The NBA Western Conference best of seven final series starts tonight in the Lone Star State when the San Antonio Spurs the No. 2 seed in the conference host the Memphis Grizzlies the No. 5 seed in the conference.
San Antonio overcame a feisty Golden State team in the semifinals to reach the finals, while Memphis defeated the defending conference champions the Oklahoma City Thunder to reach the conference final.
Memphis is on their best run in the playoffs in their franchise history reaching the conference final for just the first time. San Antonio is looking to win one more time with its group of veterans who do not have many more years left to play. The Spurs have been very successful in the playoffs, but have not won an NBA title since 2007.
The Grizzlies have one of the toughest defenses in the league and are led by power forward and team high scorer Zach Randolph, center Marc Gasol and guards Mike Conley and Tony Allen. The Memphis defense held opponents during the regular season to an NBA low 89.3 points per game.
The Spurs are led by three veterans Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. The three veterans have all played their entire careers in the NBA with the Spurs and have very talented players like Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw that have helped the team throughout the season.
Both teams play in the Southwest Division, with San Antonio dominating with four NBA titles. No player and coach have more playoff games together than the Spurs’ veteran center Duncan and Gregg Popovich the team’s head coach. The two have been together for 200 playoff games over a period of 16 seasons.
During the regular season, the teams split their four head-to-head games, with each team winning on their home court. During the regular season, the Spurs were 35-6 at home.
The keys to the series will be the matchup between Conley and Parker. Conley is scoring at a rate of 17 points per game while averaging 7.6 assist. Parker is averaging a team high 22.4 points for the Spurs in the playoffs.
The line currently has San Antonio favored by 4 ½ with the total sitting on 182 ½. Smart money takes the Spurs and the OVER.





Just one semifinal series in the two conferences remains. The Indiana Pacers were beaten by the New York Knicks on Thursday night to tighten the series to 3-2 in favor of the Pacers, with game 6 tonight in Indiana.
The Atlanta Braves return home after a long road trip to host the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three game series starting Friday May 17 at Turner Field. The Braves enter the game with an overall record of 22-18 good enough for first place in the National League East by a game over the Washington Nationals. However, with the way they have been playing they do not look like a first place team. The Braves are 4-6 over the past 10 games played and have lost two straight.
Tonight the San Antonio Spurs can move on to the Western Conference finals with a win. The Spurs lead the Golden State Warriors 3-2 in their best of seven semifinal series with game 6 being played on the Warriors home court tonight. This series had been back and forth to say the least. In the first five games, no team has managed to win back-to-back games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has their back to the wall in tonight’s game 5 of their best of seven semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder started the series with a win but have been beaten in three consecutive games and is on the brink of elimination when they meet the Grizzlies tonight at home in the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Game 4 of the best of seven semifinal series in the NBAs Eastern Conference takes place in Indianapolis tonight when the Indiana Pacers host the New York Knicks. The Pacers lead the series 2-1 and can take a commanding lead in the series with a win tonight.