The 44.8% they shot on pull-up 2s ranked fifth.
3. Ranked 29th in clutch 3-point percentage (23.6%), but third in clutch free throw percentage (85.0%).
Spurs four factors:
| Own/Opp. | eFG% | Rank | FTA Rate | Rank | TO% | Rank | OREB% | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own | 51.7% | 27 | 0.243 | 14 | 11.3% | 2 | 24.3% | 27 |
| Opponent | 54.1% | 17 | 0.230 | 6 | 13.1% | 21 | 26.7% | 18 |
eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained
Spurs notes — Defense:
1. Third straight season as a worse-than-average defensive team after a streak of 21 straight as a better-than-average defense.
2. The 101.1 points per 100 possessions they allowed in the second quarter was the best mark for any team in any quarter. The 119.4 per 100 they allowed in the third quarter was the second worst mark for any team in any quarter.
3. Ranked ninth defensively (109.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) at the All-Star break, but 24th (114.0) after the break. That was tied for the league’s third biggest post-break jump.
Spurs notes — Lineups:
1. Lineup of Dejounte Murray, Patty Mills, Devin Vassell, Rudy Gay and Jakob Poeltl outscored its opponents by 26.4 points per 100 possessions, the second best mark among 87 lineups that played at least 100 minutes.
2. Allowed 119.5 points per 100 possessions with DeMar DeRozan and Lonnie Walker IV on the floor together. That was the worst on-court DefRtg mark among 309 combinations that played at least 750 minutes together. Mills and Murray had the sixth best mark (100.3).
3. Allowed 11.4 fewer points per possessions with Gay on the floor (103.9) than they did with him off the floor (115.3). That was the third biggest on-off-court DefRtg differential among 233 players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team.
Spurs notes — Individuals:
1. DeMar DeRozan scored 1.20 points per possession on isolations, the second best mark for a player with at least 100 isolation possessions in 17 seasons of Synergy tracking. He ranked second with seven buckets (on 15 attempts) to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
2. DeRozan ranked sixth in assist/turnover ratio (3.55). His 18.4 assists per 100 passes was the highest rate among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
3. The differential between opponent field goal percentage on shots Rudy Gay defended (39.8%) and expected field goal percentage on those shots (45.9%) was the sixth biggest among 298 players who defended at least 300 total shots.
4. Keldon Johnson passed on just 21.2% of his drives, the lowest rate among 115 players with at least 300 total drives.
5. Patty Mills accounted for 39.7% of the Spurs’ 3-pointers, the eighth highest rate among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes. Derrick White had the seventh highest rate (40.2%).
6. Dejounte Murray attempted 302 mid-range shots and 199 3-pointers. That ratio (1.5/1) was the fifth highest among 201 players with at least 200 total field goal attempts from outside the paint. DeRozan had the highest (4.5/1). The 45.4% Murray shot from mid-range ranked ninth (right behind DeRozan’s 47.1%) among the 18 players with at least 200 mid-range attempts.
7. Opponents shot 50.3% at the rim when Jakob Poeltl was there to protect. That was the fifth best rim-protection mark among 72 players who defended at least 200 total shots at the rim. Drew Eubanks had the seventh best mark (50.8%) among 247 players who defended at least 100 total shots at the rim.
8. Poeltl shot 63-for-124 (50.8%) from the free throw line, the third worst mark among 166 players with at least 100 free throw attempts.
9. Lonnie Walker IV took 46.3% of his shots from 3-point range, up from 28.3% last season. That was the seven biggest jump among 250 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons. His 3-point percentage dropped from 40.6% to 35.5%.
Grizzlies-Spurs regular season matchup
Grizzlies to face Spurs in Play-In Tournament
The Spurs are no longer championship contenders, but Gregg Popovich and DeMar DeRozan still present a formidable test for the young, unproven Grizzlies.
Grizzlies won season series, 2-1
• Spurs 131, Grizzlies 119 (Dec. 23 @ Memphis)
• Grizzlies 129, Spurs 112 (Jan. 30 @ San Antonio)
• Grizzlies 133, Spurs 102 (Feb. 1 @ San Antonio)
Pace: 103.5 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes
Memphis OffRtg: 122.5 (2nd vs. San Antonio)
San Antonio OffRtg: 111.3 (13th vs. Memphis)
Total points scored, season series:
| Area | MEM | SAS | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted area | 116 | 98 | 18 |
| Other paint | 68 | 36 | 32 |
| Total in paint | 184 | 134 | 50 |
| Mid-range | 36 | 42 | -6 |
| 3-point range | 30 | 30 | 0 |
| Total outside paint | 66 | 72 | -6 |
| Free throws | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Fast break points | 57 | 51 | 6 |
| 2nd chance points | 28 | 34 | -6 |
Matchup notes:
1. Jaren Jackson Jr. didn’t play in any of the three games. Both Jonas Valanciunas and Grayson Allen missed both of the games in San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge (since traded and retired) played in all three games for the Spurs, who were without Derrick White in the first meeting (the first game of the season for both teams).
2. The two games in San Antonio were two of the Grizzlies’ seven most efficient games and two of the Spurs’ seven worst defensive games of the season. The Grizzlies’ field goal percentage (54.5%) and 3-point percentage (45.7%) over the three games were both their best marks against any opponent.
3. The Grizzlies won the first quarter in all three games, but were outscored, 36-20, in the second quarter of the Dec. 23 meeting.
4. Ja Morant’s 44 points in the first game of the season (the game that the Spurs won) were (and remain) his career high, as well as the third highest scoring game against the Spurs this season. Not including Valanciunas (one game), seven different Grizzlies averaged double-figures over the season series. Morant (65.0%), Kyle Anderson (68.5%), Brandon Clarke (63.3%) and De’Anthony Melton (60.6%) were four of the 27 players who had an effective field goal percentage of 60% or better on at least 25 field goal attempts against the Spurs.
5. DeMar DeRozan’s 15.7 points per game were tied for his lowest scoring average against any opponent this season. The Jan. 30 game was both his lowest scoring game of the season (five points on 2-for-6 shooting with zero free throw attempts in 25 minutes) and the only time this season when he had fewer than two assists.
6. Morant’s primary defender (45.7 partial possessions) was Dejounte Murray. DeRozan’s primary defender (57.4 partial possessions) was Dillon Brooks.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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