Memphis vs Orlando - Post Game Thoughts

Looks like I picked the right week to quit sniffing glue.


For those of you that haven't seen the movie 'Airplane' you don't know what you are missing. And you should have watched that instead of the Grizzlies game last night.

But that isn't what I meant by that comment. What I was implying was that I picked the right game not to attend. I was at my son's game instead and didn't see the game until late last night. What a stinker. The Grizzlies played unispired at best and down right intimidated as Orlando humiliated the Grizzlies in front of a sparse crowd last night.

Pau Gasol put up numbers (17 pts, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) but he looked more like a deer in the headlights than one of four players in the league averaging 20 and 10 in January. One paricular play stood out in my mind. Pau got an entry pass about 5 ft from the basket and turned to see who to pass the ball to despite no one covering him! Pau, we play a Phoenix style of offense. Can you imagine Amare Stoudamire looking to pass the ball that close to the basket with no one guarding him? I can't. That is when big players make thunderous dunks and get the crowd on their feet. Time to act like a man and start being aggressive. I realize Dwight Howard is in the game and that Gerald Wallace blocked one of your previous dunk attempts but you have to go to the hole. That play exemplified everything Pau-Haters dislike about Gasol and there is no defending it. Most of the night Orlando doubled Gasol whenever the ball came near him so he has to take advantage of the clear opportunities when they are there. And double teams don't justify the 5 turnovers Gasol had.

Mike Miller did nothing. I honestly was hoping his back was acting up because only taking 8 shots against Maurice Evans and Keith bogans is inexcusable. Of course, once our big men (see Gasol) decided they weren't going near Dwight Howard it enabled everyone else to play that much tighter on the perimeter. When Miller only takes 8 shots and turns the ball over 4 times that is pathetic.

The only players willing to challenge the Magic were Mike Conley and Rudy Gay. Rudy led the team in scoring with 20 pts and grabbed 8 baords but didn't have any steals. The entire Grizzlies team only had one steal and this was a Magic team who's starting PG didn't play. Conley exploited the Magic for 13 pts and 5 assists and most of his points came in the paint challenging Howard's power with his speed. The future sure looks bright with Conley at the point.

The Grizzlies don't play man on man defense well enough to win without creating turnovers. Orlando turned the ball over 6 times all night. Apparently the flat-footed effort was on both sides of the court last night. Orlando shot extremely well last night despite some decent on the ball defensive effort but those constant 3's balls falling really took the energy out of the team.

What really pissed me off however was the lack of energy to make a comeback in the 4th. The team scored 13 pts in the last quarter! Players are not supposed to quit like that in front of the home crowd. I don't care if the arena was empty the fans who were there deserved a better effort and the fans choosing to watch the Grizzlies instead of the Tigers deserved better as well. And there were fans at the game trying to cheer for the home team.
photo curtesy of Getty Pictures

The sad thing is that despite poor play from 2/3rds of their stars and a weak perimeter defensive effort Memphis wasn't out of the game until the fourth quarter. Or rather the end of the 3rd. With Memphis down 11 pts and with the ball in the last 20 seconds Memphis only had to hit a bucket and enter the 4th against a perimeter shooting team down less than 10. That is still winnable. Instead the Grizzlies turned the ball over and Orlando drained a 3 at the buzzer. Down 14 to start the fourth and game over. Adding injury to insult was Memphis' play to end the first half when Memphis had the ball but turned it over for a breakaway layup at the buzzer. Instead of being down 8 with a chance at only down 6 Memphis went to halftime down 10.

The bright signs defensively was that Memphis did contain Dwight Howard. He only had 16 pts and 1o boards and a lot of his points came from the line. Normally Howard doesn't shoot well from the free throw line but in two games against the Grizzlies he was 17-26. Well above his seasonal averages. Hedo Turkoglu was en fuego however and he single-handedly beat the Grizzlies. Rashard Lewis was decent but not spectacular. Miller's being outplayed and Gasol's being intimidated was the difference in the game.

One last player comment. After his awesome game starting for the Grizzlies Bobby Jones appears to not want to be signed for the rest of the season. His play has been more than just bad in the last two games. He looks dispirited. I don't know what is happening there but it is very peculiar to say the least.