Folks, it's been an excellent season to spend with you, but this is it -- the season ends tonight for the Grizzlies.

Both the last two matchups have been absolute thrillers and some, including most of you I hope, would claim that the Grizz actually challenge the Thunder for the title of most promising young team. I guess that's why ESPN finally decided to give them both their due and broadcast this one nationally.

And while we can hardly expect the drama of the Grizz's 86-84 win earlier this year, especially with the Thunder slumping and having nothing to play for while the Grizzlies are without Marc Gasol, this game is a must watch for any basketball fan.

O.J. Mayo against Thabo Sefolosha's blanketing defense, Zach Randolph and Jeff Green stretching the floor, Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook just being fast. Most of all Rudy Gay matched up against his more skilled but comparable counterpart Kevin Durant.

Too bad that this last game isn't going to be what we might have hoped, a showdown for the 8th seed, but just like the rest of the season, it should be fantastic.

A little teardrop came to my eye when I looked at my editorial dash and noticed that the "gamethreads" section is looking particularly short, with just two games left this season.

Again, we've been hammering the same point as the coaches, the goal this late in the season -- once the playoffs were out of reach -- has been for the Grizz to finish above .500. That means they'll need to win tonight in Denver and Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

Tonight's game won't be an easy one. The Denver Nuggets are particularly tough at home, what with the mountain air and Pepsi Center energy. Kenyon Martin is now back, but Marc Gasol isn't. That means Darrell Arthur and Zach Randolph will be giving up a lot of size and hops against the triumvirate of Chris Andersen, Nene, and K-Mart.

O.J. Mayo has played well against the Nuggets this year, but he's going to be slightly hobbled with a sprained ankle. Mike Conley has come on strong lately, but Ty Lawson and Chauncey Billups are both difficult matchups.

Let's hope for two wins -- but a loss tonight won't be the end of the world, or the end of the season. OKC on ESPN is the game we should really worry about.

The Memphis Grizzlies only have four games to go, and are stuck at exactly .500. That obviously means, to reach their goal of a winning season, that the Grizzlies are going to have to win three of the next four.

This one won't be the easiest of the four.

The Spurs have been especially tough at home this year, and Manu Ginobilli is rolling. That being said, George Hill is out and Tony Parker is still playing limited minutes. That means the Grizz will likely be seeing Garrett Temple, hardly one of the faces of the franchise, in the starting lineup against them.

But with Marc Gasol out and the bench as unproductive as ever, the Grizzlies are still going to have trouble against these veteran Spurs. Let's hope Philly, Denver, and OKC treat them better.

The Memphis Grizzlies have been talking about the pride of finishing this season above .500, about not tanking by resting Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, or Zach Randolph.

Tonight will prove their mettle then, because -- at 39-38 -- they haven't been closer to even in months.

Playing the Dallas Mavericks hasn't been easy for the Grizz, but it hasn't been impossible either. The Grizzlies won one game, played the Mavs tough, and played took them to overtime in their last meeting. The Grizz will need a win tonight to even up the series and have an excellent shot to stay above .500.

If Hasheem Thabeet's going to step up and have a statement game, tonight would be the night to do it. With Marc Gasol out, Thabeet will be facing off against Dwight Howard and the Magic.

The Magic are a tough matchup for the Grizzlies - even though the Grizz won earlier this year - because their defense smothers the paint so well. Even though the Grizz beat the Hornets from outside last game, obviously Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay prefer to get their 20's inside. But Dwight Howard's presence alone blocks about half those layups, and Memphis's oftentimes shaky passing will only fuel the Magic's break.

To win this one the bench is going to have to step up again, because I wouldn't be surprised to see the Magic put up 105 or more. Without lots of scoring options, including Sam Young and Darrell Arthur, the Grizz will end up befuddled by the Magic's subtly overpowering defense and 3 point advantage.

I feel like I've watched this game 8 times this season. Even though the Hornets and Grizzlies only play each other 4 times every year, this year the two's matches have been stacked in the last couple months of the schedule.

So far the Grizzlies have lost two of three, but they really should be splitting against a team like this. The Hornets have been coming on strong lately, though, so it's reasonable to be worried. With Chris Paul back New Orleans should be even better than ever, and it's not like Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison have been getting any worse.

Hopefully Zach Randolph will be able to have a big night against the somewhat under-performing David West, and Rudy Gay's always strong against the Hornets. But ultimately the backcourt is going to have to step up and stop the Hornet's newly formed three-headed monster.

Finally some action - I feel like I haven't had anything to write about or any Grizzlies to complain about for a month. Not that the Mavs are the team you want to see, but a game is a game at this point.

The Grizzlies are essentially playing for pride at this point, so let's see what happens. My guess:

The Grizz and the Mavs used to match up well. No longer. The Mavericks are too big for the Grizz; the only way Memphis has a shot is if Zach Randolph completely dominates Dirk Nowitzki. Given Dirks new affinity for 30-10-10, this seems somewhat unlikely.

Caron Butler at shooting guard, even if it's only for part of his time on the court, is just trouble for O.J. Mayo. Shawn Marion can easily frustrate Rudy Gay. Brendan Haywood is a top-tier defensive option against any center. Yes, life will be tough tonight.

I'm trying to dig for a storyline here, but there's really nothing. The Grizzlies are pretty much stuck outside of the playoffs at this point, and the Bucks are sitting pretty in the 5th seed out East.

These two teams have close to the same record, even though the Bucks certainly have the easier road. Not taking anything away from the Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut, and new Buck John Salmons, who I love to watch, but that's the difference 100 miles East to West makes in the NBA.

Memphis needs to come out strong and prove West dominance, if for nothing more then respect. Hasheem Thabeet's still going to be starting, which could be problematic, depending on if Bogut (back strain, day-to-day) can play. This one has major ugliness potential, but should be interesting enough.

After the way Memphis hammered Golden State just a handful of days ago (and the fact that it'd take a miracle to get a playoff spot), the story is less, "Who's going to win?" then "Who's going to play?" Memphis fans are waiting for the return of Marc Gasol because, even though Hasheem Thabeet has stepped up in his absence, well, we'd like to see just how well the real starters can finish the year, I guess.

Not to mention Ronnie Brewer, who's been playing but not really playing. He's got to show up big at some point before the end of the season, right?

The media notes say that Hasheem Thabeet is, again, the probable starter, but that's hardly the definitive word. Look for Marc to come back tonight, even though Zach Randolph and Darrell Arthur will probably be the bigs of choice against the tiny Warriors.

Word on the street is that the Grizzlies might have an easy one tonight, since Sacramento's standout rookie Tyreke Evans won't play because of an injured, but not broken, jaw.

The Memphis standout Reke Havok got his world rocked by an elbow to the head against Milwaukee, and he already missed one game against the Clippers. This is a bittersweet victory for Grizz fans, most of whom are bigger Tigers fans, since Tyreke is a hometown hero worth watching.

So that means the Grizzlies should see an even weaker Kings team tonight (though they did beat the Clippers without the Future), since Beno Udrih will probably be shouldering most of the offensive duties. Udrih is possibly quite a bit underrated, but only because he was so vastly overrated before signing his long-term deal last year. Even though he's a little bit better than most people think, he's not going to consistently drop 20-17 like he did against the Clippers.

Of course Carl Landry is a solid matchup for Grizzlies star Zach Randolph; the two of them are actually somewhat comparable players, after all. Landry probably has fewer isolation moves and handles, but makes up for it with his hops and regenerative powers.

Still I expect a win, even if I'm a little upset at missing the opportunity to watch Hasheem Thabeet deny Reke (Final stat lines: Thabeet - 6 points, 4 boards, 1 block; Evans - 24 points, 7 boards, 6 assists).