Northwest and Southeast Division Previews

Denver Nuggets
Jeremy: Pickaxe and Roll
Nick Sclafani: The Nugg Doctor

Minnesota Timberwolves
Derek Hanson & Staff: TWolves Blog
Andrew Thell: Empty the Bench
wyn: Canis Hoopus

Oklahoma City
xphoenix87: BallerBlogger
Zorgon: Blue Blitz
Royce: The Thunderworld

Portland Trail Blazers
Mookie: ...a stern warning
Benjamin Golliver: Blazers Edge
Coup and SJ: Rip City Project

Utah Jazz
UtesFan89: The Utah Jazz
Basketball John: SLC Dunk

Atlanta Hawks
Matt McHale: Basketbawful
Hoopinion: Peachtree Hoops

Charlotte Bobcats
BrettL: Queen City Hoops
Ziggy: BobcatsPlanet

Miami Heat
Darren Heitner: SportsAgentBlog.com
Gregory Broome: The Peninsula is Mightier

Orlando Magic
Ben: Third Quarter Collapse

Washington Wizards
Rashad: Hoops Addict
HoopsAvenue: HoopsAvenue
Mike Prada: Bullets Forever
Truth: Truth About It Dot Net

Also see links to all the previews at CelticsBlog.com

Wizards @ Grizzlies, 10/8/08

Memphis Grizzlies v. Washington Wizards, 10/8/08, Memphis, TN.

This will be the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. It will be a gracious-as-a-back-to-back-can-be introduction to the rigors of an NBA season for the rookies, with both teams having flown from Texas the previous night. Same timezone, at least. Sure, there will be a ho-hum factor to this game, as there is with any preseason game, but the overnight travel will give both sets of coaches an early (some might say nearly meaningless) glimpse at how the players for each team will respond to two nights in a row. I'll be missing this one in person....for the best reason ever...Hudson Graham Noe, 9lbs3oz, 7:34 PM on Oct. 1st :). Yes, he's doing fine, and thanks for asking :).

Ok. Enough proud papa stuff.

On to the game.

Point guards: Mike Conley v. Antonio Daniels

Sadly, it looks like AD might be doing a bit more than keeping Gil's spot warm, as the "arthroscopic washing" that Arenas just received is gonna keep him out for a while. "Injury history" is becoming a very important phrase when discussing Gilbert Arenas, and it's a shame, because he's one of the truly exciting players to watch in the NBA. Sure, he's not afraid to let you know that he knows just how exciting he can be, but that doesn't diminish his status. Daniels, however, is not exactly chopped liver. He is very physically strong with the ball and without it and is a good defender. He's not gonna shoot the lights out, but he can score at a reasonable level and can use his strength to get close to the hoop. It should be a good (preseason-style) test for Conley to see if he can blow by AD a time or two. Conley's much-heralded increase in physical strength over this offseason will be key in this matchup, and if he has trouble blowing by AD, we'll also get a chance to check out whether Conley's shooting work this summer will help him out. Should be quite fun to watch, but Daniels is very physically strong, and Conley is still learning to use his tools.
Advantage: Washington

Shooting guards: OJ Mayo v. DeShawn Stevenson

Ah, OJ. Save us, OJ. Ah, the ballyhoo, the hype, the seventh grader playing for the varsity team. Time to show us where it's at, OJ. I personally think that he's going to come out of the gate firing. He'll be looking forward to being the second option on offense and has already looked to assert himself as a leader. Will he try to do too much? Or will he try to play within himself and the team? Finding out the answers to those questions will be fun for Grizzlies fans. DeShawn Stevenson is an undersized two who can intermittently play the one and can hit the three, although Ray Allen he ain't. Decent ballhandler but not a worldbeater. If Mayo can keep himself moving, he could take this matchup on talent and drive.
Advantage: Memphis

Small forwards: RU-DEE Gay v. Caron Butler

In the regular season, this matchup would be a primo fix for an NBA junkie such as myself. In the preseason, it should still be good, but probably limited in terms of minutes, since both of these players is well-cemented in his respective starting lineup. Caron Butler has a nice-sized arsenal of offensive weapons,and is not a putrid defender either. He is strong, and can play and bang inside well for a 3. Can he stop Rudy? We'll have to see about that. If Rudy makes a leap this season similar to the one he made last year, the NBA at large could be in trouble. Let's not forget, however, that Rudy has a ways to go defense-wise, and playing against Caron, even in preseason, will surely test his D to its current limit. If these guys match up for any decent number of minutes in this game, it will be reason to watch (as if it were going to be televised, dangit). Rudy will have more to prove in this game, and will play as such.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: It doesn't matter v. Antawn Jamison

The Grizzlies are in all sorts of trouble with this matchup, depending on how much Jamison plays in this game. Sure, Jamison is not exactly a lockdown defender, but offensively, he can explode at will (but his twilight time is coming). Darko Milicic, Hakim Warrick, Antoine Walker, Derrell Arthur...none of these four guys is going to stop Antawn. He has the height to spot up on them, and can blow by them if needed. Could work out ok if a Grizz PF gets hot from the perimeter, but still doesn't look good for the Grizzlies.

UPDATE: Jamison left the game at Dallas 10/7/08 with a sprained knee. Any basketball fan hates to see any player injured any time of the season, but especially now. Looks like my man Blatche may get more playing time in this game than Eddie Jordan might have originally intended.
Advantage: Washington

Centers: Marc Gasol v. Etan Thomas

Enemy or not, I'm rooting hard for Etan Thomas. It will be great to see him come back from a major heart ailment and long rehab. Marc Gasol, while a rightfully recognized international talent, is a completely unproven quantity NBA-wise. Good size,and as much as some Grizz fans might not want to acknowledge it, there's basketball talent in that DNA. We'll see if he can keep his hands on the ball and not fumblerooski around the paint. Etan Thomas is staring straight at a ton of minutes with wrist surgery unfortunately seeming a part of Brendan Haywood's all-too-near future. Pretty good interior defender, can block some shots, but does not particularly excel at any facet of the center's game. No real threat offensively. Gasol, however, will certainly still be nowhere near finding his footing in the NBA by only his second preseason game.
Advantage: Washington


Benches:
Andray Blatche is one of my very favorite up-and-coming NBA players-he should see fair time in this game. He must learn to use his size while maintaining control of himself physically and mentally, and he'll become a well-rooted regular in the NBA. Dominic McGuire has received accolades for his offseason work and should see minutes, at least in the preseason, to see if he can garner a rotation spot. If Darius Songalia can keep healthy, he knows how to play hard and can hit the open shot. Memphis' bench does not suffer from the precipitous dropoff in talent that one might think-Antoine seems to really want to play, Kyle Lowry could scare off a pack of starving Staffordshire terriers, and Quentin Ross is a very good wing defender, as is Greg Buckner. Haddadi is certainly a project, but thankfully knows a lot more about rebounding position than he does about the English language. Jaric, perhaps Arthur, perhaps Milicic will be out for this game, which does make the Grizzlies bench shorter than a Paris Hilton trip to a buffet line.
Advantage: Washington

If this game can be as close as the MEM/HOU game was on the previous night, those who make the trip to the FEF should see some pretty darn decent NBA ball.

Preseason style, of course.

Memphis at Miami - 4.11.08

Memphis is winning at a clip their fans haven't seen since this time last season. The big difference is that at this point last season Memphis had already sewn up the worst record in the league. This year they are in the middle of the pack for a legitimate chance in the lottery. Not exactly the best time for a team to start winning if strategy is their prime concern. Which leads one to only one conclusion. They are trying to win because they believe that is what they are supposed to do. What a novel attitude for a team in their position.

Miami has taken a more strategic view of this season. Shelving Dwayne Wade to rehab his injuries for next season, allowing Shawn Marion to rest the remainder of the season after an apparently painful slip in the shower and allowing their coach to scout college players at the NCAA tournament instead of actually coaching games is not what you would call a competitive attitude toward winning games. Throw in injuries to former Grizzlies Alexander Johnson and Jason Williams plus Udonis Haslem has made Miami's starting lineup a better trivia question than an NBA team. Seriously, can anyone name thier starting 5?

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Chris Quinn
Mike Conley has played three really nice games in the last six. That is what happens with rookies and especially with rookie PGs. One night he is able to use his speed to get to the rim and really put defenses on their heals opening up jumpers for his teammates. The next night he appears to be sluggish and unsure of what to do with the ball. Chris Quinn has struggled coming off the bench but the 2nd yr guard out of Notre Dame has been much more effective as a starter. Quinn is a better shooter but will be pressed defensively with Conley's speed. With no true shot blocker behind him Quinn won't be able to get a lot of support either.
Advantage: Memphis

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Daequan Cook
Mike Miller was struggling before erupting at Minnesota for a season high 34 points with 8 three pointers. Unfortunately his cold slump returned against Phoenix making it 9 games out of 10 with Miller not reaching 20 pts and 4 out of 6 games that he failed to reach double figures. Something is obviously not right with Mike right now. DeQuan Cook, a teammate of Mike Conley at Ohio St, is not afraid to shoot the ball despite his low shooting percentage (37.1% from the field and 32.1% from the arc). Rookie gunners routinely struggle with their shot in the NBA but against Miller he may have better looks than he is used to getting. It shouldn't help that much however.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Ricky Davis
If their is a bigger nemisis for the Grizzlies than Ricky Davis I don't know who he is. Ricky Davis has made a career of beating the Grizzlies with last second shots including a streak of three straight game winning shots at one point. It may not be a coincidence that this streak ended when Rudy Gay came to town. Since Rudy's arrival Davis has not been nearly as effective. Rudy, who is having a break out season and is in competition for the Most Improved Player award, has been red hot of late and especially effective during the 4th quarter. That is a trait the Grizzlies have been notoriously missing since their arrival in Memphis.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Hakim Warrick vs Earl Barron
Hakim has started to struggle of late after an impressive run after the trade of Pau Gasol. In his last 10 games Warrick is averaging 16.4 ppg but only 4.5 rpg. That isn't good enough. Warrick has a big advantage against Barron being able to draw him away from the basket offensively but will struggle with Barron's size on the glass. The former Tiger center is starting simply because Miami has no one else to play right now. The 3rd yr pro is playing only 19 mpg and scoring only 6.4 ppg and grabbing 4.2 rpg, but is playing far better since being inserted into the starting lineup.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Mark Blount
Darko has been an enigma wrapped in a quandry this season. Averaging only 24 mpg this season despite starting 63 games Milicic has excelled against bigger, slower centers but struggled mightily against Centers capable of operating away from the basket. Blount is capable of scoring away from the basket. When motivated Blount is a very capable center but he is rarely motivated which works to Darko's advantage. Not enough however to win the individual battle.
Advantage: Miami

Benches: Memphis vs MiamiIf I thought figuring out who was starting for Miami you can imagine the difficulty in discovering who is really contributing off of their bench. Marcus Banks, the former Grizzlies draft pick, is on his 4th team in his 5th NBA season. Judging from performance (9.5 ppg on 51.2% shooting and 3.0 apg in only 21.6 mpg) you might believe he has finally found a home. The rumors that Coach Riley is most interested in Derick Rose in the draft may mean that is a bit too optomistic. Kasib Powell, Stephane Lasme and Joel Anthony contribute but JWill's return may be the best news for the Heat. Memphis has probably lost Javaris Crittenton for the rest of the year with his sprained wrist but Kyle Lowry, Juan Carlos Navarro and Jason Collins are still contributing and offering some hope for next year.
Advantage: Memphis

Relevant blogs:
Crazy from the Heat
Ira Winderman

Other previews:
Grizzlies.com
USA Today
Hoopsworld
The Sports Network
Commercial Appeal
Grizzlies Message Boards

Post Game Thoughts - Atlanta

A mother with a teething child on an airplane. A teenager watching his mother show his first prom date pictures of him as a child. People who are shown in first round elimination clips from America's Idol. Grizzlies fans at the FedEx Forum.

People who are embarrassed?

That is correct!

Through three quarters last night it was one of those games where you just wanted to run away and hide in shame. They happen to all teams in the NBA. After all the Lakers lost back to back home games against Charlotte and Memphis last week. Boston lost back to back games to Washington. San Antonio lost to Memp...well let's forget that one for the time being.

The point is that every team at some point of the season puts up a really poor effort and last night in front of their true and loyal fans (all 3,000 of them from the looks of the stands) the Grizzlies put on a truly lackluster effort. Atlanta shot 68% in the first half. Not from the line but from the field! They were perfect from the line. Memphis was shooting 40% at that time. Not from the field but from the free throw line! Memphis was actually shooting 50% from the field at halftime. Memphis trailed by 31 points at the end of the 3rd quarter...to the Hawks! The Hawks were shooting 69% at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Hawks were on fire and the Grizzlies were not making it difficult for the Hawks either.

How bad have things gotten that the Clippers and Hawks blew us out in back to back games?

If you only saw the final score, and judging from the crowd at the game most of you did only see the final score, it didn't look that bad. Don't be confused. The only reason the score wasn't worse was Mike Woodson, Atlanta's coach, felt sorry for the Grizzlies and put in his bench players.

That was nearly a mistake too. As if a spell had been lifted Memphis played some of their best basketball in the first half of the 4th quarter when they cut the 31 pt lead to a mere 12 points and Rudy Gay had an open look on a 3 pt shot to cut the lead to 9 with more than half the quarter remaining.

Rudy missed the shot of course and Memphis went the next 4 possessions without scoring while Atlanta milked the clock down on their possessions and the game was over but for 6:30 the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the worst teams in the NBA, outscored the Altanta Hawks, a playoff team as it currently stands, by an incredible 23 to 4 pts. Sure the Grizzlies only scored 4 points the rest of the way and by failing to score a 5th point deprived the fans of 10 free wings at Hooters, but for 6 and a half minutes they were the Durham Bulls with Crash Davis. They were the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, No bull. They were really playing well.

It didn't last long but it salvaged what was a pretty sad effort overall. The best +/- ratio among our starters was Rudy Gay's -15 and he dominated the 4th quarter scoring 12 points by himself in the quarter. After Rudy only Hakim scored in double figures and that was 11 pts on 3-8 shooting. Mike Miller played 18 minutes and shot the ball 3 times, all from long range. Mike had as many turnovers as shot attempts in the game. Mike Conley was totally outclassed by Mike Bibby. Darko looked terribe dropping easy passes, missing hook shots when he could easily have dunked the ball and basically not trying to be a force inside against rookie Al Horford who was 4 inches shorter than him.

Ah but the bench, now those guys came to play. Kyle Lowry was 7-9 shooting and constantly forcing issues in the paint. Juan Carlos Navarro was 7-14 ahooting and forced the Hawks into numerous defensive breakdowns. His three more long balls raising his season total to 142, 16 short of the NBA rookie record with 8 games remaining. Javaris Crittenton got things moving with defense and rebounding but was a little out of control on offense a few times (okay completely out of control more than a few times) but at least he was giving some effort! The bench plus Rudy Gay salvaged an otherwise forgetable game. Of course it is the bench plus Rudy Gay that are probably the future of this franchise. Darko hasn't shown he is worth what we are paying him (which is a lot less than he demanded in June) and Mike Conley looks like a 19 yr old who isn't used to the grind of the NBA.

The good news is that the loss put us a game ahead of Minnesota for the all important 37 extra ping pong balls that the difference between 3rd and 4th makes in the lottery machine.

So the bench and the ping pong balls. That is the only nice things I can say about last nights game.

Memphis vs Atlanta - 3.31.08

INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
Once again the Grizzlies honor foreign players, both Memphis' and the opponents, with special ticket prices. If you are a citizen of China or Spain you can really get great discounts with a valid passport. Tonight honors Zaza Pachulia of the Hawks. The strange thing is Zaza is from Georgia. Isn't everyone on the Hawks team from Georgia???

Memphis had a near perfect road trip going 1-2 with the only win against the LA Lakers who's pick the Grizzlies own this season. The road trip ended with a loss to the LA Clippers putting the Clippers three games behind the Grizzlies in the lottery race. You can't ask for better than that. The young guns are starting to play the uptempo style that Iavaroni prefers and the team is playing on both sides of the court. Memphis held the Lakers and Kings to under 40% shooting for the game as well as hitting shots above their season average from the field.

Atlanta has finally put some distance between themselves and the pretenders for the 8th and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. No one is sure if that is a good thing or not as the Hawks first round opponent will be the Boston Celtics while the Nets will be 11th in the lottery and could fall lower. Not a great reward for making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Atlanta is led by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Joe Johnson was originally drafted by then Boston GM Chris Wallace and Josh Smith is rumored to be a player that Wallace is interested in this summer in free agency.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Mike Bibby
Mike Conley seems to have gotten over the rookie wall, even if he swears he never hit it, in the last 10 games highlighted by a 17 pt game (and highest scoring game of his career) against the Clippers. Mike Bibby has hurt his thumb again but is still averaging 14.2 ppg and 6.6 apg as a Hawk. Bibby is a far better shooter from the outside than Conley but Mike has the jets Bibby never had and he is getting older. Still Bibby has the reputation with the refs so expect him to get away with murder compared to Conley.
Advantage: Atlanta

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Joe Johnson
Mike Miller must wonder why he ever recovered from his bad back. In the last few games Mike has been matched up against Kevin Martin, Cuttino Mobley, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and now Joe Johnson. Johnson is possibly them most complete of these players as well averaging 21.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 5.7 apg. Johnson has a sweet long range shot but can drive the ball equally well and when trapped knows how to find the open man. Miller has not been exactly on top of his game lately but against competition like this it is difficult to know if Mike isn't playing well or he is just focusing on other aspects of his game.
Advantage: Atlanta

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Josh Smith
Rudy Gay is one of the most athletic big men in the game, capable of shooting over anyone, hitting the long ball and making exciting in game dunks. Josh Smith might be better than Rudy in all of these areas except long range shooting and Josh is far better defensively than Rudy. Josh, a former slam dunk champion, is averaging 16.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.5 spg and 2.9 bpg. He is a fantasy god in other words hitting every statistical catagory. If there is one draw back it is his 3 pt shooting which he loves to take but can't hit. This match up is worth the price of admission as Rudy averages 19.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.4 spg and 0.9 bpg.
Advantage: Atlanta

Power Forwards: Hakim Warrick vs Marvin Williams
Marvin Williams was the undisputed #2 pick in the 2005 draft who many people thought should be drafted ahead of Marvin Bogut. Atlanta needed a point guard but they went with the smart pick so they passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Oops. Hakim Warrick was in that draft as well but fell hard during draft night from a top 10 pick all the way down to 19 and Memphis. As a starter Hak is averaging 17.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg and hitting 54% of his shots. Marvin is averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg and shooting 45.8% from the field. Of course Marvin is still 4 yrs younger than Hakim but the parallels of their careers are still interesting to look at.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Al Horford
An interesting match between two of the more intriguing big men in the league. Once again Atltanta passed on their need for a PG in the draft and took Memphis' #1 want in Al Horford. That pick has looked a lot smarter than the Marvin Williams pick. Horford isn't a great NBA scoring big but as a rookie he nearly averages a double-double at 9..9 ppg and 9.7 rpg. Darko, a year older than Horford, has struggled since entering the NBA but has shown a lot of promise at the end of the season averaging 10.0 ppg and 8.8 rpg in March. Horford has a lot more speed than Darko and that has been Milicic's defensive Achilles heal.
Advantage: Atlanta

Benches: Memphis vs Atlanta
Memphis' bench has been the spark plug driving the engine lately. With Kyle Lowry, Javaris Crittenton and Juan Carlos Navarro spearheading the offense and Jason Collins the defense, Memphis' bench has been ramping up the tempo and making it difficult for teams' starters to catch their breaths for long. Atlanta's bench has a 6th man of the year candidate in Josh Childress but little else. Salim Stoudamire is playing better of late but he only averages 5.3 ppg for the season. Former Grizz 10 day contract pickup Jeremy Richardson (he replaced Tarence Kinsey) is trying to stay in the league with his third team this season (Memphis and San Antonio being the others), but so far has not really shown a lot.
Advantage: Memphis

Relevant Blogs/Commentary:
Atlanta Hawks Pre-Game Report
Impending Firestorm
Sekou Smith - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Hawks BasketBlog

Post Game Thoughts: Memphis vs. Charlotte - 3.17.08

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!

Memphis vs. Charlotte - 3.17.08

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Don't forget to vote for the Grizzlie's Dance Team members on NBA.com.

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

Memphis at Washington - 1.25.08

Memphis was playing some of their best basketball of the season before getting buzz-sawed by the Orlando Magic at home on Wednesday night. It is one thing to be flat on the 2nd game of a back to back series. It is quite another to lay an egg in front of the home crowd after a night off and no travel in 5 days. This is the 2nd game of another 3 games in 4 nights stretch and the Grizzlies are facing another Eastern Conference team playing very well right now. Rudy Gay continues to be among the best of the Sophomore class of players. The invitation to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest All-Star weekend is a nice additional feather in his cap but Rudy needs to focus right now on playing basketball and not dunking the ball. Pau Gasol is one of only 4 players in the league averaging at least 20 pts and 10 rebounds a game in December but his play in the last two games, against some seriously powerful inside players, has been less than impressive. Mike Miller's back has raised some concerns about the amount of minutes he has logged this season as he was nearly invisible against the Magic. Mike Conley has been playing extremely solid basketball and is starting to look to score more as teams drop off him to double Gasol. He will be challenged this way for the rest of the season if he doesn't start to punish teams doing that.

Washington is playing extremely solid basketball right highlighted by back to back wins over the Boston Celtics, but they too let their foot off the gas pedal in their last game when Cleveland snuck up and beat them 121-85. Washington has been tough to beat at home with wins not only over the Celtics but the Mavericks and Rockets as well this month. Overall the Wizards appear to be a team that beats the teams they are supposed to beat. Led by Caron Butler (21.5 ppg and 6.9 rpg) and Antawn Jamison (21.3 ppg and 10.4 rpg) the Wizards have righted their ship after losing all-star Gilbert Arenas for the season. Brendan Haywood has improved his play this season and is averaging 10.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Former Grizz player Antonio Daniels is playing well replacing Arenas as the starting point guard and has done a better job of distributing the shots than Arenas. Also contributing are DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche, Roger Mason and rookie Nick Young.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Antonio Daniels
Antonio Daniels is a 6-4 swing guard who has done an acceptable job as the starter for the Wizards. Averaging 10.6 ppg and 6.3 apg as the starter, Daniels obviously isn't an offensive replacement for Arenas but his superior effort on defense has improved the teams ability to stop other teams from scoring. his 1.2 spg is more than respectable as well. Conley is starting to realize what his role is going to be on the Grizzlies. He has led the team in assists in 5 of the last 6 games. However, Conley performances on the road have been less than stellar outside of his first start in Indiana. On the road Mike averages 7.4 ppg and 3.9 apg on 42.1% shooting (27.3% from the arc). Daniel's size will force Conley to play tough defensively but Mike's speed should give Daniels troubles as well as Daniels knee has been giving him troubles of late.
Advantage: Washington

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs DeShawn Stevenson
Everything comes back to Miller's back in this match up. After sitting out the Charlotte game with back spasms Miller looked rested and sharp against Chicago but stiff and in pain against Orlando. Miller needs to be aggressive for the Grizzlies to have a chance against the Wizards. When Miller fails to reach 10 attempts the Grizzlies lose. It is that simple. The problem is that Stevenson is a very good defensive player and will not be lulled into allowing Miller easy looks at the basket nor easy to drive against. Like Conley Miller also sees a noticeable drop in production on the road averaging only 14.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Stevenson replaced Miller in Orlando after Miller was traded but didn't really find his spot in the NBA until signing with Washington. The back issue, Stevenson's defense and Miller's road woes makes this difficult for the Grizzlies and all Stevenson needs to do to win the battle is to limit Mike's shot attempts but Mike has bounced back well from bad games this year.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Caron Butler
The battle for UConn bragging rights as the two former Huskies go head to head in this battle. While they play the same position and come from the same school they are very different players. Butler is a mature player who knows when to impose himself on the game and when to let the game come to him. Averaging 21.5 ppg and 6.9 rpg Butler is more of a strength player than an attacker. Butler is averaging career highs in points and assists while having his 2nd best season rebounding the ball. Rudy, more of an athlete than Butler is breaking out this season leading the Grizzlies in scoring and third in rebounding, 4th in blocks and leading in steals. He has shot more 3 pt shots (and hit a higher percent) but also is a slasher who can finish very well. Experience and home court advantage go to Butler however and that should make the difference.
Advantage: Washington

Power Forward: Pau Gasol vs Antwan Jamison
Another excellent match up with Gasol vs Jamison. For the season Jamison is outperforming Gasol averaging 21.3 ppg and 10.4 rpg while Gasol isn't cracking the 20 ppg or 10 rpg mark. For the month of January it is Gasol averaging 22.6 ppg and 10.9 rpg while Jamison is averaging below 20 and 10. Jamison gives more powerful PF's fits with his all court game forcing the bangers away from the hoop. Gasol has shown an ability to use his length and yes even his speed to get out on perimeter shooters and Jamison doesn't have the power to keep Gasol outside of the paint on offense. In the first match up Jamison dominated scoring 41 pts (on 18-22 shooting) and grabbing 11 boards while holding Gasol to only 21 and 9 but this isn't the same Gasol that was playing in November and no one can post numbers like that twice. Still the game is in Washington.
Advantage: Washington

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Brendan Haywood
Haywood probably won't receive any votes but he should be considered for most improved player in the league this season. The 7th year pro from North Carolina is averaging career highs in points (10.3 ppg), rebounds (7.6 rpg) and blocks (1.7 bpg) while only increasing his average play by 5 minutes a game. That is pretty impressive. Darko showed some of the early season promise against Orlando with 8 pts on 4-5 shooting but only grabbing 1 board, even if he did hold Howard below his season average, isn't good and this is not against his former team. Haywood represents the only interior scoring threat on the Bullets and Gasol should be able to contain him so I expect Swift and Hakim to eat into Darko's minutes in this game.
Advantage: Washington

Benches: Memphis vs Washington
Juan Carlos Navarro was drafted by the Wizards but they never seriously attempted to sign him and finally traded him for maybe a mid to late 1st rd pick sometime in the future for the Grizzlies. If Navarro can get motivated by something other than playing in the NBA this would be a good time to show his stuff to the team that didn't want him. In the first match up JCN scored a career high 28 pts so maybe there is something to the revenge factor with him. Memphis will need that kind of performance from Navarro if they go with the small lineup since Bobby Jones is playing terrible since his big game against Seattle. Lowry has worked his way out of a mid-season slump but hasn't really shown the flair that he exhibited earlier in the season. The biggest surprise off the bench has been Stromile Swift who emerged from the DNP doghouse to have some impressive performances and with Washington's perimeter based big men may continue to see more PT. Hakim is still scoring off the bench but not doing enough other things to increase his playing time. Washington's bench is adequate with Songalia and Blatche as the bigs and NBA Journeyman Roger Mason on the perimeter but rookie Nick Young looks very promising. His battle with Navarro should be fun to watch.
Advantage: Memphis

Relevant Links:
Wizznutzz (nice piece on Rod Strickland, Memphsi Tigers coach, by the way)
Bullets Forever(Pray they mention Brendan Haywood in a good light tonight. Just trust me on this!)
Lez Bullets
Washington Post: This Grizzly Could Have Been A Wizard (Juan Carlos Navarro article)

Memphis vs Orlando - 1.23.08

Memphis has won two consecutive home games by double digits. Sure the opponents weren't leading their divisions but the playoff teams that the Grizzlies have played lately didn't actually have fun in the games either. Cleveland in OT, Lakers by one referee...I mean point, Golden St having to fight right down to the wire shows me that the players are learning what Iavaroni wants them to do, Iavaroni is learning what the players can do and that everyone seems to be on the same page. There have been some stumbles along the way but Memphis is growing as a team and the next two games should be a good time to see how far they still have to go. This is the 2nd and last matchup for Darko Milicic against the team that let him go and Memphis will need his defense in this game.

Orlando surprised Detroit with a home win on Monday which should give the Magic some motivation heading into Memphis. The Magic have probably not forgotten how the Grizz treated them in their house earlier in the season either. Orlando is doing something very rare these days with 5 players averaging double figures. Led by Slam Dunk contestant Dwight Howard at 22.1 ppg and a league leading 15.2 rpg, Orlando has managed to survive in the East despite not having a true PF on the roster. Hedo Turkoglu (18.7 ppg) and Rashard Lewis (18.6 ppg) are both 6-10 but also more small forwards than power forwards. Orlando is an amazing 16-9 on the road so the Grizzlies had better come prepared to play.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Carlos Arroyo
Orlando didn't see Mike Conley when the teams played the first game as he was recuperating from his shoulder injury. Now Conley is not only healthy but starting and leading the team. Conley has averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.4 apg in 2008 and that isn't including his 10 pt, 10 assist game Monday. Most importantly Conley is hitting at a high enough percent from the arc (33.3%) to make opponents at least be aware of him out there. That makes his passing and driving ability that much more effective. Arroyo has replaced the injured Jameer Nelson in the starting lineup and played well in that role. His 11.7 ppg as a starter on 57.1% shooting attests to that. He isn't the distributor that Nelson is but his size allows him to be more physical on defense. That attitude has gotten him in foul trouble on occasion however.
Advantage: Orlando

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans came to Orlando in a mid-season trade with the Lakers and has worked himself into the starting lineup for the Magic. As a starter Evans is averaging 11.6 ppg but not scoring very efficiently from outside (31.6%) but he has hit nearly 50% of his field goal attempts. His ability to get to the hoop allows the team's sharpshooters more space on their attempts. Evans is an erratic player who is very good when hot but not so good when cold. Miller has been hot a lot lately but will need to make sure that he keeps Evans cold. Something Miller and the team have struggled with at the SG position all season. Miller's stepped up his game a lot lately and his size and rebounding skills should prove to be the difference in this matchup.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Rashard Lewis
Rudy Gay has retaken the team scoring lead after his 24 pt outing against Chicago. Rudy should also be motivated by his selection for the All-Star Slam Dunk contest but Rashard Lewis has been an All-Star game selection at at 6-10 has the size to compete against Rudy. Rudy has been playing some of his best defense of late and with Rashard not known as a slashing type player will need to make sure he doesn't pick up silly fouls in this matchup. Lewis has been playing well this season but not as well as he is being paid after signing a huge free agent contract this summer. His play has picked up lately however including hitting over 40% of his three pt attempts. Lewis missed the first game against the Grizzlies and his presence makes this a very important matchup for the Grizzlies.
Advantage: Orlando

Power Forwards: Pau Gasol vs Hedo Turkoglu
Another interesting match in this game is at PF. Gasol has been playing much better this month as he recovers from numerous injuries and gets comfortable with the new offense. Orlando will struggle to find a player outside of Dwight Howard who can stop a motivated Gasol. Likewise Pau will struggle to stay with Hedo on the perimeter. Turkoglu is extremely comfortable shooting on the perimeter but has a quick enough first step to get to the lane and exploit a slower footed big man rushing out to contest a jump shot. The deciding factor may be who is more aggressive on the offensive end. Don't be surprised to see Gasol moved to center and the Memphis small ball lineup see considerable time if Hedo starts lighting up the scoreboard. Orlando may also try to use Hedo at center on defense against Darko allowing Howard to compete with the less physical Gasol if Pau starts hot.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard, who also is invited to the Slam Dunk Contest, did what almost every team best player has done against Memphis this season. He had a near career night when he went for 31 pts on 10-11 shooting and grabbed 20 rebounds. Not surprisingly the only team that he has performed better against this season is Phoenix where Iavaroni used to coach. Containing Howard has to be the single most important facet of the game. Darko has to stay in the game to do that. In the first match Darko was hampered with foul trouble ending up with 5 fouls in only 16 minutes. It is difficult to see Memphis coming out on top again if Darko can't remain in the game. Milicic has struggled this season offensively and has lost time to the bench when the Grizzlies go small but Gasol can't contain Howard on the glass. Darko will have to keep his emotions in check. If Milicic can hold Howard to a more normal night then Memphis has a chance. If not it will be tough.
Advantage: Orlando

Benches: Memphis vs Orlando
Memphis' bench has dramatically improved their play of late. Juan Carlos Navarro has found his shooting touch and is deadly when hot. Hakim Warrick has played better defensively and his shot has always been a strength. Kyle Lowry still struggles with his shot but has been making more intelligent decisions on the court. Even Stromile Swift has seen some minutes and been productive. Orlando's bench is not as strong. With Nelson out, Keyon Dooling becomes the backup PG and at 6-4 his size is difficult to match up against. Former starter Keith Bogans has been playing more minutes lately and producing as well. Where Orlando struggles is when their bigs have to rest. Brian Cook and Adonal Foyle have not been able to contribute at all forcing Orlando to go very small with JJ Redick as the only other contributor off the bench. If Memphis can get the frontline tired or in foul trouble Memphis has a real opportunity to sweep the series.
Advantage: Memphis

Relevant Links/Other Blogs:
Third Quarter Collapse (An Orlando Blog not Grizzlies)
Believing in Magic
Grizzlies Home Page Preview

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

Memphis vs Miami - 1.6.08

Memphis is playing some of their best basketball to start the new year after playing some of their worst to end 2007. The only significant change has been the demotion of Damon Stoudamire and the promotion of Mike Conley. Suddenly Memphis' interior defense is improved, the offense is more effective and the results are far more encouraging. Conley has learned how to swim apparently to use Iavaroni's reference from the beginning of the season. Rudy Gay had a tooth knocked out against Boston but came back to lead the team in scoring against Boston and showed the type of fortitude that the Grizzlies have lacked in previous seasons taking big shot after big shot in the game. Juan Carlos Navarro came back to life to score 20 points after being shut out in the win at Indiana. Mike Miller started hot but faded late to finish with 16 points after scoring 11 after 14 minutes of the game.

Miami has been one of the biggest disappointments in the league this season. With Dwayne Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Williams it seemed inconceivable that the Heat wouldn't be competitive for the playoffs in the East but Miami is not only not competing, they have the worst record in their conference. Injuries have played a major role as all three of their big name vets plus Alonzo Mourning have suffered through injuries which has torn team chemistry apart. Don't be surprised if health issues sideline Pat Riley pretty soon as his history is to lead championship teams but abandon bad teams. Miami is bad this season. The only bright spot has been the play of rookie Daequan Cook from Ohio St.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Chris Quinn
Miami has suffered at the point all season but seems to have found a keeper in the young Quinn. Quinn has started 8 games for the Heat and performed very well in that role. His 52% shooting has helped him average 7.4 points as well as dealing out 4.3 assists. Mike Conley has done even better starting. Conley is averaging 8.5 ppg, 6 assists and 2 steals while showing incredible poise running the team. With Conley finally in the regular rotation and starting no less it seems impossible that he won't make his home debut in this game.
Advantage: Memphis

Shooting Guards: vs Daequan Cook
Mike Miller has been most effective shooting the ball this season but struggles to get shots in the 2nd half and especially the 4th quarter of games. His rebounding (7.0 rpg) has been a needed aid to the Grizzlies offense but one has to wonder how long Miller can continue to be effective playing over 37 minutes a night. Cook, Conley's teammate at Ohio St, replaced Dwayne Wade in the starting lineup against Dallas as Wade sat out the game against Dallas. Cook is a mad bomber who can shoot his team to victory or defeat since he seems to have no concept of his shot being on or not. Cook will shoot either way.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forward: Rudy Gay vs Ricky Davis
Is there is any player who has broken the Grizzlies heart more than Ricky Davis? Davis could build an hour long highlight film simply on game winning shots against Memphis. Whether at Boston or Minnesota or Cleveland Davis has beaten the buzzer against the Grizzlies and now he gets another shot in a Miami uniform. Davis is struggling this season with Miami after being traded right before the start of the season but seems to be finding his game averaging nearly 20 ppg over the last 5 games. Rudy Gay has been the best player for the Grizzlies this year and has made people forget that he was traded for crowd favorite Shane Battier last year. Gay has shown the athletic ability to shoot over almost any player in the league yet still had the touch to be dangerous from 3 pt land. If Rudy has a weakness it is avoiding foul trouble against slashing players like Davis. Early foul trouble has given Rudy troubles in games this season.
Advantage: Miami

Power Forwards: Pau Gasol vs Udonis Haslem
If there has been one player who consistently puts out the effort to win games for Miami this season it has been Udonis Haslem. The 5th yr pro out of Florida has averaged 12.9 ppg and 9.4 rpg and brought the interior power game that Miami needs with Shaq not playing. Gasol has been anything but consistent this season. He followed a 31 pt game against Philly with his first non-double figure scoring night the next game against New Orleans. He followed a 30 pt scoring night against Indiana with a 12 pt effort on 3-13 shooting from the field but did grab 8 rebounds, dish out 5 assists and block 3 shots but gave up a big offensive rebound and basket in the Boston loss. Gasol has never liked playing against physical players and Haslem is one of the more physical PF's in the league but Gasol has too much talent to not win this match up.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Mark Blount
Blount was the 2nd part of the pre-season trade with Minnesota but was not brought in to be the starter. In fact he really wasn't brought in to back Shaq. Blount made the salaries work and Minnesota wanted to be rid of him. Lucky for Miami that he was included as Shaq has looked terrible this season and Mourning's career is over after tearing his Patella Tendon. Blount has never been a hard working center and this season is no different but at least he is a big body for Miami to put on the court and when motivated can produce. He just isn't motivated very often. Milicic continues to improve with the support of Marc Iavaroni. Despite a painful thumb that makes rebounding and shooting difficult Darko's defense and physical presence allows Gasol to concentrate more on offense and that alone is a huge benefit. Darko may not be a great rebounder but he does a great job of keeping his man off the glass which enables Miller, Gay and Gasol to get to rebounds they didn't last year.
Advantage: Memphis

Benches: Memphis vs Miami
With Jason Williams, Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade injured the Miami bench is decimated. Against Dallas Miami played Luke Jackson, former Grizzly Alexander Johnson and Former Tiger Earl Barron but no one else. That can't be good for any team over a long season. Jackson has been a nicer NBDL pickup for Miami than Jeremy Richardson has been for the Grizzlies but that isn't saying a lot. Memphis' bench has been struggling along with the play of Kyle Lowry. The former spark plug seems to have hit the rookie wall and his minutes and production are way down from earlier in the season. Navarro has been hot and cold as most rookies are even if they are 27. Stromile Swift has been playing a lot like Navarro but he isn't a rookie and Casey Jacobsen has worked hard on defense but struggled with his shot. Still Memphis has depth and talent off their bench and any of the player can perform on any night.
Advantage: Memphis

Relevant blogs/websites:
Crazy from the Heat
Ira Winderman (Sun Sentinel)

Post Game Thoughts - Orlando

Chipc3's Impressions:

While everyone was out celebrating the season, bemoaning the state of the franchise or both, the team went down to Orlando (with the real SOB who outbid me for the fan's fantasy trips) and took it on the chin from Dwight Howard but still stood toe to toe with the Magic and ended up being the last team standing.

Rudy Gay is not too bad for those that didn't realize it yet. A career high 32 points that included a few highlight dunks, some serious post up moves (including one where he jumped up facing the Grizzlies bench and after reaching the top of his jump calmly turned in midair and drained the jump shot) and a big 3 pt shot in the final four minutes. He was simply unstoppable.

Mike Miller was Mike Miller. Big early offensively and then disappearing late but he made a huge defensive stop on Dwight Howard late, doubling down and blocking the shot plus getting the rebound. That play really turned the tide of the game.

Juan Carlos Navarro refound his shot and made two huge three point shots in the final minutes to put the team ahead and then made all of the free throws down the stretch to put the game away. Great game by the player known as 'Instant Grits' on the team.

And I haven't mentioned the player of the game yet! Andre Brown. Yes Andre Brown. The player I said was on the team because he understood he wasn't going to play and was still happy about his role. The man who I once wrote "if Andre is in the game in the 4th quarter then the Grizz have already lost" was a major force preventing Dwight Howard from getting 50 pts and 40 boards. His hustle and defense was huge and with Darko and Swift battling foul trouble the whole game he simply refused to allow the team to lose. I don't know if there is room on his body for another tattoo but he should try and find a place to put today's date. He was that important.

Damon and Kyle was good tonight. Not great but good is a huge improvement over the play of our point guards lately. Maybe it is Michael Conley's presence in practice that has them improving their play or maybe it was Jameer Nelson's lack of size but they both scored in double figures and only had two turnovers between them.

But how did the Grizz win the game when Howard was so dominant, Hedo Turkoglu was scoring well both on the perimeter and in the paint and Jameer Nelson went for 18 and 8 assists? The team won because they hit their shots. After going 11 minutes without hitting a shot against the Clippers the night before Memphis shot 52.9% from the field, made 12 three pt shots and scored 68 second half points. Yes that is nearly as much as they scored in the entire game against Atlanta just a week ago.

Now Memphis comes home for 6 of the next 7 games. Sure the competition will be tough but the team has something positive to come home with and it is the holiday season. Maybe they can ask for contagious confidence for an early Christmas present.

More Postgame:
Third Quarter Collapse
Orlando Sentinel: Darko's Confidence Runs Low

Grizzlies at Orlando 12.15.07

Memphis takes to the road for the first time since the blowout in Atlanta and like that game it is the backside of a back to back. Fatique will play a part in this game but shouldn't be too big a problem with the days off this week the team has had. Memphis is in a critical period right now a 5 game losing streak heading into the Clippers game and a tough schedule ahead with Golden St and San Antonio coming to town before a rematch at Detroit. This is not a game the Grizzlies can afford to get blown out in. Rudy Gay has continued to lead the team in scoring while Gasol is back to being a double-double threat every night but the sudden lack of production from the starting backcourt has raised some thoughts about possibly moving both Damon and Mike to improve in this area.

Orlando has a three game losing streak heading into Friday's game at Charlotte. The slide has been precipitated by a drop in shooting including a 33.8% shooting game against Milwaukee. Orlando needs to find the range to be effective as they are basically playing without a true PF. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis prefer playing on the perimeter which allows Howard to work in the lane unobstructed but if Orlando isn't hitting the outside shots team can double up Howard. If the Magic win the game it will likely be because Gasol couldn't handle Howard down low or Lewis on the perimeter. The Magic's style of play doesn't lend itself well to Gasol's defensive play. Another thing to consider, Coach Stan Van Gundy said that if the Magic starters don't improve their play the lineup could be shaken up.

Point Guards: Damon Stoudamire vs Jameer Nelson
Jameer Nelson is not a deep threat but on the Magic that isn't an issue. Nelson's speed allows him to get into the lane and cause trouble for teams and that is what Stan Van Gundy wants from his point guard. Damon will need to stay in front of Nelson and keep him out of the lane dishing to Howard around the basket or Lewis, Hedo and Bogans on the perimeter. Damon isn't very good at preventing taller PG's from shooting over him but taht shouldn't be an issue against 6-0 Nelson. The lateral quickness could be an issue for Damon however.
Advantage: Orlando

Shoooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Keith BogansKeith Bogans is a defense first SG who understands his job is to cover for Lewis and Hedo defensively while hitting the open three when it presents itself. Bogans is good at that hitting 37% of his three point attempts on the season. Miller disappeared against Atlanta and, while rebounding nicely against Detroit, failed to score a basket until the final horn sounded. Miller is the Grizzlies best long range shooter and he has to take more than one long shot in a game. With Bogans not being a serious scoring threat this leaves Miller to focus on his game.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Hedo Turkoglu
Rudy is faciing a totally different player in this game than he faced the night before and Corey Maggette. Hedo appears to love to sit on the three point line and pop up bombs rather than slashing to the paint in an attempt to draw a foul. While he does run the pick and roll well with Howard and has noce ball control skills Hedo has taken 26 more three pt shots than free throws this season. He isn't exactly aggressive with the ball. Hedo's level of play has slowed down after a fast start. In December Hedo is averaging only 16.4 ppg on 38.8 FG% and a 30% 3 pt%. His rebounds however have picked up t0 7.6 rpg. Rudy's performance has reached a new level this month. He is averaging 22.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2.7 apg in December. Also Rudy is averaging 1.3 spg and 1.2 bpg.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Pau Gasol vs Rashard Lewis
An interesting match up between two max contract players that aren't the best players on their teams. Gasol is in the process of passing the leadership torch to Rudy Gay but Lewis has never been a lead player on an NBA team. Gasol has recovered from an injury plagued opening month where he seemed lost in the new system to average 17.8 ppg and 9.8 rpg in December. Not bad considering he is no longer the #1 offensive option. Rashard Lewis has picked his game in December as well although not as dramatically. Lewis may be the worst rebounding PF in the league at only 5.1 rpg a game. The problem for Gasol will be covering Lewis on the perimeter where he feels most comfortable. Lewis has yet to have a 30 pt game with Orlando but if he is hot and Gasol doesn't guard the perimeter it could happen in this game.
Advantage: Orlando

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Dwight Howard
Darko has had a bad thumb, a bad ankle and this summer a bad attitude but he better put all of that behind him in this battle. Dwight Howard is making a strong case for league MVP and has already been annointed Shaq's replacement as most dominant big man in the game. If anyone in the league should know his game it is Darko who played with Howard the last two seasons. In fact maybe Darko should keep that summer chip on his shoulder in this game as the Magic could easily have resigned Darko if not for their desire to overpay Rashard Lewis. Now is Darko's chance to show the Magic how big a mistake they made by not keeping him. It isn't going to be an easy task with Howard averaging 23 ppg and 15 boards. Perhaps just keeping him at his season average will be enough. The most important thing for Darko is to keep Howard off the offensive glass. Let someone else grab the board but Darko's got to keep Howard off the glass.
Advantage: Orlando

Benches: Memphis vs Orlando
All five of Orlando's starters score in double figures. None of their bench players come close. The best player off the bench right now may be Maurice Evans, a player the Magic acquired for Trevor Ariza earlier this season. Combo guard Keyon Dooling has provided sporadic periods of good play but is inconsistent. Carlos Arroyo confused people in Orlando just like he did in Detroit. He is one of the first off the bench and can run the offense but he is not shooting well this season. The biggest problem for Orlando is the absolute lack of frontcourt support. Brian Cook can hit the three but does little else. Adonal Foyle is barely adequate and Pat Garrity is worse than that. Memphis' bench has two 10 ppg scores in Lowry and Navarro and two front court players capable of exploding in Stromile Swift and Hakim Warrick.
Advantage: Memphis

Other Pre-game sites/Relevant Commentary:
Special thanks to Third Quarter Collapse for their insightful commentary about the Magic. They have an excellent site that I highly recommend.
Believing in Magic

Postgame Thoughts: Memphis at Atlanta 12.08.07

No in-depth analysis is really needed for this game. It was ugly.

No -- uglier than that.

Nope -- uglier still.

Now you're getting the hang of it.

Chip's Viewpoint:
Maybe Stro's illness is spreading to the rest of the team like it did to Damon. That and the fact that this was the 3rd game in four days somewhat justifies the shooting touch. I disagree with the attitude some have that the team didn't have effort. They played hard for most of the game but they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn tonight.

I can't imagine a worse time to go 0-4 in a week. Home against Portland, two division games and then a road trip to Atlanta to end the week. 2-2 would have been good. 1-3 would have been acceptable. This was embarrassing. Not only tonight but only one decent effort the entire week. Hopefully with the team regaining full strength with the return of Darko something will change around here and the team will start getting some better results. With Detroit coming up on Tuesday and the Clippers after that now would be a good time to turn things around.

For the first time this season the team is behind where I expected them to be and I only predicted 33 wins.

Memphis at Atlanta - Dec 8, 2007

Memphis is playing their 3rd road game in 4 days after scrapping with division foes while shorthanded. That is the bad news. The good news is that they are playing a team that is younger, more volatile and definitely more unpredictable than the Grizzlies. Memphis has been needing more interior players with Stro sick and Darko injured. That will be the case again as Atlanta throws Al Horford against the Grizzlies but Marvin Williams isn't any bigger than Rudy Gay so Rudy won't be physically out-matched at the four. The problem in this match up for the Grizzlies are Atlanta's perimeter players. How will Navarro and Miller contain Joe Johnson and Josh Smith?

Atlanta is young and inconsistent. Some nights the combination of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford and Acie Law look incredible. Other nights they look horrible. The Hawks have more athletic talent than almost any other team in the league but the talent hasn't resulted in wins. The reason is that the team is so young that they don't know how to win in the league. And there isn't anyone on the roster that seems able to teach them either. Joe Johnson, the player Chris Wallace traded away from Boston not so many years ago, is the closest thing to a leader on the team and this man left Phoenix for Atlanta because he wanted to be a star more than be a piece of a possible championship team.

Crunch Time Woes

The Griz have yet to win a game this year decided by 3 points or less (0 for 6). That hurts. And by my count, 11 of the 19 games this year were essentially anyone's game with ~2 minutes to play in the 4th. The Griz are 4-7 in those games. With the key being not to need a last second shot to win or leave time for the other team to have a last second shot to win. This week alone the Griz have lost two games on last second shots. What surely can't be a good sign, Joe Johnson beat the Twolves this week on a last second shot. I don't know about you, but I have very little confidence in the Griz successfully executing in crunch time. And I don't think the responsibility falls all on the players. If you go back and look at the play-by-play in most of those close games, we routinely have a bad offensive possession coming out of a timeout. That is likely in part due to our rookie head coach (who surprisingly has never, to my knowledge, been a head coach at any level before this season....he is the ultimate rookie head coach...it may take him more time than I expect to have successful crunch time game planning).

Zack's Blatantly Obvious Keys to Victory
1.) Better perimeter defense.
2.) Better, crisper passes on offense.
3.) Do a better job of preventing second chance points for the Hawks.

Matchups

Point Guards: Damon Stoudamire vs Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson wasn't supposed to be starting for Atlanta. Damon Stoudamire wasn't supposed to be starting for the Grizzlies this late in the season. Well maybe Damon starting but definitely not increasing his minutes every night. Johnson has performed well in his role of distributor but he isn't going to hurt you most nights on offense. His job is to get the offense started and get out of the way. He understands this and does his job. Damon has been stepping up of late and becoming another long range threat for the Grizzlies. They need that threat now with the interior so thin because of injuries.
Advantage: Memphis

Shooting Guards: Juan Carlos Navarro vs Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson is shooting terrible right now. He's made 65 of his last 171 shots. One has to wonder if winning is something that remotely concerns JJ. He obviously believes he can shoot himself out of this slump that has him hitting only 40% of his FG Attempts and below 30% of his 3pt attempts. Navarro isn't known as a great defender and if JJ posts him he will need some help. Navarro is sneaky good as a shooter but JJ can play some defense when he wants to. If JJ is hot then this is a serious mismatch. I don't know why but doesn't it seem Memphis is the cure for most teams shooting problems this year?
Advantage: Atlanta

Small Forwards: Mike Miller vs Josh Smith
This is when Grizzlies fans really start hoping Darko is capable of playing. Or at least Stro because this match up is really frightening athletically. Josh Smith is capable of making great athletes look silly. He's also capable of making a lot of silly plays. Josh can do almost anything with a ball on a court. The problem is that he believes he can do everything and he can't. Once he learns that his athletic ability does have limitations and he doesn't have to try to do everything he could become one of the best players in the league. Until then he is just a talented player who doesn't seem to know how to play the team game. Miller is all about team often to the chagrin of Grizz fans who wish he would try and be more selfish. He has one of the sweetest shots in the game, can get past defenders who only guard against the long ball and rebounds as well as any one his size in the league. Miller is slow of foot however and can't jump half as high as Smith. The key here is for Mike to play off Smith and not let him drive since Smith's outside game is suspect.
Advantage: Atlanta

Power Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Marvin Williams
Rudy Gay vs Marvin Williams is a match up of two of the most talented players from the class of 2008. Marvin spent one season in UNC before turning pro while Rudy spent two at UConn. The both are having breakout seasons this year with Marvin Williams averaging 15.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.8 apg and shooting 48.7% from the floor. Rudy is averaging 18.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg and shooting 47.1% from the floor. If anything differentiates these players it is that Rudy is a better perimeter scorer. This is a battle of future stars in the league and should be exciting to watch. Too bad that Rudy will be playing his 3rd game in 4 days while Atlanta has been at home this week waiting on the Grizzlies.
Advantage: Atlanta

Centers: Pau Gasol vs Al Horford
Al Horford was the player most Grizzlies fans were willing to settle for in the last draft. The 6-10, 245 pound bruiser was the perfect compliment to svelte Pau Gasol and would legitimize the Grizzlies front line. Unfortunately the Grizz didn't get a shot at Horford, Durant or Oden and instead took Michael Conley. that pick could still turn out well for the Grizzlies but watching Al Horford will still hurt somewhat. Horford has been everything expected averaging 10.6 rpg and 8.8 ppg in his rookie year. Gasol has been less than what you expect but his game has been improving of late. Gasol will be a tough stop for Horford but expect Williams and Smith to be helping out down low a lot and daring our perimeter scorers to beat them. The thing is that Gasol is excellent at passing out of trouble.
Advantage: Memphis

Benches: Memphis vs Atlanta

Atlanta's bench is being run thin just like the Grizzlies due to injury. Josh Childress has joined ZaZa Pachulia and Tyrone Lue on the list while Memphis has darko Milicic, Stromile Swift and Michael Conley all down at the moment. This game won't likely be determined by either team's bench unless one of those six names returns to action. Memphis still has Kyle Lowry but his star has begun to fade of late, Casey Jacobsen can fill in but hasn't shown anyone why he was signed this summer and Andre Brown gives a ton of effort even if he is short on results. Atlanta has Salim Stoudamire, former #5 draft pick Sheldon Williams and Acie Law but their production has been sporadic at best.
Advantage: Memphis

Update I (12:30 am, 12.08.07 by Zack) - Health an Issue
All of a sudden, we have been struck by a string of health issues. Stro has missed 2 games with a stomach virus and now Damon missed the Friday night Hornets game with the same flu bug. I hope more players don't come down with it too. That left Lowry as the only healthy PG, which isn't a preferable situation despite the fact it allowed Lowry to start his first game. Darko returned against Hornets and played major minutes. It is apparent that his ankle isn't 100%. Darko is proving to be a warrior to push through the pain. Even Miller left the Hornets game momentarily with an apparent injury issue, but returned shortly. The health of the Griz players will be key tonight. We will try to get a new post up before the game if there is again a surprising injury scratch like last night with Damon.

Other Pre-game Sites/Relevant Commentary:
Atlanta Hawks Preview
Hawks - Impending Firestorm
Hawks - Sekou Smith
The Fanhouse (Tom Ziller): Hawks broken, not broke

Got a Prediction? Leave it in the Comments.