Grizzlies-Clippers Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus: Zach Randolph (+65 in 202 minutes). Put up a pretty similar net plus/minus to Steph Curry in his 1st round playoff series, and I'd argue Randolph did similar work. Now, Marc Gasol is as perfect a running mate as Z-Bo could hope for, and probably provides the cool counterweight to Randolph's fiery personality. But when you look at Randolph's output in the losses and wins in this series, it's pretty clear: he is the heart and soul of the Grizzlies. For better or worse, their postseason success will swing on what he has to give the rest of the way.

Worst Plus Minus: Chris Paul (-43 in 223 minutes). I'm going to need a few minutes to warm up on this one (read: will be covered later in the post).

Most Valuable Player: Matt Barnes (Net +28 in 162 minutes). There's nothing I could say that Zach Lowe couldn't say better, plus he saw this coming almost two months ago. Better to read it from him.

Least Valuable Player: Jerryd Bayless (Net -33 in 96 minutes). I'm not sure how much of this has to do with Bayless playing opposite noted tough-shot maker / 2nd unit breaker Jamal Crawford. Regardless, he and Quincy Pondexter will have to keep supplying competent defense, opportunistic play-making, and badly needed 3 point shooting while on the floor. Because, at this point, I'm not ready to trust Tony Allen's 50% shooting from deep on 0.7 attempts per playoff game.

Jerome James Award Winner: Chris Paul. There's a pretty interesting phenomenon regarding the perception of Chris Paul, and the results. Look at these two players:

Player A: In 10 non-injury seasons (every season of his career), has been to the playoffs 10 times, has gotten out of the 1st round twice, has been to the conference finals once. No championships. Demanded and was granted a trade after 8 seasons.

Player B: In 7 non-injury seasons (excludes one season), has been to the playoffs 5 times, has gotten out of the 1st round twice, has never been to the conference finals. No championships. Demanded and was granted a trade after 6 seasons.

One of these players is considered the consummate team leader in the NBA, someone who elevates teammates and maximizes team performance. One is considered a malcontent, who purposely chooses individual stats over team success, with predictable results in the playoffs. But, the records of overall playoff success are not that different; in fact, I'd argue Player A has the better playoff resume. So, why does Carmelo Anthony (player A) get so much more grief than Chris Paul (player B) when his team underperforms? Incidentally, only nine teams in NBA history have blown 2-0 leads, Chris Paul's Clippers just joined that club.