Post Game Thoughts - Seattle

If there is a cure for losing streaks it apparently is located in Seattle. The Sonics continue to be one team that this season's Grizzlies have no problem with. The 24 pt victory took a little sting out of the recent 5 game losing streak.

Who is Bobby Jones and where did this game come from? A lot of people will probably get overly excited about the 20 pt, 13 rebound, 7 assist, 3 steals and a block game but keep in mind that Tarence Kinsey had a month of such performances last season and is still playing in Turkey right now. Jones provided a huge lift with Rudy out but don't expect a lot more games such as this.

Pau Gasol had a big game (23 pts and 12 boards, 4 blocks) but failed to score again in the 4th quarter. Probably because he didn't play in the 4th as the Grizzlies already had the game put out of reach. Everytime Seattle tried to make a move to get back into the game Gasol made a big play to keep Memphis on top.

Mike Miller's back was obviously bothering him all night but he gutted it out and put a team high 25 pts including 6-9 from the arc. Miller didn't even make it to the end of the 3rd quarter when his back flared up but he fought hard and hopefully he will be ready for tonight's game against the Bobcats. Same goes for Rudy Gay who got sick before the game but was on the bench in street clothes.

I suggested Juan Carlos Navarro would have a difficult time in this game against the big guards of Seattle. I was wrong. Navarro had 21 pts, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. It is so much fun to watch Navarro play in person. He laughs, smiles and really seems to enjoy playing. The funniest moment of the night was when the Grizzlies did their 'Meet the Team' segment with Navarro. A few tidbits from his interview included his choosing #2 because he has 2 daughters, his best friend is Pau Gasol and his favorite food is hamburgers. It was all subtitled since he speaks Spanish and was interjected with movie clips including the hamburger scene with Samuel L. Jackson's scene from Pulp Fiction. Too funny! Great job by the Grizzlies media team.

This game was such a blowout that Andre Brown, Stromile Swift and even Brian Cardinal made 4th quarter appearances. Casey Jacobsen was in uniform for warmups but in street clothes for the game. Damon dressed but did not play.

All I can say about Seattle is that this team isn't good and doesn't match up well with the Grizzlies. At least that is what I can say and remain polite. If I wanted to be cruel I would say Nike isn't getting their money's worth from that Durant contract. Those have to be the ugliest shoes I have ever scene on a human being. Durant looks like he will be an offensive force one day but he has to learn to play defense, rebound and passer. Being a team leader doesn't mean taking every shot possible no matter how bad it is. Jeff Green looks mechanical and may not develop into more than a back up SF. The rest of the team are NBA rejects and over the hill players. I wonder why Seattle is fighting to keep this team right now. Good thing I am too polite to say such things.

Great win for the Grizzlies but it won't be so easy against the Bobcats. Charlotte was blown out by New Orleans and rested their starters as well in the 4th quarter.

Spartacus Says:

It is amazing what a fun game NBA basketball is to watch when your team is winning by 20+ for the majority of the game. This is especially true when the guy sitting directly in front of you is renowned for riding the officials all game long......and the officials are not only looking at him, but responding to him throughout the evening. Thanks for making the game even more entertaining Richard!

What a game by Bobby Jones. The game program for the night might have said that Kyle Lowry was the catalyst for the team, but Jones proved that to be incorrect almost immediately after tip-off. He played smothering, suffocating defense on Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Damien Wilkins and whomever else he was asked to guard. He made hustle play after hustle play, leading to a standing ovation from the crowd gathered at FedEx Forum near the end of the half when he converted a steal into a bucket, then immediately turned and nearly stole the inbounds pass before knocking it out of bounds. It was the kind of effort that made guys like James Posey and Shane Battier fan favorites during their time on Beale Street. Granted, the more cynical among us could say "hey -- the guy is fighting for a contract", but you could tell from the look on his face that he'd be playing this hard whether he was in Memphis, Los Angeles, Austin or Albuquerque. The kid just loves being out there giving his all. I expect that the Grizzlies will sign him to another 10-day contract, and as long as he doesn't completely fall apart, he'll be on the team for the remainder of the season. Rudy Gay might want to avoid eating anything else that Bobby gets him for lunch though.

Chip covered all the relevant stats for Memphis, but here's a new stat for you: .302% That is Kevin Durant's shooting percentage from the field in 3 games against the Grizzlies so far, as he has only made 13 of his 43 attempts. Here's another: 7.....as in 7 total rebounds he has grabbed in those 3 games. Echoing Chip's thoughts, if I wanted to be truly cruel, I'd tell you that he has more turnovers (10) in those three games than assists (3), steals (1) and blocks (0) combined. But I'm not that mean. His shoes were that ugly though.

While the game was entertaining, perhaps the most unbelievable thing I saw all night occurred when Al Sharpton showed up halfway through the first quarter with an entourage of 4 or 5 people. It was apparent that they were having some difficulty finding their seats, as they meandered along the walkway behind the baseline for several minutes attempting to locate the appropriate place. Finally, as Sharpton grew frustrated, he pointed to an open chair and proclaimed in the way that only he can, "I'll take that seat!". The ushers tried to inform him that he couldn't just have any seat, that he would have to sit in his assigned seat, but he wasn't having any of it by that point. Finally, someone turned around and said, "Reverend Sharpton, that's my seat." Sharpton replied, "Well who are you?" The man responded, "I'm Marc Iavaroni." "Well, I've never heard of you, but you seem to have heard of me, so I think I'll be taking that seat now" was the instantaneous response from Sharpton.

The preceding was a complete and total fabrication, so please don't sue me......even if it could have actually happened.

Hopefuly the Grizzlies will be able to carry over some momentum from last night into tonight's game against the BETcats.