I don't understand Memphis' strategy

[Speedy88]

Yea they won more reg season games. Who cares. You need a go-to guy down the stretch in playoff games. Chris Paul just proved that.

Keep in mind Memphis was much deeper two years ago vs SAS and OKC.

Completely agree with you. There is no way the Grizz are better off without Rudy. Once Memphis traded him they stopped trying to win a championship.

[No coincidences]

Completely agree with you. There is no way the Grizz are better off without Rudy. Once Memphis traded him they stopped trying to win a championship.

They will be as long as they're smart with the money they're saving without him.

We'll have to agree to disagree re: Gay. I think he's a black hole. Kind of like the Harden trade -- short term it hurts Memphis, but the move makes sense to me and I don't think they stopped trying to win.

[No coincidences]

That's what happens when you trade Rudy Gay.

What does trading Rudy Gay have to do with the pace of the game and the fact that, for the first seven quarters of this series basically, Memphis made the mistake of getting into a full-court tempo with the Clippers?

Gay wouldn't have made this team better. It only seems that way because they weren't really replacing him with anything this year. As long as they do something good with the ridiculous amount of money they save without him, they'll benefit as a franchise down the road. Gay is in the right place now: obscurity, where he can pad his surface stats and not have to worry about winning.

[hawley]

T-wizz I don't understand your argument at all?

You are saying they need Gay for what he gives them down the stretch yet today they came back down the stretch and got multiple big time baskets.

Gay wasn't going to stop CP3 on that last possession.

[JM92]

The first game had an 83 pace... this one was at 89.7. How in the hell is that not slow tempo? Yes, 89 is a little above their average for the season, but 83?! Maybe just use 20 seconds off the clock everytime, no?

[No coincidences]

T-wizz I don't understand your argument at all?

You are saying they need Gay for what he gives them down the stretch yet today they came back down the stretch and got multiple big time baskets.

Gay wasn't going to stop CP3 on that last possession.

Rudy Gay is a red herring in this thread. I don't understand where he fits into this discussion either.

[t-wizzle]

Hawley what I'm saying is Memphis can't rely on Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur down the stretch of games. Conley is a nice player but he won't score like that every night.

No coin I get what you're saying for Memphis from a financial standpoint but let's be real - no elite player will go to Memphis.

[No coincidences]

Hawley what I'm saying is Memphis can't rely on Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur down the stretch of games. Conley is a nice player but he won't score like that every night.

No coin I get what you're saying for Memphis from a financial standpoint but let's be real - no elite player will go to Memphis.

And what I'm saying is Rudy Gay wasn't the answer as a "go-to" scorer. You may be right re: an "elite" player going to Memphis, but Gay isn't an elite player. In fact, he's far from an elite player. He's "elite" in the same mold of guys like Jennings, Ellis, etc. -- players who will get their points and surface stats while doing absolutely nothing to actually help their teams win games.

[t-wizzle]

Never said Gay was elite. I said memphis won't get an elite player even with the cap space. And I said Gay was the only guy capable of getting his own shot late in games. They don't have that anymore and they miss it badly.

[ChiLLx]

Gay or no gay blame the coach for not at least trying to trap Paul when he torched them time after time at the end.