Tsunami in Memphis

Wikipedia defines a tsunami as: a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. Basically what occurs is that an earthquake causes the ocean floor to drop at a certain point, while raising it at another point, causing the temporary displacement of water. As a result of this, the water is sucked back from the shoreline to fill that point where there is a void, revealing areas that are normally completely submerged, only it then returns to the shore, because the water is only displaced temporarily. The incoming water is the tsunami, which destroys everything in its path and often arrives with little to no warning.

I can see people rolling their eyes right now. "First, he talks about astronomy and now we get a lesson on geology and oceanography?" Calm down -- I'll bring it back to the NBA, just you watch.

The Earthquake: Pau Gasol traded to the Los Angeles Lakers

When Gasol was traded, the shock wave was felt throughout the league. Everyone knew that something major had just occurred and that something had to be done as a result of it. Over the next few weeks, Phoenix trades for Shaq and Dallas trades for Kidd in an attempt to keep up. The Grizzlies hunker down to play out the rest of their season amid the chaos they helped to create.

The Water Recedes: The remaining Grizzlies show what they are made of.

When the water pulls back, it reveals portions of the shoreline that would otherwise be submerged, allowing you a better understanding of what was beneath the surface. In the case of some players, they responded positively, as Rudy, Conley, Kyle and Hakim all had productive 2nd halves. Others showed that they are still the same player that they have always been, which was the case for Mike Miller, Kwame Brown, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins. This isn't to say that these are bad players, but there isn't a lot of untapped potential for them to draw on, as there was for the younger players. There are still a few unknowns at this point in Javaris Crittenton and Darko Milicic, but the franchise got a good read on the team overall. This provided the Grizzlies with valuable information that they needed going into the offseason with 2 first round picks and a substantial amount of cap space.


The Water Crests: Draft Night 2008

When Chris Wallace made the two trades on draft night, netting O.J. Mayo and Darrell Arthur, the organization did everything in its power to restore hope to a fanbase desperate for a reason to continue believing in this team. Rather than taking the "safe approach" of drafting Kevin Love and Chris Douglas-Roberts, he took a chance on greater potential, which netted him Mayo and Arthur. At this point, the water has reached maximum stored energy. Now the team is left to release that energy upon the rest of the league.


The Tsunami: Playoff Success

I don't expect it to happen overnight -- or even in the next 2 seasons -- but I do expect it to happen sooner than many might have considered. With another good draft and a smart signing or two, the Grizzlies could release all that stored energy and potential upon the league with the same fury that the Hornets displayed this postseason, making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. I look to what New Orleans and Portland have been able to do by collecting young talent in the draft and making timely signings of solid veterans, while not grossly overpaying for glorified role players. This is the model that Memphis should be adhering to, as they implement their plan to return to the playoffs, not just as a mere participant, but as a team to be reckoned with -- a team that other teams do not want to face in the first round. At that point, they will be an unstoppable force. They will have achieved tsunami status.

Post Game Thoughts - Portland

Well I didn't get to watch the first game against Portland as I was on a business trip, but this game hurts. Memphis failed to hold onto a 9 point lead near the end of the 3rd quarter and a 5 point lead in the closing minutes to lose to a team that should not have been in the game. This was an important game for the Grizzlies as they have 13 remaining games this month and 10 of the teams have winning records. Now instead of heading to Houston with a two game winning streak and having won 4 out of 5 games they go on the road for a huge three game trip without Darko, without a winning streak and a bad taste in their mouths.

Props go to Mike Miller for a great game but why didn't he take a foul on that last play? It is beyond me what he and the coaching staff were thinking when you are up one with less than three seconds and no time on the clock. That put a damper on his 30 pt, 7 rebound game.

Rudy Gay had a great game and an incredible tip on the Grizzlies last possession to give the team the lead. Rudy also had 30 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Rudy was big all night and he is really becoming the all-around threat that Jerry West envisioned when he traded Shane Battier for him two years ago.

Pau Gasol played well with 16 pts and 14 rebounds (a season high) but was obviously tired at the end of the game. Stro's foul troubles, Darko's injury and Portland's size took its toll on Pau. He gave his all but everyone watching the game had to notice the numerous fast possessions that Pau didn't make it past half court on. To be a truly effective big man in Iavaroni's offense he has to be among the first down the court not the last. I don't know why but Pau looked dreadfully out of shape tonight.

Navarro missed the big shot on the last possession but it was good to see him given the chance. Of all the players on the team Navarro seems most comfortable taking that shot even if he is a rookie. If someone is going to take that shot I want it to be Navarro right now. Hopefully the fact that he missed on this attempt won't prevent him from getting more opportunities in those situations.

Watching the game made me realize just what the team is still missing. We don't have that player who takes the ball in his hands and makes something happen in crunch time. Brandon Roy was the player for Portland who created at the end of the game. Memphis doesn't have that type of player. If and when a deal comes down I hope it will be for a player with that potential.

Portland benefited for the 2nd night in a row from an opponent's big man going down with a twisted ankle. Against San Antonio it didn't matter but it did against Memphis. That one facet had more to do with the Grizzlies losing this game to me than anything else.

It was an exciting game but in the end another game that the Grizzlies had a chance to win but lost in the final seconds or in this case final second. Hopefully it won't leave a hangover but you have to imagine that this game will leave the team with a black eye similiar to the one Gasol started the game with.

Spartacus Says:

Well, Chip covered just about everything I was going to say already, but there were a few things I took away from this game.

1. Juan Carlos Navarro is the new fan favorite on Beale Street. The people around me cheered more loudly for his entrance into the game than they did during the opening introductions I think. If he keeps playing like he did tonight, he'll start getting some more recognition around the league, too.

2. While I like what Navarro brings to the table, he is going to have to curb his tendency to play too much "help defense" as he, along with Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry, left their man wide open for perimeter shots time and time again. In my opinion, this was a big factor in Portland being able to stay in the game all night long.

3. What was up with Nate McMillan's "Jolly Green Giant" look tonight? Green suit with a green mock turtleneck? I'm no fashion expert, but that ensemble was one of the few things I laughed at tonight.

Tough loss tonight, but hopefully the players will learn from it, the coaching staff will make adjustments based on it and the front office (mainly Chris Wallace and Marc Iavaroni) will make sound evaluations about the players off of it.

Chris Herrington has some great thoughts up on Beyond the Arc, as well. You can also read The Inferno for the Portland perspective of tonight's game.

10 Things From Zack:

1. At one point, half the players on the court were Small Forwards (Outlaw, Webster, Jones, Gay, Miller by my count).

2. Losing Darko to another injury hurts really bad. He is clearly our best defender at the rim. Hurts worse than losing the game.

3. I thought Pau was horrible on offense for most of the game. Just weak. Actually, I credit him with a triple-double tonight. 14 points, 15 rebounds, 13 flails. What happened to Pau's post game? Now, he seems to just spin and head towards the basket, flailing about, looking for a foul. Ugh. Get stronger!

4. Rudy is a stud.

5. The "La Bomba" scoreboard thing after JC cranks a big shot is awesome. And in the past I have joked that Navarro could get punched in the face and the other guy wouldn't get called for a foul. White Mutumbo did almost that, numerous times, on one play in the first half after Navarro got caught in a switch. And no foul was called!!! Ridiculous.

6. I echo what PMI said in the game thread. I am worried about Lowry's body language tonight. After being benched when he missed that layup (and missed the obvious pass), he displayed some pretty discouraging body language the rest of the night. He also came out of the half about 3 minutes after everyone else and went straight to the bench (instead of shooting) and seemed a little down even then. After the game, Iavaroni mentioned that Portland was scheming against Kyle and frustrating him. I took it to mean he was talking about when we were on offense since Kyle played horrible on offense and pretty good on defense.

7. For a team that averages so many points per game, I have no confidence in the ability to get a basket.

8. There was no doubt in my (or HPTMatt's) mind at the end of the game that Portland was going to make the last bucket. It was pretty obvious. Did you know it was one year (plus a day) ago when Posey hit that game winning running 3 pointer? The Griz just usually lose games at the buzzer, not win them.

9. However, I swear it should have been a 5 second in-bounds violation.

10. But then again the game wasn't decided at the end. It was decided during 2 different stretches. The first was the start of the 3rd quarter where the Griz looked absolutely dead with no energy or concentration. We committed 3 turnovers, had 2 bricks, and let the Blazer's score 9 straight to take a lead. The second was the end of the 3rd (and beginning of 4th). After 2 straight turnovers and allowing 3 straight made buckets, Pau tried to heave it down court with a few seconds remaining, but instead allowed Outlaw to get a steal and then a top of the key 3. Then to compound it, we turned the ball over again to start the 4th.

MemphisX's Take

1. This is consistent for this team. The team hasn't won a close game all year simply because we can't get key baskets and we can't make stops. Even if we do happen to force missed shots down the stretch, we tend to give up offensive rebounds.

2. How does Rudy Gay not have the ball in his hands down the stretch? I watched Dallas last night when Chicago was trying to make a comeback on them and it was the Jason Terry-Josh Howard two man game. That is what should be happening between Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Game late in games.

3. Did anyone think that Pau was going to win the game when they fed him in the post? Or were you just happy he was able to get it out of his hand before Aldridge or Roy took it from him?

4. Rudy Gay is not a Phoenix "4". He is the prototype for what small forwards should be in this league. Gay has a beautiful jumpshot.

5. It is going to be a rough December.

UPDATE: Ron Tillery wrote in his Memphis Edge blog that

"Mike Miller, who defended Outlaw on the play, said Monday night that it was talked about during the time out. Head coach Marc Iavaroni shed more light on the sequence and his philosophy after Tuesday’s practice.

Iavaroni said he instructed the Grizzlies NOT to foul anyone on a drive to the basket. He doesn’t believe in that. So Miller did exactly what he was told to in that situation because Iavaroni didn’t want to risk a referee’s questionable call sending Outlaw to the free throw line.

Iavaroni noted that fouling on a drive to the basket and whether to consider “continuation” can be interpreted many ways by an official. He pointed out that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant recently benefited from a generous call.

Sometimes all it takes is for a player to flail his arms and act as if he was shooting to con an official into awarding free throws. It’s something that actually happened in the Griz-Blazers game when a Portland player was clearly fouled before attempting a shot but was considered to be in the act of shooting."

Interesting attitude by the coach.

Pregame: Memphis vs Portland - 12.3.07

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Special Feature
For today's Memphis/Portland pregame commentary, we are pleased to again provide Griz fans some insight into the opposing team by including a question/answer section with an "enemy" blogger. Today, Dave from the great blog Blazer's Edge, agreed to answer 3 questions from Zack, including a discussion on the Blazer's recent troubles, why Sergio isn't playing more (asked with all of our Spanish friends in mind), and the 2nd year growth of Roy and Aldridge. Check out the interview below Chip's Matchups.

Memphis opened December with a convincing victory over a tired Minnesota team. At first glance it would seem that December is an easy month for the Grizzlies with 9 home games out of 15 but a little further investigation provides a different picture. Only five of the teams Memphis plays this month have losing records (TWolves, Blazers, Clippers, Hawks and 76ers). Throw in two games against San Antonio, New Orleans and Houston and this becomes a very important month for the Grizzlies. The return of Darko couldn't have come at a better time. With Darko back Iavaroni can finally start using the 8 man rotation he has been saying he wanted all season. Baring any more injuries it would appear that Iavaroni has his rotation set and that should mean fewer turnovers and more efficient offensive and defensive play.

Portland has struggled since a four game home win streak back in early November which included a come from behind victory over the Grizzlies. Portland has yet to win on the road as well and with this game being the last of a three game road trip through the Southwest Division (the other games were losses at Dallas and San Antonio) this is not a game that the Blazers want to lose. After this game Portland plays 4 of the next 5 at home and the team wants to come home on a positive note. Coach Nate McMillian is a smart coach who usually gets his team to overachieve so this has been a difficult beginning of the season for McMillian. The one bright spot has been that Portland knows next season brings the return of Greg Oden so the future looks bright for this young team.

Matchups

Point Guards: Damon Stoudamire vs Steve Blake
Not many people expected either of these players to be solidifying their starting role at this point of the season. Damon was supposed to be getting eased out by Michael Conley and Kyle Lowry while Steve Blake was supposed to be getting pushed out of his back up role behind Jarrett Jack by Sergio Rodriquez. So much for what the experts anticipated. Damon Stoudamire is actually increasing his minutes since Conley's injury and his shooting is improving as well. Damon is hitting only 40% on the season but an incredible 45% from the arc. Blake's shooting worse than Damon including a shocking 43% from the FT line but his ability to lead the team and keep things under control is desired more right now from McMillian.
Advantage: Memphis

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Brandon Roy
If there is a premier match up in this game this is it. Two former Rookie of the Year's who lead thier teams in multiple catagories. Roy is 2nd in scoring, second in assists and leads the Blazers in steals. Miller is 3rd in scoring and leads the team in rebounds while tying for the lead in assists. Both players see themselves as clutch scorers but both have had trouble actually performing in the clutch. Roy is shooting only 43% from the field and Miller's troubles are well documented in crunch time around Memphis. Still Miller's rebounding gives him a distinct edge in this match up.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Martell Webster
Rudy Gay plays far better against jump shooters than slashers and Webster is nothing but a jump shooter. Rudy also has scored far better with the Twin Towers playing together and so he should be looking to be more aggressive in this game. Rudy has not been hitting the boards hard enough for Iavaroni's tastes and this is an area that Webster does have an advantage over Rudy. If Rudy hits the offensive glass a stays away from silly fouls he should have an edge in this match up.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Pau Gasol vs LaMarcus Aldridge
Gasol has the better resume in this battle but Aldridge has had the better season so far. Aldridge is very similiar to Gasol in that he can hit shots out to 15' and has smooth moves around the basket. He has been a more effective rebounder and shot blocker this season and seems ready to take the next step forward in his second year. Gasol is struggling playing in the less structured offense of Iavaroni. While still putting up respectable numbers he hasn't had the big games offensively or defensively that he usually produces. The coaching staff isn't exactly unhappy with his production so far but they are hoping for him to make a bigger impact going forward. Having Darko back should help Gasol adjust.
Advantage: Portland

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Joel Przybilla
Darko returned to the lineup against Minnesota and immediately made his presence felt with 5 blocked shots. Unfortuantly it was obvious that his left thumb is still bothering him and his offensive game was very rusty. Like Darko Pryzbilla has two main jobs on the Blazers and neither involves putting the ball in the basket. He is to protect Portland's basket and clean the rebounds up. Pryzbilla does both quite well. Starting only 6 games so far there hasn't been a noticeable increase in production from Joel but McMillian seems content with his performance so far. Darko is more talented but until the rust goes away and he is capable of using his left hand better he will struggle.
Advantage: Portland

Benches: Memphis vs Portland
Memphis has finally found the rotation Iavaroni has desired the team play this year. The eight man rotation seems to be Kyle Lowry, Juan Carlos Navarro and Stromile Swift. Kyle and Stro have shown an incredible ability to come off the bench and make major impacts but Navarro's best performances has come as a starter. He is a streak shooter who needs to learn how to be ready coming into games as his chances of starting with Rudy and Miller ahead of him are not too good right now. Portland also likes to bring impact players off the bench in the form of Jarret Jack, Travis Outlaw and Channing Frye. The three players are the most effective of a very talented and very young bench that includes Sergio Rodriguez, Taureen Green and Josh McRoberts.
Advantage: Memphis

3 Questions With Dave from Blazer's Edge

Dave was kind and agreed to answer 3 questions from Zack. After you read his answers here, go check out his game preview and also be aware that he has an open game thread as well, which will generate a lot of comments from Blazer's fans during games. Maybe go check out what Blazer fans are saying when you're not posting at the grizzlies.com game thread.

SoB: Last time our respective teams met, the Blazers were in the midst of an impressive 4 game winning streak and things seemed to be going really good. However, that winning streak was followed up by losing 8 of 9 games (at the time of writing this). What changed? Has anything been a consistent factor contributing to those losses?

Dave: Yes…the NBA catching up to them. The duo of Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy is as dreamy as they come. You couldn’t ask for two more well-rounded, solid, dependable offensive players. Aldridge is showing real promise on defense as well. However that’s two players out of fifteen. The league has figured out that if you make the other thirteen guys win the game the Blazers will struggle. Lamarcus and Brandon will still contribute--with rebounds, assists, and hustle if not points--but if you make life tough on them they can’t yet pull out games themselves.

Unfortunately the Blazers have a lot of one- or two-dimensional players at other positions. Joel Przybilla is a good rebounder and shot blocker but his offense allows other teams to ignore him. Steve Blake sets up teammates well but cannot get his own shot. Travis Outlaw is all about getting his own shot but runs hot and cold and often wrecks our schemes at both ends of the court by not being where he’s supposed to. Martell Webster has made great strides but he still misses shots he should hit. When all of them are on we’re going to win against almost anybody. But that rarely happens in the same week, let alone the same game.

Also the team is really, really young. If the Spurs and Suns are long-standing beauties like Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie and the Mavs and Nuggets are current hotties like Jessica Alba and Jessica Simpson then we’re freakin’ Hannah Montana. We’re cute enough, we have some talent, but there’s no mistaking us for the competition. We need another few years in the oven. One of the hallmarks of youth is inconsistency. Another is not being able to formulate a Plan B when Plan A fails. We have been plagued by both all season.

SoB: Our Spanish readers would probably like for me to cut to the chase and ask why is Sergio averaging less than 10 minutes per game? But I’d like to also hear more about your point guard rotation in general. When Conley was healthy we had a similar situation of having three deserving point guards with differing styles fighting for playing time. What is the point guard rotation right now in Portland? How successful has it been playing two point guards at the same time? Is there any ‘writing on the wall’ regarding the feeling of the front office on which players are pegged to be in the point guard rotation in future years?

Dave: Sergio is getting more run lately and has responded with a couple of nice games. But really he’s still a garbage-time wonder at best. His defense is poor. His decision-making is getting better but is still not up to snuff. Most importantly even though he passes the ball beautifully when Sergio plays best it’s all about Sergio…his dribbles, his passes, his speed. Our first unit needs to focus on Roy and Aldridge. Right now none of the three are experienced enough to make that mesh. Sergio is by far the most expendable of the group, so he plays with the second unit when he’s hot and sits on the pines when he’s not. There’s been plenty of both.

Our problem is not, as fans thought early in the season, that we have many deserving point guards worthy of playing time. It’s that we have many point guards who are decent but also inadequate, just in different ways. The field is thinning though. Steve Blake is the steadiest, most experienced, and probably plays the best overall game. You have a hard time living with his individual offense though and when he’s out of his comfort zone he’s in big trouble. Jarrett Jack is really proving himself more of a shooting guard. He has a strong, thick body and excels at getting to the hoop and finishing while drawing fouls. He also has a decent jumper when he’s in rhythm. He can pass and dribble but running the offense takes him away from his strengths. He’ll probably be a scoring combo guard somewhere down the line. Sergio needs way more experience, poise, and concentration to be a regular rotation player. Taurean Green has heart but is probably D-League material at this point.

As far as the future, Blake is probably gone when his option year comes up in 2009. Unless something changes the team will jettison him to open up more cap space that summer. Jack could very well stick if he continues to evolve as a bench scorer. Opinions are mixed on Sergio and he’s a guaranteed hot-headed conversation starter among Blazer fans. My guess is that he’ll not ever be consistent enough to be what this team needs but that he might develop elsewhere. Green is a non-factor at this point.

SoB: The Grizzlies success this year is likely tied to the development and maturation of 2nd year forward Rudy Gay. Overall, results are encouraging. Rudy has shown a lot of growth in the scoring department, at times looking like our #1 option on offense while playing both forward positions. However, improvement in other aspects of Rudy’s game, like passing, rebounding and staying out of foul trouble, are a little disappointing. In what ways and how much has Portland 2nd year studs, Roy and Aldridge, improved their game?

Dave: They are polar opposites of Rudy. He’s an amazing athletic talent who needs to learn how to refine his game. They have fairly refined games (for second year guys) but need to learn how to take advantage of their talent. You see evidence of their greatness on a weekly basis. They bust out with incredible games, clutch shots, highlight-reel defense, and enough smart, engaging newspaper quotes to make even their harshest critics love them. In those moments you forget they're young. On the other hand you also see evidence of their inexperience: hanging heads when things go wrong, failure to get consistent shots from consistent places on the court, failure to take the bull by the horns and dominate a game in favor of involving teammates, failure to drive the team over the top in games that could be won. If anything they’re too nice, too smooth, too unselfish. They need some fire, nastiness, and maybe even a little bit of that confident selfishness that makes superstars great.

As a huge Blazer fan I was harsh on this team’s players for years during the era that preceded this one. I disliked the both the games and the prospects of many Blazers of recent vintage and was not shy in saying so. I can tell you with confidence that these two are different. They are going to be great. That’s beyond question. The issue is, will they be the kind of great that makes you feel nice, warm, and fuzzy even though they never won it all or will they be the kind of great that makes you stand in awe at how they wrestled the league into submission? I’m rather hoping for the latter once Greg Oden returns and gets a couple years under his belt. But a little dash of Rudy Gay’s take-no-prisoners explosiveness would do all of them a world of good.

Got a prediction? Leave it in the comments.

Other Previews/Blogs
Beyond the Arc
Trailblazers - Mike Barret
Grizzlies.com

Postgame: Grizzlies Win First Half, Lose Second Half, Fall to 1-3

Last night was a roller coaster ride that ultimately ended with a disappointing Grizzlies loss. Iavaroni is still figuring out this team, experimenting with different lineups. The players are still learning to play with each other (5 "new" players in the rotation) as well as learning to play within Iavaroni's system. In short, this team is still very much a work in progress.

Stuff...

--Andre Brown and Hakim Warrick were on the inactive list, meaning Kinsey and Swift came back on the active list. Mildly interesting that Hak was not active.

--Pau was on fire in the first half, scoring 19 points, then was a total non-factor in the second half. Pau only attempted (and missed) one shot in the second half. The Blazers were able to take the ball out of Pau's hands by sending a hard double team.

--The third quarter was the most damaging as the starters got toasted coming out of the locker room.

--Gay was great. Tied a career high of 31 points. He was the main offensive option in the second half.

--Darko was up and down. He couldn't make a shot near the basket, finishing 3-13. But I still like his defense and ability to get good position on the block. Darko looked a little winded last night. Pau clearly played better with Darko The Enforcer by his side.

--Conley got more burn last night. Him and Lowry played together quite a bit. They even traded 3 pointers off of drive and kicks. Some fans don't like the small PG combination, but generally I do. It will create a disadvantage with Lowry guarding someone half a foot taller, but if we can exploit the offensive advantage the increased speed creates, it could be effective. But truth of the matter is if Kinsey, Navarro or Casey were any better options backing up Miller and Gay, Lowry/Conley would likely not see the court together much.

--Miller, Damon, Navarro and Jacobsen were a combined 3 for 21 from the field and 0-8 from beyond the arc.

Spartacus Says:
Well, as noted in the title, it was a tale of two halves. The Grizzlies looked impressive in the first half, especially Pau Gasol, who put up 19 points while playing the bulk of his minutes with the starters, although he did get a nice snowbird basket off a 3/4 length of the court pass from his amigo Juan Carlos Navarro. Rudy Gay played well for the 2nd straight game, although he did force things a few times, as would be expected from a young player.

As Zack noted above, Michael Conley got playing time again, often in a small backcourt scheme with Kyle Lowry as the other guard. While I like seeing both of these talented young guys on the court, giving them experience and clock to develop, I think that the lack of a veteran presence was a key reason that things "fell apart" in the 2nd half. I know that Damon's shot wasn't falling, but I think his ability to set up his teammates, as he did in the first half, could have helped the Grizzlies to stay in the game a little better in the 4th quarter. Obviously, there are plenty of you out there who have a far different opinion about Damon's capabilities and place on this team, but that was my perspective while watching the team wander off course last night.

Mike Miller......well, MemphisX described his play as "weird" last night and I think that describes it succinctly, if nothing else. Our best three-point shooter is also our leading rebounder. He is our leading assist man as well. Is he working to become Jason Kidd from a swingman position? Or is he deferring his offensive output to allow Rudy Gay more looks? Hard to say at this early point in the season. I'll be tracking him closely this season.

Lowry and Conley.....looked like young PG's to me. There were flashes of greatness, usually followed by the mistakes that excited rookies make when they rush things. I expect both of them to develop into high-quality players soon enough (Conley will be a multiple-time All Star in his career), but it should be obvious that neither of them are there yet.

Darko.....couldn't hit water if you dropped him out of a plane over the Pacific last night. A few of his misses occurred on putback attempts of his own misses, so his shooting wasn't quite as bad as it looked, but the zero blocks showed that he wasn't the force on the interior he had shown himself to be in the first three games.

Hopefully, this was just an off night for a lot of guys -- something that growth, maturity and developed chemistry will improve upon throughout this season.

Go read the post game commentary over at Blazer's Edge.

Dave from Blazer's Edge has posted a great recap of the game from a Portland perspective. Obviously he is quite elated with the win and the heart/determination his team showed in the second half. Here is an excerpt that probably won't be fun to read for Griz fans.

Then...dang. We saw the most inspired half of basketball we've seen in Portland for years. It's like the guys decided they were not going down like that. Numerous things changed immediately upon resumption of play. First we stopped settling for jumpers. We drove and started collecting layups and fouls, exposing a Memphis defense that was really as exploitable as ours is. Second we just started going at it on defense. We continued to play zone but it was a far more aggressive zone. Our smalls hounded the passing lanes, our bigs moved their feet, and our wings stayed in front of their men. We generally limited Memphis to one shot and then gang-tackled the rebound. We went with our speed lineups and started beating them down the floor. When we didn't have a clear scoring opportunity early we moved the ball. The contested mid-range jumpers of the first half became dishes to Lamarcus for jams or passes to the perimeter for open shots in the second half. Our shooting percentage rocketed skyward, Memphis' scoring stalled, and nearly the entire deficit was erased by the end of the third.

Pregame: Grizzlies at Portland 11.09.07

Pregame commentary for the 11.09.07 Memphis at Portland game, by ChipC3 and Zack. Leave your predictions for the final score in the comments.

Memphis began the first road trip of the year with a heart stopping win over Seattle and now journeys to Portland. The slow start of the season (only 3 games in the first 9 days) has allowed the team some much needed extra practice time and it showed in Seattle with their first win of the season. Led by Rudy Gay, who is trying to break out in his 2nd season, the Grizzlies hope to follow their first win of the season with their first winning streak in this game.

Portland however wants the same thing after winning their home opener on Wednesday night. The Blazers have struggled on the road so far this year but that is to be expected when only one or two players can go to a bar without being carded and one of those is only 19 yrs old and not playing because of micro fracture surgery. Seriously this team is young but talented. Once they learn how McMillan wants them to play they are going to be scary good. They are deep with interior players, wing players and really deep at the point. Someone is going to step up and led this team to success. The question is when will they start to learn to win. The upset win over New Orleans (who just blasted the Lakers in LA) shows just how talented a team the Blazers can be. Consistency will be the biggest issue for this team during the season.

Trends

--100 points. The Grizzlies have scored over 100 points in every game this season. The Blazers have yet to eclipse the 100 point threshold this season.
--Rested Opponent. This is the first game of the season where the Grizzlies are not facing a team on the second night of a back-to-back.
--Exactly 10. The Grizzlies have made exactly 10 3-point shots each game this year.

Storylines

--Did you know this is the first year Conley and Oden have not played together since, like, forever? Really...Conley Sr is Oden's agent, the two grew up together, and even played college ball together...and did pretty good.
--Thanks for stealing our freaking draft pick, Portland. May 22nd is still a bitter, bitter memory for this Grizzly Faithful.
--Rudy Gay. I think if there is one storyline that seems to have the most traction from game to game this year, it is the maturation of Rudy Gay. When he is playing bad, there will be talk of how much we need him to develop sooner rather than later. When he is playing good, there will be talk of how he is ready to be a dynamic playmaker and our #2 (or #1b) option that the team has always needed next to Pau. I know Rudy was disappointed being drafted #8, but one gets the feeling that he wouldn't have any larger hype or greater expectations placed on him if he was indeed drafted by the Raptors than he does here in Memphis.

Keys

--Speed up the game. Nate will have his team ready to grind it out and looking to stretch the shot clock on both ends of the court. I like the Griz chances best in an up and down affair.
--Limit the fouls. I've seen it explicitly written in the media and you can tell by just watching the games; Coach Iavaroni does not like his players to foul. Not only does foul trouble seem to fluster a number of our key players, it seems to fluster our coach to a degree. I feel pretty confident saying that how much we foul will have a correlation to if we win or lose.
--Points in the paint. I admit, I don't have much faith in our team winning a jump shooting contest right now. Get the ball closer to the basket.

Matchups

Point Guards: Damon Stoudamire vs Jarret Jack:
Damon is under some pressure to hold onto his starting role already and now he goes home to where he suffered his horrific knee injury. His backup Kyle Lowry has more speed, better defense and a game changing style but Damon has experience and that is a strong point of a point guard. Damon doesn't get rattled easily and doesn't turn the ball over a lot. His outside shot helps spread defenses as well. Jarrett Jack is also trying to hold off competitors for his job. Steve Blake doesn't have the power or the aggressiveness but is headier and scores more. While Damon knows he is just biding time both Jack and Blake feel they are the PG's of the future. How they co-exist could determine how far Portland progresses this season. Still the Blazers are taller and at home.
Advantage: Portland

Shooting Guard: Mike Miller vs Brandon Roy:
Mike Miller was the 12Th man on the USA team this summer. Not great being the last guy off the bench but he made the team which is more than most players can say. Miller is one of the most dangerous shooters in the game but hasn't forced himself on the offense so far this year. He leads the team in rebounding and assists but is only 5Th in scoring. Expect him to become more aggressive offensively soon. Brandon Roy has battled injuries this season and after the injury problems he had last season that may be a concern for his career. When on his game Roy is smart, deadly off the dribble, a good passer and decent defender. The only question is how sharp will he be coming off the injury.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forward: Rudy Gay vs Martell Webster
Webster looked to be a big time bust heading into the season. However the former #6 pick has exploded this season after failing to hit the Mendoza line of FG% (40%) the first two seasons. Hitting on 47% of his FG attempts (43% from the arc) Webster is hurting defenses who double down on Portland's big men. Rudy Gay needs to start making a greater impact on the box score and less on opposing defenders. The 5 offensive foul calls in the first two games (4 along against Indiana) has prevented Rudy from having the type of impact he is capable of having in the game. Once he stops trying to fly over defenders teams will have to start worrying how to stop his game. Rudy is far and away the best perimeter defender on the Grizzlies team so they need him on the court. This may raise some eyebrows but right now Webster is playing better (and longer) than Rudy.
Advantage: Portland

Power Forward: Pau Gasol vs LaMarcus Aldridge
A battle of effeminate big men. Who will shy away from contact first? Who will wince in pain without being hit? Who will check for blood. Okay, we know who will check for blood first but the other questions are still valid. Surprisingly these charges of softness really are undeserved. Gasol scores 20 pts a game and grabs around 8-10 boards pretty consistently. You can't do that in the NBA being soft. Aldridge came out of Texas with the soft label but has played hard and actually is able to score late in games (10 pts in the final 5 minutes against Houston). Aldridge looks like he too will be capable of consistently putting up 20 and 10 as well. Gasol is the better shot blocker however. Should be fun to watch. Personally I prefer a go to late in the game scorer to an off-side defender but Aldridge hasn't quite earned the reputation to be favored in the match up...yet.
Advantage: Memphis

Center: Darko Milicic vs Joel Pryzbilla
Darko has settled into the starting role rather well since the surprise announcement on opening night. Matching up against Tim Duncan and Jermaine O'Neal isn't the ideal way to start his career in Memphis but he held his own and has looked very good at times. It will be a building process and there will be ups and downs but this matchup is one which ought to be an up for Darko as long as he doesn't get too anxious on defense. In both games he has picked up 2 fouls in the opening quarter. That trend needs to end. Joel was a highly desired Center as a free agent two years ago. Now he is biding time until Greg Oden heals. Still Joel is an efficient defender, good rebounder and excellent shot blocker who can step out and hit a jump shot. His minutes are limited to protect him from injury. He will struggle stopping Darko's baby hook and getting position underneath with Darko's agility and power.
Advantage: Memphis

Benches: Memphis' bench has been up and down this season. Up on offense and down on defense mostly. Kyle Lowry has been the mover and shaker off the bench but the other subs (Casey Jacobsen, Juan Carlos Navarro, Stromile Swift and Hakim Warrick) have been wildly inconsistent. Kyle usually draws the toughest backcourt defensive assignment leaving Navarro with the weaker player but somehow that player inevitably gets hot when JCN is on him. Casey Jacobsen works hard but hasn't found his long-range shot which is the only reason he is playing ahead of Tarence Kinsey. Stro hasn't changed and Hakim can score but won't pass and doesn't defend. Portland's bench is superb. Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriquez are both capable PGs. Travis Outlaw and James Jones can both light it up and Channing Frye can play underneath. The problem for Portland isn't talent but chemistry. All of these players want to show the coach they can start and sometimes that prevents the team from functioning at it's best.
Advantage: Portland

Coaches: Nate McMillan spent his entire adult life prior to coming to Portland working for Seattle. As a player, assistant coach and head coach McMillan represented the city with class. It would be interesting to hear his thoughts about the Sonics situation right now but he is probably too classy to say anything controversial. For some reason two years ago Seattle decided they no longer wanted McMillan despite his success in Seattle (3 playoff appearances in 3 seasons). Nate McMillan was known as a hustle player, a defensive player and a smart offensive player. His teams reflect that brand of ball. Marc Iavaroni has worked with Pat Riley, Mike Fratello and Mike D'Antoni as well as having a long time association with the Pete Newell big man camp. Now in his first head coaching job Iavaroni must put the pieces of talent together into a picture of teamwork and chemistry. He has the pedigree to get it done but it won't happen overnight.
Advantage: Portland

Other Game Previews:

-- Go read the great game preview on Blazer's Edge for an opposing viewpoint. I like the fact that Dave seems to have more respect for our outside shooting than I would after three games.

-- Chris Herrington's Pre-Game Three-Pointer on Beyond the Arc.

-- Mike Barrett's Blog; Barrett is the play-by-play voice of the Portland TrailBlazers.

-- The Sports Network and SBR Forum both weigh in as well.