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While not quite a rodeo road trip, the Grizzlies just wrapped up a successful six-game jaunt away from downtown Memphis’ FedExForum.
“It was a solid trip, especially in the two games we lost we had a chance to win,” said Grizzlies coach David Fizdale.
Memphis lost by three in Portland and by 12 in Oklahoma City in a contest that was tied with under three minutes remaining before Thunder guard Russell Westbrook went scorched earth and scored the game’s final 15 points.
Guard Mike Conley hopes the trip instilled a bit more consistency in his team – Memphis has six winning streaks and six losing streaks through 53 games.
“We’re knocking on the door as a team that’s finding out how good we can be,” Conley said. “If we can continue to get away from 5-6 minute stretches where we don’t play our style of basketball or we don’t play as hard as we think we can play, then we’re a team that’s tough to beat.”
Meanwhile, the Spurs are just beginning their annual pilgrimage, an eight-game, 7,378-mile trek across the contiguous United States.
The tour’s first stop: Memphis.
Spurs guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, veterans of the previous 14 rodeo trips, know what to expect as the silver-and-black caravan makes its way around the country.
This year’s roster features seven players who have never experienced what Parker and Ginobili now see as a “normal” part of every season.
“This year we have a lot of new guys, so it’s going to be a great opportunity to spend time with everybody and bond and get better,” Parker said. “Get everything ready for when it’s going to be the serious stuff, you know, the playoffs.”
The Spurs are 82-35 all-time in rodeo trip games. They have finished above .500 every year save 2015 (4-5).
They embark this year without injured starting center Pau Gasol, but otherwise in a better position than any team outside of Oakland.
“Coach Pop, obviously, one of the greatest ever,” Fizdale said. “He’s a guy who I really look up to and respect. His teams are always right there in the conversation, so much that you get bored talking about it.”
Fizdale would love to get his Grizzlies – who dealt with some injury problems of their own earlier this season – operating on a similar plane of consistency.
Most of the Spurs’ tumbles have been followed by triumphs; Popovich has endured only two losing streaks this season lasting two games apiece.
“They’re a team that is as consistent as they come,” Conley said. “They’re going to do what they do for four quarters and you just have to try to withstand the pressure they put on you.”
Conley (19.2 points, 6.2 assists) along with Pau’s younger (though not by any means “little”) brother, Marc Gasol (21 points, 6 rebounds, 4.2 assists) represent one of the best inside-out tandems in the NBA, but their teammates often struggle to do much on their own.
With both Conley and Gasol on the floor, Memphis outscores its opponents by 2.9 points per 100 possessions; when both sit that net rating drops to minus 4.7.
Popovich does not have that type of top-heavy problem.
Spurs lineups without Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge outscore opponents by 11.2 points per 100 possessions, a rating that would place them No. 2 in the NBA behind only Golden State.
As good as the Spurs have been from top to bottom this season, the rodeo trip is a test that simply cannot be replicated.
“It tests our character as a team, how well we deal with not being at home,” guard Danny Green, a veteran of five rodeo trips, said last season. “It gives us a chance as teammates to bond and hang out together a little bit. It’s a good experience for everybody, but especially the new guys who have no idea what it’s like. We will show them the ropes, and it will be a chance to come together.”
nmoyle@express-news.net
Twitter: @NRmoyle
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