Boy it feels sweet to be at a Grizzlies victory and the pre-game party was pretty tasty as well. Not just a victory either but a blowout win where the team came together and really played as a team in the 2nd half to completely thwart a talented opponent. Sure Charlotte has only 25 wins and is not threatening to grab a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference but any team with Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace and free agent in waiting Emeka Okafor is not a team to overlook either.
If anyone was wondering who was going to be the on-court leader of the Grizzlies down the stretch should have had those questions answered tonight. Mike Miller played huge tonight from hitting big baskets, to grabbing rebounds and basically putting the team on his back and refusing to allow them to succumb to an early deficit. He played like a man who wanted to prove he is deserving a spot on this summer's Olympic team. He was that big last night against a pretty good player in Jason Richardson.
Juan Carlos Navarro can't be forgotten in the victory either. Despite being held in relative check in the 2nd half Navarro made many defensive plays to disrupt the Bobcats offense (yes I said defensive) and his 12 points in the first half kept the Grizzlies in contention when it seemed no one else could make a basket. Navarro ended up leading the Grizzlies in scoring with 21 points but it was the first half where he was most impressive.
Darko Milicic played a decent game. He shot the ball poorly including attempting to lay the ball in to often instead of just dunking the ball which resulted in one particularly embarrassing block by Gerald Wallace but he kept being aggressive offensively and drew some important fouls in the 2nd half. If Darko could hit free throws he would have been far more important in the final outcome. Still his 10 pts and 11 boards were a big aid in the 2nd half run.
Hakim Warrick didn't start which not only surprised me but the announcer as well. Hak had a decent game off the bench however and he his scoring helped the bench provide a scoring punch that was needed. Free throws hurt Hak's overall game as he was only 5-11 from the line.
If anyone had told me before the game that Rudy Gay would be in foul trouble all night and only score 8 points I would have assumed the Grizzlies would be blown out. Instead Rudy contributed in other ways holding Gerald Wallace to only 10 points and dishing out 4 assists. Rudy also was more vocal tonight than I have seen him in a while which I believe contributed to other players taking the lead offensively. He seemed to be encouraging his teammates to be more aggressive and not look to him so much. I don't know for sure if that was the case but the way Miller, Navarro and Hak took over seemed to make that impression valid.
Charlotte looked tired after playing yesterday in Cleveland. That doesn't explain the poor shooting from Jason Richardson and Raymond Felton however. Their combined 7-32 shooting had as much to do with the Bobcats defeat as the Grizzlies offensive heroics. Matt Carroll, a dangerous shooter for the Bobcats, was held to only 2 attempts and he failed to hit either one. Thank Juan Carlos Navarro for that ineffectiveness.
The Grizzlies now head to Minnesota to face the TWolves and another opportunity to put together a winning streak. The effort tonight should make that trip more encouraging.
Thanks to Joe Murphy and Getty Images for the great photos of Mike Miller and Rudy Gay. Chipc3 took the dance team picture at the Downtown Party. Everyone missed a great event there. Chris Wallace spoke and took questions (the man is a masochist the way he stands up there and takes questions), the Dance team made appearances and the food (Shrimp, tenderloin sandwiches, spicy chicken, chips and dip plus desserts) were fantastic. Another opportunity lost for those of you who didn't attend. The Grizzlies did it right this time!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Post Game Thoughts: Memphis vs. Charlotte - 3.17.08
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Memphis vs. Charlotte - 3.17.08
Join the Grizzlies for Downtown Night.
Memphis is coming off a close loss to Golden State that showed evidence of the team "getting it" as they reach the home stretch of the regular season. They had active hands on defense, found open players on offense and played with intensity and determination, even when down by double digits late in the game. If they can build upon that throughout the remainder of the season, it would give fans that much more hope for better results next year.
Charlotte gave a valiant effort against the Cleveland LeBrons, but came up a little bit short in the end. That dropped the Bobcats to 3.5 games out of the 8th position in the Eastern Conference. After winning 5 in a row, they have now lost 3 straight and will need to get back on track if they plan on living up to preseason expectations.
Point Guards: Mike Conley vs. Raymond Felton
Raymond Felton has improved each season he's been in the league, as his scoring and assists have gone up, while his turnovers have gone down. Mike Conley didn't play exceptionally well against Golden State and saw most of his minutes go to Kyle Lowry as a result. He'll need to be on his toes if he plans on keeping up with Felton, who has been great since the team cut Jeff McInnis with the exception of a sub-par effort against the streaking Rockets.
Advantage: Charlotte
Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs. Matt Carroll
Matt Carroll has seen his minutes decrease with the return of Gerald Wallace to the lineup, and his performance has suffered as a result. He has played well against the Grizzlies historically, but that doesn't mean he'll break out of his mini-slump for this one. Miller also has a good history in this series, averaging 20 ppg against Charlotte. When Wallace comes in, expect to see Miller matched up with Jason Richardson fairly often.
Advantage: Memphis
Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs. Jason Richardson
Jason Richardson has been lighting it up since Charlotte brought him in over last summer. The most noticeable improvement has been in his perimeter game, as he is hitting over 40% of his 3-pointers this season. However, he's also prone to disappearing on occasion, posting more than a few sub-15 point games. Rudy Gay is still struggling with a sore left hamstring, which has hindered his production over the last few games. He'll need to be at 100% to battle Richardson and Wallace all night.
Advantage: Charlotte
Power Forwards: Hakim Warrick vs. Emeka Okafor
Okafor turned down a big money extension last summer and hasn't shown much improvement over last season as most of his numbers mirror last year's while his blocks are down almost a block a game. This is one of those matchups that make you cringe as a Grizzlies fan. Okafor is bigger, stronger and tougher than Hakim. Hak has a decided advantage in terms of offensive skillset, but Okafor will probably dominate him in all other areas while limiting Warrick's offensive output.
Advantage: Charlotte
Centers: Darko Milicic vs. Nazr Mohammed
Nazr has seen a decided uptick in his production since coming to Charlotte from Detroit in an early season trade. He was mostly ineffective off the bench in the earlier meeting between these two teams, but perhaps life as a starter will produce different results. It is unknown if Darko will play after missing the Warriors' game with a sore foot. With the frontline of Okafor/Mohammed/Harrington, the Grizzlies will need another big body to throw at them.
Advantage: Memphis
Benches: Memphis vs. Charlotte
Juan Carlos Navarro and Kyle Lowry have been big contributors the last few games. They'll need to duplicate the effort they put forth against Golden State if they want to keep pace with Gerald Wallace and Jared Dudley. Expect Brian Cardinal, Jason Collins and Javaris Crittenton to see playing time as well, while the Bobcats will probably give some minutes to Jermareo Davidson and Othella Harrington.
Advantage: Charlotte
Relevant blogs/websites/links:
Interview with the Enemy: BobcatsPlanet
Bobcats Bonfire
BobcatsPlanet
Queen City Hoops
Interview with the Enemy: BobcatsPlanet
In our continuing quest to educate ourselves about every single team in the NBA, we turned to Ziggy at BobcatsPlanet.com to learn more about the Charlotte Bobcats. He was kind enough to answer a few questions, which we greatly appreciated.
1. In the preseason, many of the experts were predicting that Charlotte would make the playoffs this season. They are currently 3 games outside of the 8th spot in the East. Do you think they can make up that gap or are they just not ready to make that leap yet?
I think that there is still hope. Even after two tough losses against the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets the Bobcats are 5-3 since they released Jeff McInnis. Waiving Jeff allowed Raymond Felton to get the bulk of the point guard minutes instead of being forced to play out of position as an undersized shooting guard. If they can continue their recent pace over the next 17 games, then its possible that they may be able to make up those 3 games and sneak into the #8 seed in the east.
2. Gerald Wallace recently returned from a concussion and told the coaching staff that he won't last much longer if they continue to play him out of position at the PF spot. Given the financial commitment they made to him in the offseason, will they have to move him over to his natural SF position, creating a time crunch at the wings among Wallace, Matt Carroll, Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley? Also, is this the best move anyway once Sean May returns to full health?
Its definitely in Gerald's best interest to play the SF position. Gerald has had 4 concussions since hes been a Bobcat along with a couple of other frightening injuries, If he continues to match up with guys that are 3 inches bigger and 30 pounds heavier then its only a matter of time before something bad happens again. With that being said, and despite Gerald's request to get away from the PF position, our coach had him playing PF minutes in his return game against the Mavs and in Friday night's game against the Rockets.
Playing Gerald at the SF does create a time crunch at the wing. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace should be the starters, but rookie Jared Dudley deserves minutes and you have to get Matt Carroll on the court also... And how does this all work out next season when Adam Morrison returns? It should be interesting, I wish I had the answer.
We're taking a wait and see approach on Sean May's return next season. Because of his knees, he has been able to play only 58 games in 3 seasons. He has to prove that he can keep his weight down and stay healthy.
3. Emeka Okafor didn't sign a long term extension this past offseason and will be a restricted free agent this summer as a result. Do you think the Bobcats will make it a priority to re-sign him or will they let another team sign him to an offer sheet and then decide whether or not to match?
This situation is troubling. Emeka was offered $13 million per year over the summer but he turned it down. I think that they will let another team sign him to an offer sheet, that would take some of the pressure off of the Bobcats as far as determining Emeka's market value.I also wouldn't put it past Emeka to not sign anything this summer which would allow him to be an unrestricted free agent next summer. At that point, he could seriously cash in.
4. What do you see as the biggest need for this team in the offseason?
Of all the questions, this is the easiest. We need better coaching.. Some of our coaching decisions this year have been bizarre to say the least.
* making a borderline D-League backup your starting PG for the majority of the season (Jeff McInnis)
* burying Walter Hermann on the bench early in the season
* repeatedly using a small lineup which forces Gerald to play PF
* until very recently not playing Nazr Mohammed and Emeka Okafor on the court at the same time
In a recent poll on our site, Sam's approval rating was a whopping 13%, and thats up from 6% prior to the Bobcats 5 game winning streak.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Memphis at Charlotte - 1.19.08
Memphis hits the road for a quick trip to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats on the 2nd game of a back to back. Whether or not the Grizzlies will be in a good mood for this game depends a lot on their tangle Friday night against the Sonics. Memphis has a 5 game losing streak going and it has been 30 days since Memphis beat San Antonio on Rudy Gay's last second 3 pt shot. Memphis' only home win since that game came against Miami 12 days ago. Pau Gasol has become a stronger force in the middle of late as he has averaged 23.2 ppg and 10.4 rpg over the last 10 games. Either he is serious about wanting to lead this team or he is putting on an impressive audition for teams looking to acquire him. The problem with trading Pau is that the Grizzlies would almost have to trade Navarro as well in a deal and JCN is averaging 10.2 ppg and hitting 42.6% of his 3 pt attempts over the same time frame. Rudy Gay and Mike Miller are also playing well as everyone seems more involved offensively since Mike Conley took over the PG duties. The good news is that Memphis should feel right at home in front of the empty stadium at Charlotte.
Charlotte is actually playing decent basketball, not that anyone on Tobacco Road is noticing with UNC the only team ranked ahead of Memphis in college basketball. In fact, this game could be a professional precursor to the NCAA Championship game. The only difference is that if the college teams play it would be a sell out and that won't happen in this game. Charlotte's play depends on two players: Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace. When they are on the Bobcats are difficult to stop offensively. Just ask Boston who lost by 12 to the Bobcats in Boston. The problem is that they aren't hot enough. Despite winning 4 of their last 6 games heading into New Orleans Friday night Charlotte is only 15-23 on the season. The main force for Charlotte has to be Emeka Okefor. Okefor will be guarding Gasol and if he can stop Gasol Memphis will struggle.
Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Raymond Felton
Raymond Felton is progressing the way most young PG's in the league develop. He struggled bad his first season while learning from Memphis resident Brevin Knight. The second season he took over full time but still struggled. Now in his 3rd season he is making strides to become what his potential implied coming out of college. It usually takes a few years for young PG's to learn the game. Conley was supposed to follow a somewhat similiar path-learn from Damon, replace Damon but struggle and then become what his potential suggested. It hasn't worked out that way so far as Conley was injured then immediately went from 3rd string to starter forcing Damon into street clothes. What's more he hasn't struggled that bad. His shot has fallen more often than not and he hasn't been lit up defensively very often. I still lean toward the home player with experience however.
Advantage: Charlotte
Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Jason Richardson
Mike Miller must be wondering what he has done to deserve this week. First it was Kobe, then LeBron, the Kevin Durant and now Jason Richardson. Mike has to be hoping that he can survive tonights game because he only has to deal with Ben Gordon on Monday. Jason Richardson is seemingly injury free after one nagging injury after another plagues his last few years in Golden St. HIs FG% isn't that great at 43.7% but his 3 pt shooting is strong at 43.8%. He obviously is relying more on his long range shot this season than his legendary slam dunk ability but that doesn't mean he can't pull out a rim rocker if someone overplays his jump shot. Defensively Richardson has quick hands and gets into passing lanes but can be beaten when he overplays.
Advantage: Charlotte
Small Forward: Rudy Gay vs Gerald Wallace
I haven't said this very often this season but Rudy is overmatched here. Gerald Wallace is a great defender (one of three players in NBA history to average 2 blocks and 2 steals a game for an entire season) and an explosive scorer (21.6 ppg). He is the model of the type of player people want Rudy Gay to become. He is also a slasher and those players frustrated Rudy earlier in the season. If Rudy can avoid foul trouble he should be able to get his shot off against Wallace but it will require more work than usual. Rudy will need to use all of his skills to avoid foul trouble and hopefully to get Wallace in trouble since the backup situation is very weak in Charlotte. This matchup alone should be worth the price of admission to the game.
Advantage: Charlotte
Power Forward: Pau Gasol vs Emeka Okefor
A big time battle of strength vs strengths at the 4 as defensive minded Emeka Okefor takes on offensive minded Pau Gasol. Gasol has been on fire of late and seems more determined than ever to be the Grizzlies go-to player down low. Okefor has not been the dominant rebounder he usually is of late but that probably has more to do with Nazr Mohammed joining him on the front line than anything else. When Charlotte has the ball Okefor isnt a big move offensive player but can score if left alone. Good thing too because Gasol isn't a big time defender. Okefor scoring in double figures probably will be a bad sign for the Grizzlies. If Gasol goes for more than 20 it is a good sign for the Grizzlies. If Gasol can grab at least 12 boards it is very positive. The advantage goes to Gasol because of Okefor's stiffness. Gasol should be able to out-manuever him down low.
Advantage: Memphis
Centers: Darko Milicic vs Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed is playing like the man Detroit wanted him to be before giving up on him. Darko is playing like the man Detroit thought he was before giving up on him. Not good in that respect for Memphis. The difference is that Darko is improving considering the health problems he has had this season while Nazr has pulled this type of show before only to retreat back into his career averages of 7 pts and 6 boards a night. Those numbers are still better than Darko this season and Darko's knee has joined his thumb on the injured but still playing list.
Advantaga: Charlotte
Benches: Memphis vs Charlotte
If Memphis stands a chance in this game it will have to come from the bench. Navarro, Warrick and Lowry need to have big games against the Charlotte bench because frankly the starters will struggle to stay even. Charlotte's only scoring threat off the bench is Matt Carroll and he shouldn't be tough for Bobby Jones to stop. After that the pickings are pretty slim. If Memphis can get 35 points from their bench they will be in great shape.
Advantage: Memphis
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