Memphis Grizzlies

There's victory in this defeat as Grizzlies swept by Spurs

Published Apr. 24, 2016 5:21 p.m. ET

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Three thoughts after the Grizzlies' 116-95 loss to the Spurs in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday, ending Memphis' season, while San Antonio goes on to face the winner of the Thunder and Mavericks.

1. When just getting there was the real victory

It was a sweep in the truest sense of the word, with the Spurs winning by an average of 22 points in the series, and for the third time in six postseasons the Grizzlies exited in the first round. But this series, and this season, will and should be viewed in a very different context.

The fact that Dave Joerger even got this group to the playoffs -- which included 28 players, an NBA high for any team to quality for the tournament -- was impressive. When you consider no Marc Gasol, no Mike Conley and having Tony Allen on the bench for 18 games and Zach Randolph for 14, and using eight players on 10-day contracts, the Grizzlies coach won't be named coach of the year (that will go to the record-setting Warriors' Steve Kerr), but Joerger deserves some serious love after keeping this group together.

Joerger wanted at least one victory in this series as a reward for all that this roster went through, it didn't happen. But a final full month that saw them stun the Cavaliers on the road, beat the Clippers and get a key victory April 5 against the Bulls (their last of the season) to stay in the playoff field.

2. Grizzlies can't match Spurs' third-quarter outburst

A pair of Chris Andersen free throws at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter gave Memphis a 34-31 lead -- its largest of the series -- and at halftime, San Antonio's edge was just 47-45. That came largely behind the Grizzlies defense, which had limited the Western Conference's No. 2 seed to 40 percent shooting through two quarters.

San Antonio was also slowed by a power surge that knocked out the lights, delaying in the game for nearly 20 minutes.

But then the Spurs turned it up a notch in the third, outscoring the Grizzlies 37-21 and hit 14 of 22 shots in the quarter, led by seven points apiece from Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. Memphis managed to cut the lead to 51-49 with Zach Randolph's free throws, but an 18-4 run started by a Tony Parker driving layup put it out of reach.

The end result was the Grizzlies' third sweep at the hands of the Spurs, who also knocked them out of the first round in 2004 and in the West finals in '13.

What lies ahead for Memphis?

Gasol was in the first year of his five-year, $110 million deal when he went down and Randolph has another season left at $10.3 million, but the question now is whether they can keep Conley on Beale Street?

As general manager Chris Wallace said last week "We are undefeated in re-signing our core players, and we will remain so. We are going to res-sign Mike Conley."

The point guard seemed to echo those sentiments when he said before Sunday's game "We're going into next season with a lot of room to make improvements" and "We feel like we're all this together and have been since Day 1."

An unrestricted free agent, the 28-year-old point guard, coming off a season in which he averaged 15.3 points, 6.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, is going to have no shortage of suitors. He has an obvious comfort level in Memphis after nine years, but that roster is aging with Gasol 31 and Allen and Randolph both 34.

He'll remain the priority, but the Grizzlies also face a decision on Lance Stephenson, who has a team option next year for $9.4 million. He was strong after being dealt to Memphis, averaging 14.2 points and 4.4 rebounds, big increases from the Clippers, where those figures sat at 4.7 and 2.5, respectively. A spark plug off the bench, he has value, and given the money coming into the league with the new television deal $9.4 million could be a bargain.

Nonetheless, it figures to be a busy offseason for Memphis, one that got started earlier than anyone would have forecasted back in October.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 1, 2016.