Steven Adams' Memphis Grizzlies have advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, but Kiwi basketball fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the big man in action might have to wait a little longer.
Memphis dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 in their best-of-7 series, setting up a second-round encounter with the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have won three titles since 2015, and became title favourites for the 2021-22 season following their 4-1 first-round victory over reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets.
Adams might find himself on the outside of the rotation looking in for the second series in a row. Missing at least the first two games in the series due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Adams may be lucky to see the court for the remaining games.
Throughout the regular season, Adams played less minutes per game against the Warriors than any other team at 21.5 minutes per game – he averaged 26.3 minutes per game across the entire league.
This is in part due to Golden State's ability and willingness to play "small ball" – a line-up without a traditional center or "big man" on the court - with power forward Draymond Green moonlighting as a very capable center. When 2013-14 MVP Kevin Durant appeared in Golden State's small-ball line-ups, they were appropriately nicknamed Golden State's "death line-up."
While Durant is no longer with Golden State, their small-ball line-ups are often favoured by head coach Steve Kerr – and with good reason.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams during the first half of Game 1. Photo / AP
Of all the 5-man units the Warriors used in their first-round series against the Nuggets, the best line-up featuring center Kevon Looney ranked 9th when looking at the plus/minus (the net score while on the court) among the various 5-man groups.
This means there was 8 line-ups that were better without Looney, the center, on the court.
In Game 1 of the current Grizzlies series, Golden State started Looney on the bench, opting for a small-ball line-up of Stephen Curry, Gary Payton II, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green.
This gives a clear indication of how Kerr and the Warriors are approaching this series – small-ball is favoured over playing a traditional center, potentially nullifying Adams' biggest strengths and rendering him unplayable.
Golden State opted for a small-ball line-up again in Game 2, with Looney seeing just shy of nine minutes of game time. While Adams' rebounding, passing, and screen-setting abilities may be missed by the Grizzlies, his inability to switch onto guarding smaller players may not.
Given the Grizzlies previous opponent, the Timberwolves, viscously targeted Adams with success, it's hard to see Golden State employing a different tactic if/when he's on the court – especially given how potent their small-ball line-ups can be.
New Zealand basketball fans will be hoping to get a glimpse of the big Kiwi before the series is wrapped up. If cleared from health and safety protocols, Adams could feature as early as Game 3 on Sunday (NZT) with the series tied at 1-1.
With the NBA trending in the direction of small-ball, and Adams unable to see game-time in the Playoffs as a result, questions remain as to the value of his next contract. Typical centers are still important in the NBA, but it's hard to demand close to USD$18m per year when sitting on the bench at the business-end of the season – the Playoffs.
