Tale of Round 1: Evans Strikes Back

First of all, kudos to the Memphis Grizzlies. Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol comprise a very scary starting lineup.

The Los Angeles Clippers slayed an incredibly solid Grizz squad in seven games Sunday, May 13 (Mother’s Day).

In game one, the Clippers mounted the largest 4th-quarter deficit overcome since the 1954-55 NBA season. Miraculously, I told a friend of mine of the phone the score at 95-71, Memphis Grizzlies lead. The ensuing 28-3 run would catapult the Clips onto the winner’s platform, 99-98. What struck so hard for the entire comeback was the defense led by reserve big man Reggie Evans. Evans’ tone put the rest of the Clippers deep roster to work. Unsung players included Nick Young (who lives in the nightmares and dreams of all who witnessed this series), Eric Bledsoe (nice job, playa), Kenyon Martin, and “Money” Mo Williams. That bench would break the Grizzlies by game 7, when Zach Randolph was at his worst. Evans again played through Sunday’s fourth quarter, stopping the Grizzlies from getting offensive rebounds, most importantly. His hands are their own power, Evans is the only guy tough enough maybe in the whole universe to out-rebound Gasol and Randolph.

At one point in the game one comeback, Nick Young made three straight 3’s in under one-minute.

For some sad reason, standard cynical focus is on “flopping”, something I swear I hadn’t even thought about until ESPN struck for some shock value.

If anyone was cheating, watch Z-Bo’s rebounding style. It’s called “I can’t jump,” and relies on sly shoves in the opponents back to steal offensive rebounds.

Chris Paul also gets credit for reminding everyone that he and Blake Griffin are winners.

Unless you win, no one will remember game one, games 3-4 at home, or even your season, which was the winningest in Clippers history. Instead, that thrilling overtime win will go down in Clipper lore just like the rest of the series. The Grizzlies were a true test, and the San Antonio Spurs should be an even tougher one.