3SOB.com -- A Memphis Grizzlies Fan Blog

One Down, But One Up. Grizzlies Split Back-to-Back.

HPTMatt — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:57:30 +0000

How often does it happen that a team seems to play better as a unit during a loss than in a win?

Well, it seemed to happen over this pair.

Two grinders, one loss, one win.

Couple thoughts on a couple players, couple superb performances, and one VERY COOL stretch in the Philly game….

-Rudy still isn’t all the way out of his own head, and we’re too far down the road for this to be about “reintegration” or some such. However, the two threes he hit in Q4 against the Sixers along with some late-game prime-time scoring during the recent briefly-interrupted win streak show that he’s ready to do what the team needs him to do. Will it continue to work out when ZBo gets back? I’d put forth a mild yes-both players are all about winning, and there’s not enough ego with either of them for it to go south due to one of them wanting to be the sole King of the Grizzly Hill. Rudy with only 3 turnovers in these two most recent games combined is a wonderful trend-what he’s done is to display a bit more control on the offensive end, and a few plays that might otherwise have been turnovers…he’s actually started to get the benefit of the whistle. Who would have thought that? Risky play on D, but is that bad in and of itself, or does it show more trust in the other four guys playing D with him?

-Kyle Lowry’s month is now complete, he won a game against the Griz. Why this cat still treats every Griz game as a grudge match, I’ve no idea-but he does so, no doubt about it. Also, he’s really good. Better than Conley? Apples to oranges. Kyle is a tougher defender, as he showed Monday night in Houston-but Conley definitely has the catlike side of things covered as compared to Lowry. Finishing in the lane? Conley, over the last couple of seasons, has brought himself easily into a zone of equality with Lowry in that aspect of the game. Conley didn’t have two of his best games over these two, for different reasons. Seven-for-thirteen in one game, but only 4-14 in the other. It would seem like the better-shooting night would be the win, huh? No. Weird, but ok. Weirder? Conley with the monster (-ously meaningless) + 26 in the win over Philly. Shows how one-dimensional the Sixers were when Holiday was making all his points.

-Cunningham. No player the Griz employ more personifies “embracing a role” than does Dante. Observation compels me to call him the spring-loaded spider, and that’s great-since that is what the Griz need him to be and what they hired him to be. 3-5 with 7 boards in under 20 minutes in the Philly win, with every board seeming like a big one. Players like him are the reason the Griz can stay close on the boards and generate extra possessions.

Ok. Marc Gasol is amazing, and anyone who would DARE debate whether he belongs in the All-Star Game should be forced to watch the Philly game over and over. Yes, he was playing against a mismatch most of the night…and that’s all the more reason that his performance this night should be looked at as spectacular. Everyone knew where the ball was going, it went there, and Gasol did not once fold under the pressure. I predicted as soon as ZBo went down that Gasol, not Rudy, Conley, or Allen, would become the leader of the team, especially on the court-and that prediction has come to full fruition. 15 and 14, 7 ast, 5 blk, and only 2 TO. That’s just absurdly ridiculously awesome. Usage rate? Looks down on Everest. Team’s trust in him? High as the moon, and ZBo’s coming back soon. It might just get crazy after the break. Gasol was also part of something really, really cool that Hollins did in the Philly game…

-…the International Twin Towers. Haddadi and Gasol at the same time, with hardly a Sixer over 6’8″ on the floor. No, the Griz didn’t go on a crazy run during that stretch of a few minutes-but rebounds? All Griz, and Haddadi was able to gain some confidence on offense, playing against guys half a foot shorter than he. This lineup, with Gasol playing one of the weirdest “stretch 4″ positions in basketball history, could be advantageous against teams who can be big but not all that athletic inside (Spurs, I’m looking at you), or against teams who are full of undersized guys like the Sixers.

A great way to coast into the All-Star break. Will Z-Bo hit the once-predicted March 2 return date? Only time will tell.

In any case, get ready for a nail-biting second half of the season.

Wow I’m glad that stupid lockout got solved…..

Power Rankings – week of Feb 20

CarlCR — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:53:28 +0000

Grizzlies were the “high jump of the week team” @NBA. I like Eric Pincus comment @hoopsworld “The Grizzlies are fighting. That’s what they do.” A couple of these guys are projecting the Grizzlies to be a tough playoff team. Worst comment of the week from Matt Moore @CBS.

Britt Robson @SI hands out midseason grades that reflect teams’ performance since the season began instead of doing the regular Power Rankings. I’ve left the order of his ranking the same as last week and his grade appears when you put your mouse over the team’s logo. (Not included in average rankings.)

Average ranking for the week is 13.33 a +4.44 jump (not including actual standings). Covers Rankings link

2011-12 Power Rankings for the week of February 20
Mouse Over GRIZZLIES LOGO to see COMMENTS
Click on Grizzlies logo to go to team web page for each media’s site.
	Actual	NBA	SI	Stein	FOX	CBS	Sagarin	Hollinger	ProBBTalk	HoopsW’d	SBNation
on	02-21	02-20	02-21	02-20	02-21	02-21	02-21	02-21	02-20	02-20	02-20
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	Actual	NBA	SI	Stein	FOX	CBS	Sagarin	Hollinger	ProBBTalk	HoopsW’d	SBNation
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	Actual	NBA	SI	Stein	FOX	CBS	Sagarin	Hollinger	ProBBTalk	HoopsW’d	SBNation

Blogging with the Enemy: Philadunkia

Chip Crain — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:21:40 +0000

In a compact season such as this it is very difficult to find the time to talk to opposing bloggers about their teams. By the time we do a game wrap up it is time to write the next pre-game and sometimes the two overlap, like last night for example.

However with Philadelphia coming to town we had to update things with the best Philly blogger we know, Carey Smith of Philadunkia. Carey is the founder and Editor of Philadunkia and have been covering the NBA for various media outlets for over 12 years now.

So as a an additional preview of tonight’s game 3 Shades of Blue give you Carey Smith.

3SOB: Mo Speights has been up and down since joining the Grizzlies but overall he’s been a positive influence. How surprised are you?
Carey: I am not surprised at all. Off the court, Mo is a nice kid and appeared to be very popular with his 76ers teammates and coaches. So off the court I would not be surprised to learn that he was a positive influence.

On the court, he’s an amazing offensive talent and when he has it going, he can score at will. However, to play for Coach Collins you also have to play defense, rebound and work within the offensive system. Those are three things Mo struggled with mightily here in Philly. His inability to grasp those theories dropped him to the 4th big on the depth chart and thus he became expendable. So in the right system I can see where a one-dimensional player like Mo could be a positive influence on the court as well as off. Philly just wasn’t the right fit for him.

3SOB: The Sixers have been a big surprise as well this season. What’s been the reason for the team’s success?
Carey: It may be a surprise to those around the nation, but I actually predicted a 40 win season for the Sixers back in December (http://philadunkia.com/?p=5076) . I think Elton Brand said it best when in a recent post game interview he was asked what the key to the Sixers success has been. EB replied, “Some nights it’s Thad. Some nights it’s Dre. Some nights it’s Jrue. But all the time it’s us.” That last line has become the mantra of this roster.

Collins has gotten this group to buy into playing as a team — at both ends of the floor. They seem to genuinely like each other, so the task may have been a little easier for Collins with this roster, but it’s still a huge achievement for an NBA coach to get a team to play so unselfishly. When they have balanced scoring and very solid team defense, the Sixers are a really fun team to watch and a group that is easy to like. At times during their recent struggles (2-5 in their last 7; 3 straight losses) they’ve strayed from Collins teachings, but I am sure it’s just a bump in the road and they’ll return to playing Sixers ball very soon. Hopefully tonight.

3SOB: Thaddeus Young, a Memphis native, was a major signing Philadelphia in the off-season but isn’t starting. Has he been a disappointment in Philly this season?
Carey: Just the opposite. Thad has been tremendous all season. Even after Rod Thorn resigned him, I did not expect him to come in and start this season. His energy, hustle and scoring burst off the bench have been one of the keys to the Sixers season. His defense has also improved significantly this year. Thad, along with Louis Williams, are the leaders of “The Night Shift” (the Sixers reserve players) and are the main reasons we have arguably the best bench play in the League (43.7 ppg. – #1 in the NBA & 17.7 rpg. – #4 in the NBA).

You can’t look at the idea that Thad doesn’t start for the Sixers and conclude that he is not playing well. You have to focus on the fact that Young may be the best offensive talent on this team and that he is always in the game at clutch time for the Sixers.

Thanks so much for giving us this time Carey. You’ve brought up a lot of points about building a team and success that Memphis fans know well who follow the Grizzlies.

Memphis vs Philadelphia – 2/21/12

Chip Crain — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:33:39 +0000

Game: Memphis vs Philadelphia
When: 7:00 pm CST
Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
Records: Memphis Grizzlies (18-15), Philadelphia 76ers (20-12)

Expected Starting Lineups:
Memphis – Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights, Marc Gasol
Philadelphia – Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks, Andre Iquodala, Elton Brand, Lavoy Allen

Preview:
Memphis fell in Houston last night after a tough battle, typical of these two southwest division rivals. This will be the 4th game in five days for the Grizzlies but also the 4th game in Memphis. After this game the won’t play again until February 29th, also in Memphis, so everyone should be ready to give all they have before the All-Star break gives the Grizzlies players some time to rest.

Rest is needed for the Grizzlies as they have numerous players having logged extensive minutes this season especially All-Star Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Rudy Gay. Both Conley and Gay logged over 40 minutes against Houston so fatigue may be a factor for them tonight. Marc Gasol is second in the league in minutes played as well. This game could revolve around two players with both Philadelphia and Memphis connections. Marresse Speights of the Grizzlies was traded to Memphis for two second round draft picks, a rather bargain basement price for a former lottery pick in a contract year. Speights has responded to the team’s interest in him posting career highs in points and rebounds against New Jersey and is averaging 12.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in his last seven games.

Philadelphia has shocked most NBA pundits with their team’s projections. The 76ers also have a player of interest for Memphis fans as Thaddeus Young, formerly of Memphis, returns home having signed a big new contract in the off-season. Philadelphia is an interesting team with their 6th man, Louis Williams actually leading the team in scoring averaging 15.9 ppg. Andre Iquodala, Elton Brand and Jrue Holliday all help keep the starting team scoring but the big surprise in starting center Lavoy Allen who has been starting in 7 of the last 9 games for Philadelphia. This summer Allen was the last player mentioned in ESPN’s list of the top 500 players in the league.

Philadelphia is on a 3 game losing streak, the longest of the season for the Sixers, after falling at Minnesota, to Dallas and at Orlando. The Sixers must travel to Houston after the game to play Houston tomorrow before breaking for the all-star weekend activities. Philadelphia does not want to lose five straight games heading into the all-star break so expect a spirited effort tonight from a very deep team.

Prediction: A tough battle for sure but the Grizzlies will pull it out in the end.

UPDATE: Elton Brand is out tonight. Andres Nocioni to start. Brand is expected to miss two games with a sprained thumb.

Memphis at Houston – 2/20/12

Red Coleman — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:26:38 +0000

GAME: Memphis Grizzlies at Houston Rockets
Time: 7:00 pm CST
PLACE: The FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
Records: Memphis (0-2), Houston (1-1)

Expected Starting Lineups:

Memphis – Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights, Marc Gasol
Houston – Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola

Preview:
Memphis has won four in a row, although their last three have come by a combined 7 points. The first victory in their current streak? Oh, that was a win over the same Houston Rockets squad they beat on Valentine’s Day. And not just a win, but one in which Tony Allen made Kevin Martin a mere spectator (0 pts, 2 ast, 1 TO), and Mike Conley continued to prove his detractors wrong — many of whom still say the team should have kept Kyle Lowry and traded him instead — by scoring 7 of their last 9 points, starting with a 3-pointer that halted a would-be Rockets surge.

Houston played last night, resulting in a relatively easy win over the Utah Jazz. Lowry paced them with 32 points and 9 assists, and will be hoping to do more of the same in tonight’s contest. Patrick Patterson got his first start of the season, replacing the underperforming Samuel Dalembert in the lineup. That change likely came about as a result of the Rockets getting completely owned by the Timberwolves in the paint on Friday night. That’s not hyperbole either. When you lose the rebounding battle by nearly 20 and allow Nikola Pekovic to grab 9 (9?!?!?!) offensive rebounds, then you’re officially a whipping boy. Oh…and Pekovic also chipped in some scoring….to the tune of 30 points. Sounds like what no-name opposing big men once did the the Grizzlies in those days of yesteryear. Kevin Love went for 33 and 17 in that same game.

As divisional foes, these two teams know each other well, with Houston usually getting the best of the Grizzlies over the course of the season. As this handy page on ClutchFans.net shows, the Rockets are one of those teams that the Grizzlies don’t often get over on. So, starting off the season by taking the first two games from them is a departure from the norm. Will it continue though?

For the Grizzlies to win, they will need to continue to ride Marc Gasol like the warhorse that he is. Obviously, it will still be a team effort, but Gasol is the linchpin for everything at the moment. Run the offense through him, and don’t be surprised when he flirts with a triple-double like he did Friday night. Conley will need to be on his toes as Lowry attempts to exact revenge on the Grizzlies yet again, and Allen can rest assured that Kevin Martin has no intention of going scoreless in this game. Rudy Gay might have the simplest job of the night: Dominate. From the opening tip, #22 has to be aggressive and force the issue by going to the basket relentlessly.

For the Rockets to win, they will have to do all they can get Gasol and Conley in foul trouble. Also, like most teams, they will need to hit outside shots to stay in the game. That means that Lowry, Martin and the rest of the crew will need to take advantage of every open shot they encounter on the perimeter. One key player to watch will be Courtney Lee, who can light it up off the bench, meaning O.J. Mayo had better be ready on both ends of the floor.

Prediction: Houston gets a small measure of revenge with a close win at home.

Rockets Blogs
Red94
The Dream Shake

Two Wins, By Two Points Total. Grizzlies Defeat Warriors.

HPTMatt — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:36:27 +0000

Painful. Just painful to watch a team give up a massive lead two nights in a row.

THAT BLOCK CALL ON GASOL WAS AWFUL. The NBA should come out with one of those “we missed that one” statements, but won’t. Five-on-eight.

Yeah, it’s silly to whine about officiating when the Griz manage to win in spite of questionable whistles-but this game and that one play in particular were just really, really poorly called. Even on that last play-the amount of time that ran off after the whistle was blown on the Lee foul was due to flat-out incompetence. They even halfheartedly reviewed it, and didn’t change it. Awful.

Several numbers tell the story….-68.4. That’d be the Grizzlies’ FT % on the night. 26-for-38 just ain’t gonna cut it. Would the Griz have been able to get and maintain separation if TA and Rudy hadn’t failed on six FT’s in Q4? I’d say odds are better than even on that. Now’s the time to get good at making clutch FT’s-that’s something that must happen in the playoffs if the Griz should be able to get to the second season. The number of attempts is great but expected-it means the Griz did what was smart to get the Warriors to foul-but 68% with all those clutch misses is just not good enough.

-12. We all know what this one is. Too many threes surrendered-and it wasn’t just the threes. Once they got hot, the lanes opened up and the “keep jackin’ ‘em ’til they start falling” strategy was validated. It’s been a weak spot for the Griz’ defense, and again, if the playoffs wind up being a goal that is reached, playing teams like, well, the Spurs, Clippers, Blazers, Mavericks, or Thunder could be a problem. Wait. That’s a lot of teams. Huh. Gotta figure that one out too.

-+17. Ekpe Udoh has become a +/- uh, “legend” in some circles, and he’s quickly proving that such a rightfully maligned statistic can actually have redeeming value when it becomes such a constancy. The guy is good-he’s got a nice combination of pogostick athletic ability with positioning smarts, and a couple of fairly reliable offensive moves. Fouler, but who on GSW isn’t?

-+14. The Grizzlies outrebounded the Warriors, and they should. Biedrins is an insanely talented rebounder, but has always lacked the mindset to truly dominate the glass. Gasol, Speights, and Gay combined for 27 boards, and that’s good business no matter the opponent.

-7 of 12. Yeah, OJ, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. More importantly than just the scoring, though, is the fact that OJ ran the offense for stretches when Conley was not in the game and was still able to hook up a basket or two. His recent funk, unsurprisingly, coincided with the Selby/Pargo co-benching, causing him to have to focus on trying to run the offense and not as much on sinkin’ the longball. Seeing OJ at the top of the key in this game actually didn’t make me more likely to change the channel until the TO was made.

-one million. That’s the number of times that Laker fans have wished that they could have kept that throw-in little-brother in the Pau trade. HAHAHHA.

Houston on Monday, and I’m not expecting a good result. Whiny Kyle Lowry will exact his revenge at some point, and it could be less than 48 hours away.

Memphis vs. Golden State – 2/18/12

Red Coleman — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:37:43 +0000

Game: Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors
Time: 7:00 CST
Place: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
Records: Memphis (17-14), Golden State (11-16)

Expected Starting Lineups:
Memphis – Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights, Marc Gasol
Golden State – Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Dorrell Wright, David Lee, Andris Biedrins

Preview:
Good teams find ways to win games. Bad teams find ways to lose games. This is true in all sports, but especially so in the NBA, where every team is not only capable of making a run, but is expected to do so at once per game.

Last night, the Grizzlies established a big lead and then saw it evaporate as the Nuggets came storming back (as we all thought they would). But — and this is the key difference between the Grizzlies of now versus the team we saw during that losing streak — they didn’t throw in the towel and give up. They battled and fought tooth-and-nail until the clock hit triple zeroes and the scoreboard showed them as the victors.

Why is this so important? Because the Golden State Warriors are in town tonight and this is what happened the last time these two teams tangled:

That’s right — one team had a big lead, only to lose it….and then lose the game. Don’t think that the Warriors have forgotten that meeting either.

Memphis has won 5 of their last 6 games, putting them back into the playoff picture once again. One of the more interesting aspects to last night’s game (to me anyways) was the shortened rotation that Lionel Hollins used. No Quincy Pondexter, Hamed Haddadi or Sam Young in this one, as he went with an 8-man rotation that saw Jeremy Pargo get just under 9 minutes of play and Dante Cunningham (game saviour) play just under 16 minutes. While I appreciate the talents of the three aforementioned players who didn’t get into the game last night, I like the idea of a shorter rotation even more. We’ll see if this continues going forward — especially as the back-to-back games start to stack up once again.

Golden State is coming off of a loss in Oklahoma City last night, so this will be their second road game in as many nights. That’s always tough, but especially so since the Warriors will play 7 of their next 8 on the road, spanning the All-Star break. Too add to that difficulty, their backcourt duo of Curry and Ellis haven’t exactly been lighting it up lately either. Curry has scored 42 points total in the 4 games since his 36-point outing against Denver just over a week ago. Ellis banged his right knee last night, and sat out the entire 4th quarter for the second game in a row. When asked about his struggling teammates, David Lee had this to say:

“I’m sure they’ll play great (Saturday) night. They will both have 30 and we will be talking about it.”

Ummm….yeah David. Whatever you say.

For the Grizzlies to win this game, they need to do exactly what they did in the first half against Denver: play fluid, team basketball on offense, crash the boards, scramble for every loose ball, and stick to their assignments on defense. It’s a simple strategy that requires discipline and hustle more than talent and skill. Want to know why Denver got back into that game? Because guys like Kenneth Faried and Chris Andersen outhustled them, and guys like Corey Brewer took advantage of lazy defensive attention. That cannot happen a second night in a row.

For the Warriors to win this game, they will have to find someone capable of guarding Rudy Gay. Easier said than done, obviously, but he’s the guy that killed them last time — and he’ll gladly do it again if they let him. They’ll need to crash the boards relentlessly in order to generate some much-needed second-chance points, too. Expect to see them overplay the passing lanes in the hopes of getting some easy transition buckets, too.

Prediction: Memphis wins, going away.

Warriors Blogs
Warriors World
Golden State of Mind

Grizzlies Escape MASSIVE Choke Session, Defeat Nuggets

HPTMatt — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:47:10 +0000

I’d now like to perform “Wind Beneath My Wings”, dedicated to Dante Cunningham.

(singing)

Y’all should be extra glad you can’t hear me singing, ‘cuz it is makin’ the neighborhood dogs howl in pain.

Can a team be ashamed of a win? Well, only sorta.

Follow me past the jump to find out why. To be ashamed, you can do three things:

-The obvious. Blow a 20+ point lead. Teams who should be on the verge of contending do not hang their heads, even under a three-point assault from….COREY BREWER AND ANDRE MILLER? What? Huh? This tells me that it was about more than hot shooting-it was about a lack of work-sharing and accountability on defense. Flat-out self-perpetuating laziness. No closeouts on shooters, no help behind the PG on penetration, and getting WAY outworked in the paint and on the glass. George Karl, who is a phenomenal coach, is one of the few guys in the NBA who can motivate a team to come back from down 23. Brewer’s 26-point-half was the definition of anomalous, to be sure-but when a guy gets hot, no matter the name on the back of his jersey, it’s time to up the pressure, and that did not happen.

-Within the lead-blowing problem, there is the no-name problem. This reminded me of the Grizzlies of ’08-ish vintage, when no-name guys such as CJ Miles made a living making the Griz look like..well..not good. Yes, I as enamored of Faried’s game as the next NBA sucker-but 18 and 10 is just wrong. As with Brewer, when a guy starts outhustling a team’s whole front line, it’s time to put a greater focus on boxing him out.

-Turn the ball over with both forced and unforced errors. The Tony Allen/Mike Conley Yakity-Sax maneuver at the end of Q4 was the worst of it, and the reasoning is disturbing: the Griz no longer have the “we’re young, and sometimes we might lose our poise or place at the end of a close game” excuse as a valid one. Tony Allen has become the Jeremy Lin of the Grizzlies as far as turnovers go, but the things he does on D in the positive column still far outweigh his bobbling out of bounds issues.

But hey, the Griz pulled out the win. Major contributors?

-Finally, again, OJ Mayo. 7-14, no TO’s, and 2 steals. Yep, a shooter shot himself out of a slump, for one game at least. Next game against GSW should provide him plenty chances to get a hot streak going…or it could make us all ask, once again, why we didn’t want Rush in a McBobs trade.

-Rudy Gay did what the Griz need him to do…mostly. It was not odd at all that when Brewer went on his streak of fire, that Gay all of a sudden couldn’t do anything on offense. Didn’t score at all in Q3, and not until it was almost too late in Q4. However, he got the team off to a great start in the first half, and came VERY alive late in the fourth. Yes, Dante was the one who finally got the peanut butter jar open, but Rudy had been workin’ on that lid for a few minutes beforehand. Gay deserves as much credit for the victory as Cunningham. A great line from Rudy-20/8/6, with 3 blocks and only one TO. However…

-…line of the night undoubtedly goes to Marc Gasol. 16/14/8 with a Linlike 7 nasty TO’s. All hustle, plenty floor burns as usual, and his standard quiet brand of quality leadership. He and Gay both had to play 41 minutes, but they were in their own beds last night, and will be again this night. Andris Biedrins has actually come back to life in GSW, so Marc could be in for a mildly tough night against the Warriors-get some rest Marc.

Not the Griz’ best second-half effort of the year, but Dante outworked Faried on the one play that mattered most.

Grizzlies now own tiebreakers over Houston and Denver, and are in the six seed. How odd is that, and how long will it last?

Memphis vs Denver – 2/17/2012

Chip Crain — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:48:44 +0000

Game: Memphis Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets
When: 7:00 pm CST
Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
Records: Memphis Grizzlies (16-14), Denver Nuggest (17-13)

Expected Starting Lineups:
Memphis: Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights, Marc Gasol
Denver: Ty Lawson, Aaron Afflalo, Corey Brewer, Kenneth Faried, Kosta Koufas

Preview:
Memphis has been playing some of their best basketball of the season, and their worst, this month sometimes in the same game. In their last two games the Grizzlies won back to back games against Houston and at New Jersey. The Grizzlies started hot against Houston but allowed the Rockets to crawl back into the game late before Mike Conley made a big three to ice the win. Against New Jersey the Grizzlies were hot and cold all night taking big leads only to give up big streaks to lose the lead before finally pulling away in the end thanks to Tony Allen’s big three-point basket.

Big three’s aren’t the Grizzlies forte however and the team won’t be reaching fans expectations if they don’t start putting together complete efforts. Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol have led the team offensively and Tony Allen has been excellent defensively since returning from his sore hip and knee. Marreese Speights had a huge game against New Jersey (19 points and 18 rebounds) and the Grizzlies hope to see those types of efforts more consistently going forward.

However the bench has been struggling lately with O J Mayo unable to buy a basket and Jeremy Pargo struggling to run the offense. Hollins is finding more confidence going with the bench for longer stretches but not as a unit preferring to keep some starters on the court at all times.

Denver started the season strong and was 2nd in the conference at one point but have struggled lately dealing with injuries. Nene and Timothy Mosgov are questionable for tonight’s game and Danilo Ganillari is out. The Nuggets are only 8-7 at home but still a strong 9-6 on the road.

Denver was blown out at Dallas in their most recent game when the Nuggets started the game shooting 28% in the 1st quarter. Kosta Koufas had a double-double against the Mavs but has struggled as a started for Denver. Ty Lawson and Aaron Afflalo have been attempting to hold things together with the normal starting frontline out but neither player is capable of putting the team on their backs for a full game.

Spaniard Rudy Fernandez provides good range and scoring punch from the bench but even a team as deep as Denver can’t make up for three starters out along the frontline. Denver has been very successful against the Grizzlies Lately (12-3 in the last 15 games) and that should help their confidence in this game. Denver needs to avoid long scoring droughts, especially in the first quarter, to maintain that confidence.

Prediction: Even if Nene and Mosgov return the Nuggets would have their hands full. Grizzlies winning streak stretches to three games tonight.

Grizzlies Grind Out Another Win. Tony Allen RULES.

HPTMatt — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:58:56 +0000

On the road, back to back, lost an hour, etc., etc., etc.

None of that matters when the players (well, the starters anyway-more on that in a second) all do what they’re supposed to do in a close game.

Up and down game, and the Grizzlies knew when it needed the biggest up.

By no means perfect, though…

Ok. Let’s whine about the bench first. Win, lose, whatever-4-for-19 WILL NOT CUT IT. It is wonderful, bordering on miraculous, that Cunningham played almost twenty minutes and didn’t commit one foul….but it was ‘cuz he was giving up points. OJ has mired himself in one of his patented OJ funks-we know he’ll get out, and we can be happy that Hollins will let him shoot his way out of it-but right now OJ is lucky the slump isn’t a wet paper bag, ‘cuz there’s no way he could shoot his way out of it right now. In a related miracle, none of the Griz starters had to play over 40 minutes-some of the best clock/minute management I’ve seen in a while. Since, like, last night.

Now, about this “Speights” gentleman, who as recently as four or five days ago was an albatross around the neck of the Grizzlies. He was starting, but not staying out there long, and not finishing. This was as ZBO-esque a performance as we’ve seen from any Grizzly not wearing #50 in a long time…especially that tip-in to put the Griz up six with about a minute to go. Z-Bound city. Sometimes he rebounds in positional fashion, and that usually gets him a board or three-but when he combines his positional sense with a real game-long burst of energy, it’s on. Kinda reminds me of an immensely more talented Alexander Johnson, minus the flying limbs.

Rudy Gay is making good on his statement that he’d use his all-star “snub” as motivation. We need to find a way to make this guy just a *little bit* mad every once in a while. The first three of the game, and the halftime buzzer beater. Great stuff, especially since the three brought it back so close after the Griz had been down double digits earlier in the quarter during the Deron Williams show.

Speaking of Deron Williams, that guy is just flat-out good. However, that guy did not score a point after the 7:56 mark of Q3. Couple turnovers, couple misses, and NO CHANCE to hurt the Griz in the end. This speaks to…

Defense, led by our man of the hour, Tony Allen, who was also an…uh..offensive machine? Huh? What? Well, not quite-5 TO’s kinda precludes “offensive machine”-but 8-15 with a huge three late in the game is SG production with which we should all be thrilled. Enough with the offense, though-five steals for Allen, four for Conley, and 12 total for the team. Yes, there were significant lapses-the end of that first quarter was abominable-but the fourth in a close game, similar to the Houston game, is when the D has to step up, and it did so.

Couple minor things:

-23 ast on 41 makes. When the Griz get over 50% FG’s assisted, I get happy. They have the PG and the players to do it, but without ZBo, things still get bogged down from time to time.

-Another GREAT night from the FT line. 17-20 is excellent…and Rudy got to the line six times and made all three. Set the trend, Rudy. Keep it up.

-Griz win the boards, Griz win the game. Once again.

Two tough ones this weekend-can the Griz keep up their winning ways?