Spurs again make easy work of hobbled Grizz

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In what wasn’t exactly the most competitive night in the NBA playoffs, we had both the San Antonio Spurs and the Atlanta Hawks go up 2-0 in their respective series. The theme of the night was the torturous defensive machines of the Spurs and Hawks and how they clamped down on their opponents.

The Boston Celtics had the worst first quarter in playoff history against the Hawks, and they missed Avery Bradley big time. The Memphis Grizzlies continued to get stifled by the Spurs and limped their to another double-digit loss, although you can’t blame them at this point. They can barely put a full team on the floor.

In short, the drama of the first three days of the playoffs certainly didn’t transfer into a fourth straight night.

Wednesday’s games, however, look to be much more compelling. Let’s take a look at those games first.

Charlotte Hornets at Miami Heat (Miami leads 1-0): The first game of this series was a massacre. The Hornets looked nothing like the team we saw in the regular season because the Heat took them completely out of their game. Steve Clifford turned this team into a 3-point shooting deluge this season, and yet Game 1 saw just 17 Charlotte attempts from them beyond the arc. This didn’t happen all season. The fewest they attempted in a game this season was 19. That happened both times they faced the San Antonio Spurs.

Eight times in the regular season, the Hornets failed to surpass six 3-pointers made and six of those games resulted in losses. They hit just six in Game 1, while getting pelted all over the floor by the Heat. So how do they change that in Game 2? A big change they can make is putting Hassan Whiteside and Amar’e Stoudemire in a lot of pick-and-rolls with Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum. Those guys play so far off the ball because they struggle to recover into the paint that a solid screen on the perimeter will give you a wide-open look. And once they are forced to play their bigs higher in the coverage, you can attack the basket, move the defense, and either get a layup attempt or a kick-out pass for an open shot.

The Heat did a great job of cutting off the floor in Game 1 and didn’t have to move side-to-side. They basically made the Hornets resemble the stagnant Bobcats of yore. If the Hornets don’t change that, they’ll end up in an 0-2 hole that’s hard to escape. — Zach Harper

Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavs lead 1-0): Is there any need to change the game plan if you’re the Cleveland Cavaliers? The Cavs’ defense took away the middle of the floor on the Pistons’ pick-and-roll plays, which is exactly where they like to hurt you. They forced shaky shooters to beat them on fairly contested outside shots. One of the worst shooting teams in the NBA (Detroit was 25th in field goal percentage and 22nd in effective field goal percentage) managed to hit shots to stay in control of the game for about 42 minutes, but they unraveled at the end and the Cavs walked away with their Game 1 victory.

The question becomes whether you think the Pistons can continue to shoot like that, and the smart …

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