I thought the regular season schedule was tough on the Grizzlies. After two straight 2 a day workouts, a travel day to Vegas and then four successive games the Baby Grizzlies finally get a day off during summer league training.
The Spurs game on Monday evening was almost an after thought as the tired Grizzlies limped back to .500 after their brutal schedule. Led by Darrell Arthur who scored 23 point explosion (on 10-15 from the field shooting and a summer league high 6 boards), the Grizzlies took a 3 pt lead into the 4th quarter but were unable to finish the game as fatigue seemed to have an effect.
One player not seemingly affected by the schedule was PJ Tucker who again had a solid performance with 12 pts and 9 rebounds but OJ Mayo shot a summer league worst 5-17 in the game. He did add to his highlight reel with a beyond half court shot (69 ft) to end the 1st quarter however. Steve Burtt Jr has 12 points as well, mostly from the line, and looked nice replacing Mike Conley in the lineup. Conley was given the night off to rest I believe.
Javaris Crittenton got to play nearly 30 minutes of the 40 minute game and most of the time he was running the point. His 6 pt, 6 assist and 5 rebound game was decent but not outstanding. Crittenton's play has been somewhat disappointing this summer. I believe most Grizzlies fans were hoping to see a big step forward in his development but playing mostly as the 3rd guard and guarding opponents small forwards predominantly has taken something away from his offensive game. Hopefully this isn't a trend that will continue into training camp. The Grizzlies need Crittenton to establish himself as a solid backup at either the PG or SG positions to facilitate moves in the roster either for himself or someone else.
Scouting OJ Mayo: 20 Second Timeout has an early scouting report on OJ Mayo after the Lakers game. The article is not flattering and the authors bias is clear throughout but it is a sobering review of the player we traded a lot of assets to acquire. On a more positive note RealGM ran a blurb about OJ's big shot last night.
Combo Cubs?: The NBA Summer league ran a story about the Grizzlies three guards (Conley, Mayo and Crittenton) that is really worth reading but where did they come up with name Combo Cubs?
Blog of the Day: Grab Your Balls
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Finally A Day Off
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3 comments:
The name "20 Second Timeout" is sorely misleading. That article was too long! and There's no way Conley is a combo guard in anybody's league. He can't be a "Combo Cub".
Also there is word that there are serious talks between the Griz and the Magic involving J-Crit. It says that there will probably be multiple picks going to us, and also Keith Bogans and maybe JJ Redick. That would blow up the entire Combo Club because Mayo would be the only one left.
Thanks for the link. I am curious to know which aspect of my scouting report you consider to be "biased." I can assure you that I feel no "bias" for or against either Mayo or the Grizzlies. I watched one summer league game and reported what I saw; this is a first impression, which is why I called it an early scouting report, not a final, definitive evaluation. I would of course expect Mayo to improve but I also don't expect his game to fundamentally change: i.e., he has a shooting guard mentality, not a point guard mentality.
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