Slightly better than .500, but a lot better than last season. That’s been your Grizzlies this year, and that’s how things went last week: 3-2.

The Bizzaro run of home losses and road wins is over, and although math still says the Grizzlies CAN make the playoffs, conventional wisdom, and coach Lionel Hollins, points to the Grizzlies just coming up short (because what does math know anyway?).

Saturday, March 13: Nuggets 125, Grizzlies 108
Just like in their previous game against the Knicks, the Grizzlies laid a big fat egg in the fourth quarter of this one. Unlike that game, the egg resulted in Memphis blowing a 12 point halftime lead to lose by 17.

J.R. Smith lead the Denver charge in a fourth quarter which saw the Nuggets outscore the Grizzlies 40-23. Smith was 11-16 from the field including 7-10 from three-point range and finished with 30 points.

Worst thing about this game? Chris Anderson. The excessively tattooed (and for this game mustachioed) Denver center is usually more famous for his obnoxious hair rather than his play, but he and Nuggets starting center Nene beat the Grizzlies at their own game, dominating the pain inside.

That’s not a typo. In addition to the embarrassing dunks and open lanes created and taken advantage of by the Denver big men, Chris Andersen came down butt first on Marc Gasol’s neck while grabbing a rebound in the third quarter. Gasol finished the game but hasn’t played since, subjecting Grizzlies fans to a string of starts from Hasheem Thabeet. More on Thabeet later.

Tuesday, March 16: Grizzlies beat some guys wearing Bulls jerseys, 104-97

O.J. Mayo scores on some guys the Bulls picked up at the park on Tillman before the game.
Chicago was missing four players for the game.
Photo by Chase Gustafson

For the Grizzlies, there wasn’t a better time for Hasheem Thabeet’s first start than against a Bulls team missing four key players. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah all missed the game with injuries and Kirk Hinrich was still serving his league suspension for attending the University of Kansas ^{[citation needed]}.

While the Grizzlies were without Gasol, guard Ronnie Brewer returned to the lineup. Brewer had not played since injuring his hamstring in his first game with the Grizzlies after being traded from the Utah Jazz.

The Grizzlies fourth quarter woes continued in this one, as they were outscored 30-19 in the final period after leading by as much as 25 in the third. The trend wasn’t lost on the team.

“We build a good lead then seem to get lackadaisical sometimes,” guard Mike Conley said after the game. “It’s definitely something we have to improve on.”

Conley himself played well, scoring 19 and racking up 10 assists. Despite an off night against the Nuggets (only 6 points) Conley’s numbers have been up significantly in March.

Oh and Thabeet? He was pretty respectable in his first NBA start, matching his career highs in points and rebounds with 10 and 9 respectively. Coach Lionel Hollins praised the oft-maligned lottery pick after the game, but recognized that Thabeet still has a long way to go, particularly on offense where he still shies away from baskets.

“He’s different in that regard,” Hollins said. “When I see a deuce I’m going for it.”

Another highlight from this game was the improved demeanor of Hollins in his post game press conference. See the colorful quote above? That was just the start. When asked about his rationale for using a unique fourth quarter lineup which featured both Marcus Williams and Mike Conley, Hollins replied with a thoughtful answer concerning the advantages of having two ball handlers on the court in full court press situation.

Compare that to previous blowups about Mike Conely, describing the concurrent home losing and road winning streaks as “We’re playing better on the road than we are at home,” and the last answer to a matchup question, “Because I wanted to,” and blowups at people other than this reporter (after the first Houston game at home and the second Laker game), and there’s a BIG improvement.

Wednesday, March 17: Grizzlies fall to Rockets 107-94
Hard evidence that the Bizarro run has ended. The Grizzlies could not keep up with their nemesis, the Houston Rockets, dropping their third matchup against the team this season.

It had all the elements to predict a Grizzlies loss. Second night of a back-to-back, on the road against a team the Grizzlies just haven’t been able to figure out. During the Bizzaro run, this inexplicably would have resulted in a win. Not so in Houston.

Even a 30 point night from Zach Randolph wasn’t enough for the Grizzlies, partially because Aaron Brooks pulled a J.R. Smith (see above) and was perfect from long range - en route to a 31 point night.

Thabeet contributed again, with 8 points and 10 rebounds, but the rest of the team had an off night. O.J. Mayo only finished with 4 points on 1-6 shooting from the floor.

The Rockets win moved them past the Grizzlies into the ninth spot in the west, but while Houston is adept at beating Memphis, they aren’t so lucky with other teams. The Grizzlies would regain the ninth spot after two more games.

Saturday, March 20: Grizzlies overpower the Warriors 123 – 107

Randolph probably could have taken on Golden State by himself.
Photo by JD Meredith

The night after dropping 147 points to the Mavericks in regulation, the Warriors continued serving as a doormat to the Grizzlies, who outplayed Golden State in the very style the Warriors are used to running.

Darrell Arthur had his best game of the season despite his alma matter, the Kansas Jayhawks, losing to ninth seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAA tournament just moments before tipoff.

“I was sad,” Arthur said of the loss, “but I couldn’t let it affect me. Just had to stay focused.”

Arthur finished the game with a season high 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Zach Randolph finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, nothing new to one of the NBA’s most consistent 20-10 players this season, but the night was special as it put Randolph just seven rebounds shy of the Grizzlies single season franchise record.

Lionel Hollins continued his improvement in dealing with the press, even staying polite to a group of student reporters who attended the press conference as part of the Don Poier annual journalism scholarship.

Hollins had already described how he felt about any playoff talk surrounding his team (“What playoff talk?”) when one of the students asked him the same question.

“You weren’t listening,” Hollins said. The room paused, waiting for a signature Hollins moment that talk radio hosts would repeat for weeks. But that was the old Lionel. The new Lionel is different. “That’s ok, you were writing," Hollins continued. "I’ll cut you a break because you were writing.”

Hollins proceeded to repeat the answer. It wasn’t word for word, but the meaning was the same – probably not going to happen, but it’s still been a good season for the team.

Yes. For the team and for Coach Hollins, who needs a new award created to be given to him at the end of the season - “Most Improved in Dealing with the Media.”

Monday, March 22: Grizzlies blow past Kings 102 – 85
Randolph broke the rebounding mark, and the Grizzlies showed a rare second half surge as they soundly beat the Kings last night in Sacramento. O.J. Mayo caught fire in the second half after shooting dismally for the first two quarters, scoring 10 points in less than 2 minutes and putting the Grizzlies ahead for good.

The Kings were without former University of Memphis star and rookie of the year favorite Tyreke Evans, who missed the game with an injury worthy of the NHL (mild concussion, bruised jaw, lacerated gums and chipped tooth).

Hasheem Thabeet and Mike Conley both reached double digits scoring in this one, notching 10 and 12 points respectively.

Final Shots
The Grizzlies are currently in the ninth spot in the Western Conference, four games behind Portland and five games behind San Antonio and Oklahoma City, who are tied for seventh. Of those teams, only Oklahoma City has shown signs of weakness down the stretch, as they have lost their last two games.

Memphis plays next tomorrow, March 24 at Golden State followed by a matinee road game at Milwaukee on March 28. The Grizzlies will not return to FedExForum until after the conclusion of the NCAA Women’s tournament. The next home game is March 31 against Dallas.

You can follow @douggillon on twitter for live updates and insight during the games.

It looked like a done deal at the end of the third quarter, but man did the Knicks make it interesting. The Grizzlies survived a 39 point fourth quarter from the Knicks last night and held on to win their third in a row, 119-112.

Just like their previous game in Boston, the Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead and held it for most of the game. They were up eight after the first, up 13 at half time, and led by as much as 29 in the third quarter. Then things started to break down.

The Grizz built the lead off dominant rebounding, smart shots and very tough defense. Going into half time the Knicks were shooting 36% from the floor, and the Grizzlies held a 15-2 fastbreak advantage. The Knicks just couldn’t do anything.

“Unbelievable defense in the first half. Unbelievable defense in the second half,” Lionel Hollins said after the game. “One was positive one was negative.”

The second half defensive breakdown resulted in the most second half points (70) scored by a Grizzlies’ opponent in FedExForum this season, and the most points given up by the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter (39).

But it was the big nights from Randolph (24), Mayo (22) Gay (20) and Mike Conley (18) that had the Grizz up big by the time the run started.

The Grizz did not finish as strongly as they did in Boston, but they started strong enough to hang on for the win.

The Grizzlies Sold Sam Young Jerseys Last night
Well, I would think so anyway. We definitely saw a guy with a custom Sam Young Jersey just after Young had scored 9 of his eventual 13 points. Young was everywhere during the first half, including one possession in which Young made a layup and drew a foul, missed his free throw, got the rebound off the free throw, passed the ball off, got the ball back on the wing, then charged at the basket for a dunk… which he missed. Oh well, nobody’s perfect.

Young, Marcus Williams and DaMarre Carroll were again productive off the bench, with the group scoring 23 points, grabbing 13 boards and adding 6 assists. Hasheem Thabeet played two minutes – finished with a block and a lot of zeroes.

Dunk of the Game
I’m going with Sam Young, who got another chance to jam the ball home in the second and didn’t miss this time. Honorable mention goes to Mike Conley, who didn’t dunk, but dished out two of his six assists on two of the Grizzlies’ four dunks of the night.

Dunk Count: 4; Young -1 Gasol – 1, Mayo -1, Gay -1,

You Had to Be There
A Grizzlies possession in the second quarter featured four consecutive offensive rebounds, three straight inside shots and no calls, until a foul was finally called after Marc Gasol was manhandled under the bucket. Despite the Grizz lead sitting at 23, the small crowd (announced at just over 12K) gave the team a standing ovation just before Gasol sank two free throws. Even in the blowout the fans were loving it.

Twitter Watch
Nothing after the game. Seriously. Nothing. Unless you follow Marcus Williams. His tweets are protected so you’ll have to get them for yourself.

Final Shots
Grizzlies PA announcer Rick Trotter was not with the team, and will miss the rest of the season for personal reasons. The Commercial Appeal reported that it is not a health issue. The Grizzlies radio pre-game and halftime host, Ken Kincaid, ran the PA last night and will continue to do so for the rest of the season. Rick Trotter had sung the National Anthem at the last Grizzlies’ home win against the Nets, now his last of the season. A five-year-old patient at St. Jude sang yesterday’s national anthem. Former Ole Miss and Saints star Deuce McAllister was in the house to shoot the “celebrity prize cannon.” Grizzlies’ MC Ashley referred to Mike Conley as “Sean Conley,” Conley responded by scoring 18. David Lee threw an inbounds pass directly at Lionel Hollins, causing the coach to nearly get run over by, again, Mike Conley, who was diving for the errant throw. Grizzlies have won eight of their last 10 games against eastern conference teams. The losses both came at home during the Grizz home losing streak of February.

The Grizzlies next game is tonight against Denver. Nuggets coach George Karl will not be with the team. Karl is battling throat cancer.

Follow Doug Gillon (that's me!) on twitter during the games for updates and insight.

Teflon Don said it. In both performances of his M.E.M.P.H.I.S Grizzlies song last night, the lyric “We can’t miss! We on fire!” came out. And he was right.

The Grizzlies shot 55 percent from the floor in an impressive beat down of the Boston Celtics in Boston. The win extends the Grizzlies franchise record road winning streak to seven games and has Memphis fans starting to whisper the p word again.

Dominant from the Start
The Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders, leading by 16 after the first quarter, 22 at the half, 19 after the third quarter and winning by a 20 point margin. The margin matches Boston’s worse loss of the season and is the first Memphis win against Boston since 2006.

Don’t think the Grizzlies sluggish third quarter woes are entirely gone though. The Grizzlies were outscored in that quarter 30-27, but were so dominant throughout the rest of the game that it was a non-issue.

Rudy Gay led the team in scoring with 28 points, with O.J. Mayo adding 17. Next in line was, surprisingly, backup point guard Marcus Williams with 16, and Zach Randolph with 13.

Other bench players followed Williams’ lead, as Sam Young added 10 points and Hasheem Thabeet finished with 7.

Thabeet was playing in his first game since being recalled from the d-league Dakota Wizards, and as Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley promised the Commercial Appeal earlier this week, he logged more than 25 minutes. Thabeet was only in the d-league for about a week, but he seems to have learned something. His final line (the 7 points mentioned above plus 6 boards and a block) was one of the best of the season and a huge improvement from his usual performances.

Bizzaro?
So despite the home losing streak being over, the Grizzlies are still acting somewhat like the Bizzaro team that’s impossible to predict, although some of these things are turning into trends.

The road streak continues – that’s one Bizzaro Grizz point still in effect, but again with a few more it will become expected.

Again the backups played well and this is the second game in a row with solid production from the bench. If this continues up until Ronnie Brewer returns, I’ll take it out of the Bizarro category, but for now it’s still an anomaly.

A big test comes over the next seven days. The Grizzlies have back-to-back games at home, followed by a home-road back-to-back in the middle of the week. The Grizzlies swept their only other home back-to-back in January, and have not lost on the second night of a back-to-back since February 6.

If the Grizzlies win at least 2 out of the three home games AND continue their road streak against Houston, we’ll have to dump this Bizzaro talk for a while and just say they’re playing very well again. But will it be good enough for…

Playoffs?
There are 17 games left in the season, and the Grizzlies are currently 3.5 games behind Portland for the eighth and final spot. Portland is currently on pace to win 47 games. In order for the Grizzlies to beat that record and win 48, they will have to go 14-3 over the final stretch. It’s a tall order considering the Grizzlies have two games each against division leaders Dallas and Denver, two games against a Houston team that has pounded the Grizzlies in each of the previous meetings, and road games against Orlando and San Antonio. The Grizzlies aren’t out yet, but they’re hanging on by a thread.

Big Love from the Hometown
Last night’s Memphis Sport watch party featured a full house of Grizzlies fans at the Poplar Lounge – with cheers and free stuff to go around. Fans won MS O.J. Mayo t-shirts, Grizzlies flags and hats, some of Jack Eaton’s books and even some premium tickets to Saturday’s game against Denver.

Everyone also enjoyed free Red Bull from the Red Bull girls, and two performances by Teflon Don. Also a HUGE Grizzlies win.

The Grizzlies are now 1-0 with a +20 point differential when Memphis Sport throws a party to watch the game.

The Grizzlies next game is against the Knicks Friday night at 7 p.m. CST at FedExForum. You can follow @douggillon on Twitter for live updates and insight during games.

So is the Bizzaro run over? Maybe. At least the agonizing home defeats are. Last night the Grizzlies used solid production from their bench and the terrible play of the New Jersey Nets to end an eight game losing streak at home and finally hear Rick Trotter yell “Grizzlies Win!” as the confetti fell for at FedExForum for the first time since Feb. 1.

It wasn’t exactly pretty…
The Grizzlies third quarter woes continued in this one, as they were outscored 26 to 14 there. Despite the miserable quarter, the Grizzlies never trailed after the first, as they had built a 20 point lead in the second quarter, and went into the half up 16. The closest the Nets got was two points.

Coach Hollins said after the game that the lackadaisical play in the third quarter was perhaps his team not realizing how important it was for them to snap their losing streak at home, but was happy with the win.

No Z-Bo, no problem?
Well not exactly. While the Grizzlies rebounding numbers were still ok (52 compared to 45 from the Nets), Grizzlies big men Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi were stretched defensively, picking up fouls more quickly than usual without Randolph to help on the defensive end. Gasol and Haddadi both finished with 5 fouls.

The team did not discuss Randolph’s absence before the game, staying focused on playing with who they had. Hollins said the real detriment to having Randolph out was missing “that dominant post player who always draws a double-team,” but added that they were still able to win because of the bench players stepping up.

Big Night for the Bench
When asked about how Randolph’s absence affected their game, center Marc Gasol looked irritated.

“We’ve got a lot of good guys here,” he said. “We’ve got enough good guys that we should be able to win without him for a few games.”

At least last night he was right. Sam Young continued his solid production with 10 points, Marcus Wliams had 8, Hamed Haddadi added 3 points and 2 rebounds, and Darrell Arthur had 7 points and 3 rebounds in his first start of the season. The bench star of the night however, was DaMarre Carroll, who finished with a season high 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

Benefiting from a small New Jersey lineup that allowed Hollins to play him at power forward rather than small forward, Carroll got most of his points the same way he did in college, from offensive rebounds and putbacks, but he even added a jump shot for the first time in a while. Carroll clocked 24 minutes and almost hit his first NBA double-double.

Carroll had not been playing much in February or March, and saw Randolph’s absence as an opportunity.

“I’ve just been sitting at the end of the bench, patiently waiting, lifting weights and coming in at night to get in extra shots, and tonight I just tried to come out and stay true to myself,” Carroll said.

But Carroll also said that Lionel Hollins gets on him more than any other rookie, which is odd considering Carroll wasn’t demoted to the d-league.

You had to be there
The crowd was tiny - announced at over 10,000 but appeared to be about half that in reality. First signs of life from the crowd came when Tiger favorite Chris Douglas-Roberts checked in. The crowd responded with a big applause even before Grizzlies announcer Rick Trotter said his name.

Really he should just add the Chris to make a complete circle.
Photo by Chase Gustafson

Although small, the crowd was excited the entire game, cheering loudly during the first half, booing even louder during the third quarter, and enjoying the win at the end. They even paid enough attention to boo a botched game of Grizzlies Tic-Tac-Toe during a timeout in the second.

Dunk of the Game
There were a bunch in this one, especially in the first half. Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo kept in simple with their dunks, preferring to just get the ball in the basket, rather than show off (which is probably good when you’re on an eight game losing streak). His dunks still looked good, but we’ll have to give this one to DaMarre Carroll, who found a wide open back door late in the fourth and pounded home a two handed jam to put the Grizzlies one point shy of 100 and essentially put the game out of reach for the Nets.
Dunk Count: 5, Carroll - 1 Gay – 1, Gasol -2, Mayo -1,

Twitter Watch
Hasheem Thabeet
GoodMornin Wonderful World!!!!! I’m Back.. Ya’ll Have a nice and Blessed Day!!!

Rudy Gay
No disrespect to Hurt Locker! But Avatar was the greatest of all time! (Kanye shrug) lol

Grizz
Well it’s the end of my b day weekend, thx to all my furry homies for coming out and hangin with me. Best b day game yet!!

Final Shots
Hasheem Thabeet was back in Memphis after being recalled from the D-League (See tweet above). He sported a new, shorter haircut and sat the bench. New Jersey guards Courtney Lee and Devin Harris lit up the Grizzlies for a combined 58 points. Games are much more comfortable without Ronald McDonald ruining Black History Month. The Grizz should keep honoring players through March without the clown just to make up for February.

The Grizzlies next game is on the road at Boston Tomorrow at 6:30 pm. You can follow @douggillon and @cerrito for tweets during the games, or come watch the game with the entire Memphis Sport crew and rapper Teflon Don tomorrow night at the Poplar Lounge.

Hasheem Thabeet left and the dominant Z-Bo came back. The end of February saw the Grizzlies trucking along in a way Memphis fans had unfortunately come to expect, losing at home. The unforeseen events of the past two weeks have been the Grizzlies success on the road, where the Blue Bears have now won a franchise record six games in a row when away from FedExForum. That and the Grizzlies playoffs hopes are still alive, if only slightly. Even though the team has improved significantly since last year, anything less than a playoff berth will, at this point, be a disappointment. Whether or not the team makes it there starts Saturday at home against San Antonio. If the Grizzlies are to make it, they will need to continue their success on the road and greatly improve their play at home in the final two months of the season. 

Wednesday, February 24: Grizzlies win in Washington, 99-94
This was the first of several hard-fought road wins that kept the Grizzlies from dipping below .500. Despite a weak first half, O.J. Mayo finished with another strong game while Z-Bo, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol all added 20+ points in the Grizzlies winning road effort.

This was another example of the Bizzaro Grizzlies of February. The second game of a back-to-back, on the road was usually a surefire loss for the team that Memphis had gotten used to in the dog days of winter. Now, for the second time in a row, it was a win. 

Thursday, February 25: Grizzlies demote Hasheem Thabeet and Lester Hudson to d-league affiliate:
This wasn’t much of a surprise, and had been rumored for weeks. Even if you weren’t aware of the behind the scenes talk, Coach Hollins switch to Hamed Haddadi, as the go-to back up center and the fact that Thabeet hadn’t played more than 2 minutes in weeks should have been an easy clue. Thabeet’s demotion makes him the highest draft pick to ever get demoted within his first season. Does that make him the biggest bust ever? See what we had to say about it.

Friday, February 26: Grizzlies drop back to .500, lose to Charlotte at home

Basketball as interpreted by Larry Brown - ugly. Photo by Chase Gustafson.

This was embarrassing on almost any level. The Grizzlies lost their sixth straight at home, and their first all year to a team below .500. And it was ugly. The Bobcat’s defense first, Larry Brown style was all over the game, resulting in a low scoring game in which the Grizzlies shot better percentage-wise than in previous losses at home, but the game was so riddled with turnovers and slow possessions that the Grizzlies had trouble scoring any points. Z-Bo still clocked in a monster game with 24 and 10, but he and the Grizz couldn’t stop Stephen Jackson, who finished with 32

Again, by all accounts this game should have been a win for the Grizzlies. They were playing at home against a team they lost to on a buzzer tip in. The Bobcats had lost three straight and were on the end of a long road trip. But Bizzaro Grizz never win the games everyone thinks they will.

Biggest upside to the loss was Lionel Hollins improved demeanor in the post-game press conference. When asked why the Grizzlies allowed Charlotte to run a possession at the end of the game rather than fouling, Hollins was forthright and direct about his decision, and felt that the team still got the time and possessions he wanted, just were unable to convert the shots. 

Saturday, February 27: Grizzlies beat up the Knicks in the Garden
Again, the second night of a back-to-back, on the road. Crummy eastern conference team or not, this was supposed to spell L-O-S-S for the Grizzlies. But it didn’t.

The Grizzlies out muscled and overpowered the Knicks for a big win, and again just avoided dipping below .500. Z-Bo had another monster game, putting up 31 points and a ridiculous 25 rebounds. The Bizzaro run continued, but February was almost over. The Grizzlies were coming back – maybe... 

Monday, March 1: Grizzlies drop must-win again Blazers at home

The Blazers would not admit who their Haddadi was. Photo by Chase Gustafson.

Z-Bo hated this one as much or more than the Grizzlies fans. Down 3.5 games to the Blazers in the playoff hunt going into the game, it was a huge matchup for the Grizzlies. A win would have given them a 3-1 advantage in the season series, setting them up well for any situation in which the team’s tied for a playoff spot. Randolph was playing against another former team and wanted to give them the same thing he had given the Knicks earlier in the week.

Not so. The Blazers overcame a double-digit deficit with a 41 point fourth quarter to get the win.

Again the Grizzlies were playing at home against a team they could beat. Again that team was at the end of a long road trip. Again the Grizzlies couldn’t get the win.

Hollins continued his new trend of being nice after games… sort of. When asked why the team was lately getting wins on the road but unable to find them at home the coach responded, “We’re playing better on the road than we are at home.” Thanks for the insight Lionel. 

Wednesday, March 3: Grizzlies survive another third quarter scare, drop the Hornets in New Orleans
If you watched this and weren’t yelling Z-Boooooooooo! afterwards, then you must not like basketball. Mike Conley was the statistical hero, scoring a season-high 26 points in his revenge matchup against Darren Collison, but Zach Randolph’s bank-in three, made as the shot clock expired in the fourth quarter was the memorable play of the night.

Again the Grizzlies came off a tough home loss to win on the road and stay above .500. The next game was the next day, a full road trip back-to-back against another eastern team. I think at this point you can see where this is going… 

Thursday, March 4: Z-Bo dominates as Grizzlies drop Bulls in Chicago
Two games above .500 just took two road games – back-to-back. Makes sense right? It does for the Bizzaro Grizz.

And in true Bizzaro Grizz fashion, Memphis had to overcome a big first-half deficit to win (Bizzaro Grizz are better at losing after big first half leads).

Oh and Z-Bo? He scored 31 and had 18 boards, but his most memorable play of the night was getting dunked on by Derrick Rose. Hey – it’s Bizarro Grizz.

The back-to-back wins and particularly the win against New Orleans has the Grizzlies back up in the ninth spot in the west, one spot out of the playoffs. The aforementioned Blazers still hold the 8^th spot, 4 games ahead of the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies play the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night at FedExForum. We’ll see whether the February team or the January team shows up then.

 

 

 

 

 

Go ahead and chalk the Grizzlies 2009 draft up as a big, skinny, long-armed flop. Today ESPN reported that Grizzlies Center and 2009 lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet will be demoted to the d-league effective tomorrow. With his demotion, Thabeet has become the highest pick ever sent to the d-league within his first season, and possibly the biggest lottery failure of all time.

The NBA’s fascination with “tremendous upside potential” isn’t anything new, and teams have been getting burned by wasting high picks on the idea for years. It’s not surprising that Thabeet is now all set to join a group of high-stature failures, nor is it surprising that in this time he spent some time with the Grizzlies. If there’s anything amazing, it’s how far behind he is other players considered some of the biggest big men busts of all time. Take a look.

Sean Bradley: #2 pick, Philadelphia, 1993
Bradley enjoyed a rather long NBA career, long enough at least for his being picked not to be considered a complete failure, but more a problem with understanding of opportunity cost. Eight points and six rebounds a game isn’t too bad for a backup, but when you’re a 7ft. 6in. NBA center taken second in the draft and you’re more famous for how many players have dunked in your face rather than your contribution on the floor, it’s hard to consider the contribution worth the pick.
Career Stats: Games 832, PPG 8.1, RPG 6.3, BPG 2.5

Stromile Swift, #2 pick, Vancouver 2000
This guy couldn’t stay out of Memphis. Picked second overall by the team just before it moved from Vancouver, Swift left the Grizzlies for Houston after the 04-05 season, only to return when the team unloaded Shane Battier (the Grizzlies also got Rudy Gay in that deal). He was a high jumping role player, and not terrible at that, but definitely not worth a #2 pick. He currently plays in China.
Career Stats: Games 500, PPG 8.4, RPG 4.6, BPG 1.2

Michael Olowokandi #1 pick, LA Clippers 1998
Often cited as one of the biggest busts of all time, Olowokandi was unimpressive in an injury riddled tenure with the Clippers, T-Wolves and Celtics. He is especially noteworthy as a bust because, unlike Swift, who was part of an entire class of busts, All-Stars including Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Peirce, Mike Bibby (hey the Grizzlies did good that year!), and Rashard Lewis were all available.
Career Stats: Games 500, PPG 8.3, RPG 6.8, BPG 1.4

Kwame Brown #1 pick, Washington 2001
Although still in the NBA, Brown has been as more of a problem than a solution for almost every team he’s played on. Skipping practice, threatening to punch Gilbert Arenas (he must not have known about the guns) and faking a stomach condition led to an infamous exit in Washington, and despite improvement in LA, he wasn’t considered any player of consequence when he was traded to the Grizzlies as part of the Gasol swap. He currently takes up space on the Pistons roster.
Career Stats (for now): Games 495, PPG 6.8, RPG 5.4, BPG .6

Darko Milicic #2 pick, Detroit, 2003
Of course we have to bring up Darko. The Serbian somehow manages to penetrate into the #2 spot in the loaded 2003 NBA draft, getting picked up by the eventual champion Detroit Pistons in a pick that originally belonged to the Grizzlies. Grizz fans didn’t have long to lament their missed #2 pick however, as Milicic was so utterly useless in stints with the Pistons and Magic that he soon ended up where he could have started in the first place. He was equally horrible in Memphis and didn’t even last a full season in New York. As big a waste as Milicic has been, he’s at least still in the league.
Career Stats (for now): Games 348, PPG 5.4, RPG 4.0, BPG 1.2

And then…

Hasheem Thabeet: #2 pick, Memphis 2009
Did not even last an entire year with the Grizzlies. A lot of times a horrendous draft bust is considered a mistake of drafting purely based on need, but that’s no excuse here. The Grizzlies already had Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi. GM Chris Wallace has said the decision to draft Thabeet came down to what they thought was an opportunity to add shot blocking. Well they got a guy who can do that, although not as well as some other players in the league (Dwight Howard) or even on this list (Olokowandi, Bradley, tied with Milicic and Swift – must be a Grizzlies thing).
Career Stats (for now?): Games 50, PPG 2.5, RPG 2.9, BLK 1.2

Five straight losses – three at home. 1-7 over the last eight games. It was less than a month ago that Memphis fans were reveling in the glory of their home team which was unbeatable at home and a scary matchup on the road. Fans were flocking to FedExForum, the Grizzlies were getting national recognition, and the playoffs seemed a sure thing. Now they are treated to old school Grizzlies basketball, with eyes already starting to turn towards the college game and the draft.

Last night it was easy mistakes – missed layups and free throws, slopping positioning, lack of cohesiveness – that doomed the Grizzlies. This time it wasn’t lack of rest (the team had an entire week off for the all-star break) according to the coach it was rust.

Case of the Missing Layup
Or free throw, depending on the time of the game. It was one of the worst shooting performances of the season from the team, who shot a dismal 35.6% from the floor. The Grizzlies missed easy shots all night, with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol being the worst offenders (3-12 and 4-12 from the floor). Despite posting a double-double, Gasol was particularly off last night, also missing eight free throws, a strange night for the 71% career free throw shooter.

Super Sam
Sam Young was one of the lone bright spots for the Grizzlies (that’s excluding Zach Randolph, who put in his work with a solid 18-15 game) scoring 15 off the bench and making two three-point shots in three attempts. Young and Lester Hudson have been the Grizzlies only scoring options off the bench this season, with Young being the more consistent of the two.

Support WHAT movement?
Just before the Grizzlies went to training camp in Alabama, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo held a joint press conference to talk about the upcoming season. Both players talked about how hard they had been working in the offseason, often being the only two players in the gym. Halfway through this year, that work paid off. Mayo and Gay played vastly improved games while Marc Gasol continued to mature and Zach Randolph came in as the missing link. Then the team hit 25 wins.

It was one more win than the entire previous year, with more than 30 games left to play. The Grizzlies were six games above .500 – set up for a playoff spot if they maintained their pace. The whole town was thinking it and the Memphis Flyer put it on the cover, “Look! They Might Be Good!”

Yeah… go ahead and bring that back in. The start of the second half of the NBA season has treated the Grizzlies much like the first: 1-7. Coach Hollins is quick to dispute words like “unmotivated,” but when the team drops off this drastically, it’s hard to think that a lack of focus isn’t a factor.  Hollins admitted to “rust” affecting his players, and lamented that over the five day break there were “some guys that didn’t do anything.” No shoot around. No working out. No practice. Time off. “That’s unfortunate,” he said, “but that’s the way it goes.”

Not really. Not if Hollins goal is to “get respect around the league” as he told us last week. To accomplish that – to get into the playoffs, to win a playoff game, to be an elite team in professional sports, “that’s the way it goes” can’t ever be part of the equation. Even in Hollins voice – in the way he answers questions, the coach’s attitude shows a lack of fire. When asked the reason for a recent rotation change Hollins replied, “Because I wanted to,” and only went into rationale for the strategy of the decision when further pushed.

After spending the first half of the season pushing to break .500, then doing it, then exceeding it, Hollins and his team will have to regroup like they did after Allen Iverson left if they want this to be a season to remember, rather than a streak to remember.

You Had to Be There
The announced crowd of 11,508 was small but lively, bringing some excitement back into the forum after two dismal showings from the spectators in the Atlanta and Houston games.

A welcome addition was the group of guys in section 220, who brought their own flavor of rowdy to the contest, chanting "U-S-A!" at Steve Nash, and "Trade Bait" at A'mare Stoudamire. Also notable was Grizz coming out in an Olympic Uniform and giving flowers to Steve Nash.

Dunk of the Game
Nothing special last night. Just two and a block. Marc Gasol slammed in two equally forgettable dunks, on in the third and one in the fourth. The first came as the game was slipping away and the second after the game was out of reach. Rudy Gay had his only dunk attempt blocked in the first quarter. On a night when the team can’t even make layups though, it would be hard to expect much in this area.
Dunk Count: Gasol – 2

Twitter Watch

Rudy Gay
I got a random question. Who is my youngest follower? 10:58 Feb 16
I gotta watch what I say! 11:04 Feb 16

Hasheem Thabeet
Go Hash Its Ur BDAY… LOL Mane Thank God I’m Able to See Another Day!! It’s a Blessing To Be ME!! & i’m Grateful about this! Sagga Continues!

Sam Young
who knows how to work the skype

Final Shots
The NBA trade deadline is tomorrow at 2pm Central. So far the Grizzlies have not leaked or shown anything (despite the normal talk of considering several possible scenarios) that would lead us to think a trade is coming despite rampant speculation around town and the recent losing streak. If a trade were to occur it would likely be for Sergio Rodriguez of the Kings, Chris Douglas-Roberts of the Nets or Ronnie Brewer of the Utah Jazz. The trade that could have helped the Grizzlies the most last night, Phoenix dealing A’mare Stoudamire, didn’t happen, and the Grizzlies paid for it. Their recent losing streak has put them back in last place in the Southwest Division and four games out of the last playoff spot. That final spot is currently occupied by Portland, who just acquired Marcus Camby in a trade with the Clippers. Ronald McDonald is still coming out with the Black History Month honoree, but something even stranger is how he sits it the tunnel, in full costume, just relaxing, until the honoree is introduced. Zach Randolph became the first Grizzly to score in an NBA all-star game over the weekend.

The Grizzlies play the Toronto Raptors tonight at 6pm. Follow @douggillon or MSL editor @cerrito on Twitter for live updates and thoughts during games.

UPDATE: Trade rumours circling today include having the Grizzlies acquire Spurs shooter Roger Mason. ESPN.com reports that the Grizzlies have also put Mike Conley on the trading block.

If Lionel Hollins word is any indication, Grizzlies fans shouldn’t get too excited thinking about the postseason just yet. After another embarrassing home loss to the Atlanta Hawks last night, the Grizzlies enter the all-star break with a four game losing streak and a 1-4 record in February. Lakers win aside – February has been as bad to the Grizzlies as December and January were good.

While the second year coach admitted fatigue and matchup problems have been part of the recent skid, he also made a point to say that the team had “overachieved” during the 11 game home win streak that took the team above .500 and had many fans and Memphians expecting a playoff berth, and hoping to finally seal that playoff win.

Not so fast, says Hollins. “I’m excited about where we are at 26 and 25 versus where we were when I took over this team last year, and I’d like to keep that in perspective as we go forward. We’re a team that’s trying to overachieve and that’s trying to get some respect around the league, and we’ll continue to do that the second half of the seaon.”

They even let Z-Bo down…
The announced crowd of just over 10,400 was the lowest in months, despite Zach Randolph giving away 500 tickets to the game earlier in the day. In the early days of the Grizzlies 11 game home win streak, even a small crowd of about 11,000 could get loud and make the place hop a little bit (hell even the 1-2K that came back for the end of the water main game had some fire) but last night’s crowd had about as much life as a chia pet. It was the same story last week against Houston, even though that crowd was significantly larger. Interest from both the team and the fans seems to have waned following the win over Los Angeles.

Smaller, Faster, Stronger
Much like the loss to Houston, the Grizzlies found themselves outmuscled and outrun by a smaller, quicker, deeper team that got hot beyond the arc. The two teams are very similar in their lineups, style of play, and the fact that they have both destroyed the Grizzlies twice this season.

Time for a Trade?
Hollins and the Grizzlies wouldn’t say anything about a potential trade coming up before the February 18 trade deadline, but didn’t rule out a potential trade either. So there’s that.

But with Jamal Crawford’s 28 points off the bench outdoing the entire host of Grizzlies backups, talk of the Grizzlies needing to find a bench scorer continued.

Eventually Hollins said that he wants to see dramatic improvement from his younger players, and that if a trade does not happen, that will be key to a strong second half of the season.

“That’s life. Sometimes it’s like poker,” Hollins said. “You get a hand you gotta play it.”

You Had to Be There
But you weren’t. And it showed. Work on that.

Dunk of the Game
Dunks were a redeeming factor in this one.

There was a lot of this, but mostly from the Hawks.
Photo by Chase Gustafson

Atlanta was on the verge of attempting 3-point dunks, and although Rudy Gay can’t quite jump like Josh Smith, the Grizzlies still did post a few nice dunks, with the slam of the night being a flying one-hander from Rudy Gay.
Dunk Count: Gasol – 1 Gay – 1; Hawks – 4

Twitter Watch
I’ll spare you the details, but twitter watching indicates Rudy Gay, Mike Conely and DeMarre Carroll were all rooting for Peyton Manning and the Colts during the Super Bowl. Don’t expect any ‘who dat’ cheers from them I’m guessing.

Rudy Gay
Thanks for the love yall! I can’t wait to compete with the USA National team!
Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo were named to the National Team today.

Hasheem Thabeet
d[-_-]b

Sam Young
What time is the game...
This was about the Super Bowl, not the Hawks game.

Damarre Carroll
Damarre has either closed his account or amped up his privacy settings. Oh well.

Final Shots
Ronald McDonald coming out with the player honored for Black History Month isn’t getting any less strange. Between him and the Joker (“here we go” to fire up the crowd before the fourth quarter) there were at least two clowns in the arena unless you count Memphis Sport managing editor @cerrito. Then there’s three. Zach Randolph made a layup in the middle of a cartwheel – see top photo. O.J. Mayo had the play of the game with a reverse fast-break layup. Mike Conley was featured on the cover of the gameday program as a kind of backhanded compliment, the headline accompanying his picture said “Surrounded by Stars.” Coach Lionel Hollins told the team to enjoy themselves during the week long break.

The Grizzlies are on a one week break as part of NBA All-Star Weekend. Zach Randolph will be particiapating in the All-Star game, and O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol will play in the Rookie-Sophomore game. The Grizzlies next game will be at FedExForum on February 16 against Phoenix.

What the hell just happened? How did the 11-straight at home team get demolished at home after three days rest by what was supposed to be an equal opponent? Coach?

“You ever been in a physical fight and gotten your ass beat? That what happened.”

Ok. Thanks. But about why…

“Look if I knew the answers to all your questions I wouldn’t be coaching. I’d be making a lot more money as a coach’s consultant.”

Riiiight.

Crap, Crap and more Crap
The center of last night’s miserable performance was in rebounds, where the Grizzlies were beaten 50-35. Despite having a major size advantage with Gasol, Thabeet and Randolph, Houston’s small inside players pushed the Grizzlies around – messing up their timing and positioning regularly. Aside from getting routinely out hustled and outplayed, the Grizzlies looked confused and frustrated, fumbling the ball often and missing easy shots.

What is this round thing?
Photo by Chase Gustafson

Flux Capacitor
Between the amazingly apathetic crowd (I mean seriously? I think I’ve seen more energy at the Westminster Dog Show) terrible play by the team and overall feeling of hopelessness sitting around the Forum, it seemed like the Grizz had taken their Delorean back to last season, and forgot that they had actually gotten pretty good. Since this is the second time in two weeks the Grizzlies have lost two in a row (after not doing it for most of December and January) there is some cause for concern that the team has already peaked.

So coach, what do you tell your team after a loss like this?

“I tell them we’re going to get on the plane and go to Minnesota.”

Yeah that should do it.

Who is approving this stuff?
I normally avoid talking about what other press outlets are doing in their coverage, even if it’s tempting, but today’s CA sports cover leaves me no choice. Take a look.

Shane we always love it when you come to town...

I mean that headline... with that picture... If you can’t see what’s wrong here - kudos. I can’t un-see it.

You had to be there
Despite Hollins surrendering with about 5 minutes left in the game, fans stuck around to see hometown favorite Joey Dorsey finish out the game. Dorsey had 7 points, 12 rebounds, a steal and a block in 12 minutes.

Dunk of the Game
The real dunk of the game was Houston’s Chase Budinger, whose reverse slam with 3:34 left in the second quarter marked the beginning of the end for the Grizzlies. In fact Budinger’s jam was so intense that the crowd actually had a reaction. Runner up goes to Sam Young, for his jam with 9:21 left in the game. The crowd (and the team for that matter) started to wake up a little after that one, but then decided it was too much effort and went back to sleep.

Twitter Watch
Rudy Gay and DaMarre Carroll have updated their profile pages and want you to check them out. Here’s some other highlights from the players over the past 3 days.

Rudy Gay

I wish I was 15 and in Baltimore right now! This would be a great snow day

RT@K_Bogans10: @rudygay22 dude it’s a saturday…… cmon man( I forgot its sat,lol but the kids gonna be out for a while)

DeMarre Carroll

I’m not feeling good! About to fly out.

I wonder how this one would have been spoken with the exclamation mark.

Sam Young

3 strikes your out….

Final Shots
Houston’s uniforms last night featured yellow piping – making the team look like McDonald’s billboards. This was appropriate because, yet again, Ronald McDonald joined the player honored for Black History Month. The January highlight reel played in the first quarter was sponsored by Corey B. Trotz’s firm NST. After the game was out of reach the Grizzlies reverted to using the “Ballroom Blitz” for the Grizz Ball Blaster. They are 2-0 when using Great Balls of Fire as the Ball Blaster Theme song.

The Grizzlies play at Minnesota tonight at 7 pm. You can follow @douggillon or @cerrito for updates and insight during the games.

Grizzlies Coach Lionel Hollins tried to tell his young team about being a winning team in the NBA. “It’s not like college,” he said Monday night. “You can’t go play Sacred Heart tomorrow.”

Maybe the team hasn’t quite gotten that idea yet. In last night’s embarrassing 105 – 89 road loss to the current best in the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, the Grizzlies starters underperformed and were almost completely yanked in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. The Grizzlies now have a two day rest to regroup before taking on the Houston Rockets at FedExForum on Friday.

Back-to-Back
Granted this was about as difficult of a back-to-back set of games as any team could have, and came on the end of a four game in five day set that featured another back-to-back, but this team is good enough that excuses should not be made.

The Grizzlies have only won both games of a back-to-back schedule once this year, on Friday and Saturday of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend against the Timberwolves and Spurs. Those wins came during the 11-game home win streak, and were part of the only home back-to-back this season. The Grizzlies have nine more back-to-back games this season. Only one has both games at home (March 12 & 13 against the Knicks and Nuggets) and the final back-to-back ends with the last home game of the season against Philadelphia. The Grizzlies will need to find a way to win on the second night of those kinds of games if they want to make Allen Iverson’s first on-court appearance at FedExForum this season a win.

Dunk of the Game
Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies in scoring with 15 points, and started strong – slamming home a one handed jam through a no-call foul off a Marc Gasol assist. Runner-up goes to Stephen Hunter for his driving dunk at the end of the game, mostly because it came off a rare assist from Hamed Haddadi.
Dunk Count, 3: Gay – 1, Gasol – 1, Hunter – 1.

Twitter Watch
It kills me sometimes that I cannot put Marcus Williams up here because he is equal parts random, humor and confusion. He has his tweets protected so you’ll have to go see them for yourself. Last night he was giving reasons to end dates. You can request to follow him at http://twitter.com/mw1II

Rudy Gay
Tough loss but we have another one coming up!

I mean we have another game coming not another loss.

Hasheem Thabeet
Just Got in from Cleveland… Tough One last night!! Oh Well #ontothenextone… Goodnight World!!

Sam Young
On the way to memohis

Hamed Haddadi
Admin: Hamed provided a defensive spark off the bench, tallying 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 10 minutes of action,… http://bit.ly/dyXXF1

These have been going on for a few days now, coming in from Haddadi’s facebook page – or whoever is running it. They are lame...

DaMarre Carroll
Tough lost! We couldn’t find the energy but we will bounce back. Bout to fly back to Memphis!

Final Shots
The rescheduled Grizzlies watch party featured 3 members of the Claw Crew, the usual midtown lushes and a handful of Grizzly fans. Young Avenue Deli’s Sam I Am wrap is pretty awesome, but remember to take off the paper before you bite into it. It’s kinda dark in there – you might forget. The loss put Memphis in a three way tie with New Orleans and Houston for ninth in the West (one spot out of the playoffs). Oklahoma City is currently in the last spot. The Grizzlies are only two games behind San Antonio, the current fifth seed.