Desperate Grizzlies plan to ‘throw everything’ at Spurs in Game 3

4:16 PM ET

MEMPHIS — The first thing the Memphis Grizzlies want you to understand is that no matter what you might think of their chances against the San Antonio Spurs, they’re not here to play Generals to the Spurs’ Globetrotters.

“We’re playing to win,” Grizzlies guard Vince Carter said. “It’s not playing just to get the series over to appease the rest of the world. We are playing to win basketball games.”

Despite Memphis’ two thumping losses in San Antonio to open the series, the Beale Street area near downtown has been abuzz with anticipation in advance of Friday’s Game 3. Forget the long odds against a Grizzlies upset — one fan in a Mike Conley jersey stated that the atmosphere at the FedExForum “is going to be orgasmic.” While we can hope for a more competitive game than the ones the Spurs won by a combined 58 points, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

History says it won’t. According to ESPN Stats & Info, 33 times in past postseasons a team has fallen behind 2-0 to an opponent who won at least 65 games during the regular season. San Antonio won 67 games this season and, as you probably guessed, that’s bad news for Memphis: None of those 33 teams came back to win a series.

On Thursday, fans lined up in snaking lines in the lobby of the arena in hopes of scoring free tickets handed out by beloved (and injured) center Marc Gasol, who purchased 500 tickets to give away, as did teammate Conley. You don’t have to spend much time in Memphis to realize there is a special bond between the Grizzlies and their fans. That, as much as anything, makes Game 3 a major event in the Mid-South region.

“We’ve been down (with injuries) for quite a while,” Memphis forward Matt Barnes said. “Fan support has never wavered. If anything, it’s improved. As players, we definitely appreciate that.

“We want to come out and put out for the city. Everyone has counted us out, but I think we can come in here and steal a game and make it respectable.”

It’s the kind of sentiment that cold-hearted analysts (yes, like the author of this article) tend to brush aside. Especially when it comes to fringe playoff entrants who, in a practical sense, might have been better off in the lottery. After all, a 0.5 percent shot at Ben Simmons might be better odds than some people have given the shorthanded Grizzlies of beating San Antonio four times. Still, as a lot …

continue reading in source espn.go.com