Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Postgame Thoughts: Memphis at Philly 2.13.08

Spartacus Says:
The All-Star break couldn't get here soon enough for the Memphis Grizzlies. After yet another loss, this time to the Philadelphia 76ers, most of the team will get a chance to take a much needed break. The Grizz will send 3 players to All-Star weekend, as Juan Carlos Navarro and Mike Conley will be participating in the Rookie/Sophmore game along with Rudy Gay, who will be pulling double duty as he competes in the Slam Dunk contest as well.

The Good:
Hakim Warrick - Hak has put two solid games together after the Gasol trade left him as the only consistent low-post scorer on the team. If he can continue this kind of production, he might stick around through the "rebuilding process" the team is currently undergoing.

Kyle Lowry - The Bulldog played well in his first return to the City of Brotherly Love since being drafted last year. He played with his trademark intensity while logging more minutes than any other Grizzly. Even his outside shot was on, as he hit 3/5 from behind the arc.

The Bad:
Starters' scoring - Philly had all 5 starters score in double figures. Memphis had 3....and the other two were scoreless. Granted, Kyle might as well have been the starter given he played nearly 40 minutes, scoring 15 points along the way, but that is still inexcusable.

Creating opportunities - The Grizzlies had 17 assists for 35 made baskets. That doesn't sound too bad, until you consider that the Sixers had 28 assists on 42 made baskets and the Grizzlies' 2nd leading assist man was Kwame Brown. No, that's not a misprint.

The Ugly:
3-Point Shooting - 7 for 26 = .269%. Need I say more? I didn't think so.

Team defense - Philly shot over 50% from the field and over 46% from behind the 3-point line. Hard to beat teams if you're going to post numbers like that.

This team has a lot to work on over the break and throughout the remainder of the season.

BallHype: hype it up!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

''We came out a little dead and weren't aggressive,'' said rookie starter Mike Conley, who was held scoreless with just one assist in just nine minutes of play. ''Coach put the guys off the bench in and they did a lot better job of pushing the tempo and being more aggressive. That's why he stuck with them, and rightfully so because they were playing the best basketball. We needed that energy at the beginning of the game. We just didn't have it.''


I just have a hard time comprehending this. Why do they come out "a little dead" and not aggressive? When we allow other teams to jump out to the early leads (like we do so often), it sets the tone for the rest of the game, in my opinion. I get the "Here we go again" feeling, and it seems to break the spirit of a possible win within the first quarter. Again, I'm confused as to how they come out not being aggressive. I was under the impression that you have to be aggressive to score/win/play basketball in general. They should be competing with the utmost of "energy" every night. Disgusting.

zack said...

ht....

yep....i agree...

it's discouraging to constantly see poor starts....

but then again, if we don't start bad, we will probably play bad in one of the other quarters...

just not getting a lot of solid, high energy play for 4 quarters...

Anonymous said...

How often has the team either started the game or started the 3rd quarter with poor play...call it lackluster shooting or lack of energy. It points back to the coaching staff not preparing them.

Anonymous said...

Good points

I am afraid that THIS Grizzlies team will end with the NBA worst record, but it could be the best way to start it over for you guys

Just be patient for 20 more games, because I have the feeling you will see many games like this

Lowry is good, Philly newspapers wrote that Sixers are interested in him for next year

Warrick at least showed some willing to fight

I have no words for Darko, really.. unexcusable

keep up the good work with the blog, I really like it

regards from Italy