Broken?: Grizzlies Hit New Bottom, Lose to Timberwolves 109-102
by djturtleface on Feb 6, 2010 9:46 PM CST
7 comments
Losing to the San Antonio Spurs was fine. So was losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Those two teams are both more skilled and have a pedigree that Memphis can't hope to match.
Losing to the Houston Rockets wasn't pleasant, but it happens. Houston is a tough matchup.
Even the New Orleans Hornets are respectable. Obviously they're much, much less respectable without Chis Paul, but again, they're a pretty decent team.
Dropping this game against the Timberwolves though, with both teams on the end of a back-to-back, was ridiculous. If the Grizzlies want to make the playoffs, they have to win this game. But they didn't.
Rudy Gay scored 27 points but Ryan Gomes nearly matched him on the other end with 26 of his own. While Mike Conley put up decent scoring numbers, he wilted down the stretch and, in the opinion of most of my trusted Grizzlies watchers on the Twitter, lost this game for the Grizzlies.
The trade deadline is approaching, and while the Grizzlies 4 starters have gotten them this far, in my opinion they just don't have what it takes to make the playoffs without making a move. It's not up to Rudy, O.J. Mayo, Zach Randolph, or Marc Gasol any longer -- it's up to Chris Wallace.
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Sit Down: Rockets Outhustle Grizzlies 101-83
by djturtleface on Feb 5, 2010 10:43 PM CST
1 comment
The score of this game was 50-35.
That might sound low for an NBA game, but it's just about right if you watched this one.
The Houston Rockets just flat-out played harder than the Grizzlies tonight, and so the Rockets took the rebounding stat by 15 boards.
And effort was clearly the difference tonight, as the Rockets got 19 offensive boards and forced 17 Grizzlies turnovers. When you're -3 in turnovers and -15 in rebounds, you just can't win basketball games.
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GameThread: Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies
by djturtleface on Feb 5, 2010 5:31 PM CST
2 comments
The Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies are, in many ways, just about polar opposites.
While the Grizzlies are stacked with 4 scorers who could be, by many people's definition, the feature player on a decent team, the Houston Rockets don't have a single 'go-to guy.'
That being said, the Rockets have defensive stoppers at most positions and all the way down their bench, while I'm not convinced the Grizzlies have a defensive stopper at a single position.
Still it's not like either team really has a serious problem scoring or defending. Well, maybe Memphis has a serious problem on defense, but that's no surprise.
Anyhow, if there is one thing these teams have in common, it's that they're both fast-paced, fun teams to watch. Turn the game on tonight and be sure to stop by in the comments thread.
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League executives say between now and then Brown is determined to move point guard D.J. Augustin for a veteran big man.
4 days ago
djturtleface
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The Definitive SB Nation Trade Deadline Piece
by djturtleface on Feb 3, 2010 1:31 PM CST
4 comments
I highly recommend this trade deadline status piece written by the always loved, and hated for constantly ranking the Thunder above the Grizzlies, SB Nation basketball blogger Mike Prada.
Prada is a solid source and follows the league closely, and even though he and I don't always share opinions, get over the jump where I'll highlight a few quips that you should probably be aware of:
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Dream Deferred: Tired Grizzlies Lose to Cavs 105-89
by djturtleface on Feb 3, 2010 10:10 AM CST
4 comments
In the National Basketball Association, scheduling doesn't get much worse than the dreaded double back-to-back.
That is, unless your double back-to-back is against the Spurs and Hornets, then the Lakers and Cavaliers.
So it's probably easy to forgive the Grizzlies for looking sluggish in this one, especially given Coach Hollins's reliance on his starters to play heavy minutes night-in and night-out.
Not to take anything away from the Cavs, who's lockdown defense and constant energy at home is, and should be, probably tough enough to crush any given team on any given night -- much less the upstart Grizzlies on the back end of this tough stretch.
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GameThread: Memphis Grizzlies at Cleveland Cavaliers
by djturtleface on Feb 2, 2010 4:53 PM CST
15 comments
Yes, I do realize LeBron has more assists than our point guard. I just don't care.
The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Cleveland Cavaliers once this season, though it was with the considerable advantage of home court.
Still that doesn't mean that the Grizzlies are favorites, even with Mo Williams and Delonte West out. In fact after losing to a Hornets team missing Chris Paul, most people probably would have told you that the Grizzlies might as well bench the starters in this one.
But after their win against the Los Angeles Lakers last night, can we really count them down and out?
The Grizzlies have perfected the somewhat counter-intuitive defensive style of superstar-feeding. While most teams try their hardest to force teams with players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade to beat them with their role players, the Grizzlies allow the superstars to try to win the game themselves.
Normally the superstar seems to have control until around the 4th quarter. That's when the role players are ice-cold from barely touching the ball all night, but the star is getting tired and regressing to the mean. That's how the Grizzlies have beat superstar driven teams this season -- and just might win again tonight.
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SB Nation Ranks Grizzlies #13
Still behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, but whatever. Mike Prada's Power Rankings are a weekly must-read.
6 days ago
djturtleface
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