compiled by MEMPHIS SPORT     comments by BRANDON HARRIS    photos by CHASE GUSTAFSON

It’s been an eventful year for sports in Memphis. From UFC, to Allen Iverson (who?), to a quick dose of reality for Tiger basketball. There have been shake-ups in Memphis sports media and even a case of life imitating art when Lionel Hollins gave Jarvis Greer a #thundastick during a post-game press conference.

And in the 2010 M Awards, we have a little bit of it all — repeat winners who don’t look like they’re going anywhere, new winners who will probably hold the crown as long as they never bolt for Kentucky and a few new winners that are tough to swallow.

A number of winners this year join an exclusive club — not one of these 4-time winners have ever lost their respective categories. Prince Mongo, heir to the throne of Zambodia, has transported himself in to bless the M Awards with his presence. Prince Mongo wanted to make some out of this world comments on these “grand slam” winners. So we obliged his highness. Without further ado, the winners of the 4th Annual M Awards winners.

The always entertaining and often controversial Price Mongo gave his first major interview since the 2009 election LIVE in studio on the Tuesday, June 29, 2010 edition of Memphis Sport Live (MSL). As part of his appearance, Mongo took phone calls and answered questions from fellow “spirits.” Listen to the full audio of the interview at Memphissport.net and tune in to MSL with Kevin Cerrito and Marcus Hunter every Tuesday at 6:00 PM on Sports 56 WHBQ.

Kentucky Losing  in the NCAA Tournament (March 27, 2010) – 32.94%
Tommy West Farewell Press Conference (November 9, 2009) – 21.24%
UFC comes to Memphis (December 12, 2009) – 14.21%

Moment We Would Most Like To Forget
Embarrassing and hilarious, Allen Iverson was labeled a “bench player” before he even got to Memphis. He would never play a game in Memphis.

Allen Iverson’s short Grizzlies career – 27.91%
The nationally televised and low attended Memphis vs. ECU game in the rain – 19.27%
Tigers losing to Ole Miss in the NIT – 15.95%

Favorite Concessions
Barbeque nachos, beer, hot dogs, hummus, veggie dogs, paninis and bruschetta. The variety in AutoZone Park’s concessions dwarfs all of its competitors combined. You can go vegetarian for the first half of the game, dive into some Memphis barbeque in the second half and top it off with soft serve before you leave — and you still won’t even be close to having tried it all.

AutoZone Park – 46.96%
FedExforum – 33.5%
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and LP Field (tie) – 5.91%

Favorite Place to Tailgate
We’re using the term “tailgate” loosely, but, a world-famous cobblestone street decorated with various watering holes, and overflowing with intoxicating spirits does sound a little bit better than a parking lot in Orange Mound.

Beale Street – 24.7%
Highland Hundred Parking Lot – 21.61%
The Grove – 16.47%

Favorite Race
Memphis’ best-attended race is the most popular. That is, unless you’re one of those downtowners who can’t get out of your garage because someone’s cramping and eating an orange in the middle of the street.

St. Jude Marathon – 42.69%
Race for the Cure – 22.89%
Redbirds Jumbotron Red, Blue and Green Car Race – 10.33%

Best Game
Kobe dropped 44 and became the leading scorer in Laker history, hometown product Lester Hudson had 11 in the third quarter, and Kobe even deferred on the final possession. In the end, Rudy Gay hit the big 3-pointer and helped the Grizzlies to a big home win.

Grizzlies Beat The Champs – Grizzlies 95, Lakers 93 (February 1, 2010) – 28.93%
Memphis wins over St. John’s in the NIT (March 14, 2010) – 22.84%
Tigers 55 vs. Kansas 57 (November 17, 2009) – 22.17%

Favorite Sporting Venue
Not only is it the best venue in the city, but it’s one of the better venues in all of basketball. The beer’s not cheap and the pro team needs to improve, but it’s so much more comfortable than the Pyramid. Now if we can just get someone over there to stop making them check upper-level tickets for Monday night games between the Grizzlies and the Pacers...

FedExForum – 54.53%
AutoZone Park – 25.04%
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium – 7.08%

Favorite Annual Event
There was standing room only outside the FedExForum before the doors opened. Once they did, we all watched Yo Gotti teach first-year coach Josh Pastner how to look for a five-star chick.

Memphis Madness – 37.31%
St. Jude Championship – 19.9%
Redbirds 4th of July Fireworks Game – 14.76%

Best Place to Stock Up for the Big Game
Grab the beer, brats and charcoal... and maybe an Ice for your bros.

Kroger – 41.22%
Buster’s Liquor – 25.51%
Schnucks – 13.51%

Favorite Local Sports Bar/Restaurant
Seat yourself, watch a game and woof down a Huey Burger. A greasy slice of heaven. The steak fries are grossly underrated.

Huey’s – 37.91%

Brookhaven Pub – 18.52%

TJ Mulligan’s – 12.69%

 

Favorite National Sports Bar/Restaurant

B-Dubs. BWW. Buffalo Wild Wings. Whatever you call it, gotta love the cheap wing nights at this grand slam winner. With joints all over town and (hopefully) at least one cheap beer special going on, B-Dubs is the voters’ choice.

Buffalo Wild Wings – 36.58%

Flying Saucer – 22.74%

Fox and Hound – 18.46%

 

Best Place to Eat Before/After the Game

Huey’s is pretty much a staple when it comes to sports, food and booze.

Huey’s – 30.09%

The Kooky Canuck – 21.54%

Rendezvous – 21.71%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Place to Take the Team after a Victory

Something about Midtown and East Memphis just scream thin crust.

Memphis Pizza Café – 35.9%

Mellow Mushroom – 17.34%

Garibaldi’s – 14.89%

 

Favorite Bowling Alley

Once again, Billy Hardwick’s bowls a perfect game.

Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes – 36.98%

Cordova Bowling Center – 19.49%

Bartlett Lanes – 16.58%

 

Favorite Place to Play Cards

Nothing like topping off a hot streak in blackjack with a walk down to Paula Deen’s buffet.

Harrah’s Tunica – 29.47%

Horseshoe Casino & Hotel – 27.31%

Gold Strike Casino – 14.93%

 

Favorite Golf Course

Why’d you have to go and take over the game like that, Justin Timberlake? He’s got the other courses “crying him a river.” Get it?!?

Mirimichi – 23.21%

TPC Southwind – 212.47%

The Links at Galloway – 19.54%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Golf Store

Dick’s narrowly takes home the title for “store where you most like to kill time and go play with the new putters on the artificial greens.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods – 30.1%

Edwin Watts Golf – 28.08%

Double Eagle Golf – 13.94%

 

Favorite Sporting Goods Store

Big box takes the cake. Best place to putt, suit up in catcher’s gear and roller skate across the store.

Dick’s Sporting Goods – 42.93%

The Sports Authority – 20.67%

Bass Pro Shops – 16.08%

 

Favorite Sports Apparel Store

They’re close to one in the same, but the Tiger Gift Shop takes the title. Perhaps thanks to Dave Woloshin’s commercials.

Tiger Gift Shop – 31.93%

Tiger Book Store – 25.26%

College Station – 12.46%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Healthy Store

Vegetarian? Fresh food snob? A lot better at being healthy than the rest of us? Those who are head to Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods Market – 33.89%

Fresh Market – 30.02%

Smoothie King – 13.63%

 

Favorite Martial Arts Facility

Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu dominated this category. This was a TKO in round one.

Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu – 34.27%

USA Karate – 18.08%

Midtown Taekwondo – 11.74%

 

Favorite Bike Shop

The Peddler once again takes the yellow jersey in the Tour de M Awards.

Peddler Bike Shop – 34.16%

Midtown Bike Co. – 20.7%

Outdoors, Inc. – 15.53%

 

Favorite Place to Spend a Nice Afternoon

For an afternoon stroll with the pooch or alongside the bison, voters prefer Shelby Farms.

Shelby Farms – 30.52%

The Memphis Zoo – 29.54%

The Bluff at AutoZone Park – 19.93%

 

 

 

Favorite Workout Facility

You could stand in the lobby and do the dance or probably even sign up for a class and do it with 100 other people at the same time.

YMCA – 29.43%

Germantown Athletic Club – 15.85%

ATC Fitness – 12.08%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Local Sports Twitter

Despite a relentless campaign by the runner-up, Memphis’ own national columnist took home the award in commanding fashion. A nice recovery after falling short in a number of other categories.

@GaryParrishCBS – 34.11%

@FantasyTillery – 18.22%

@cdouglasroberts – 14.19%

 

Best Local Sports Blogsite

Nowhere can you find more in-depth information about Tiger basketball recruiting. Be it this year’s class, next year’s or several years down the line, Memphis Roar has it all.

Memphis Roar (memphisroar.com) – 28.9%

Chris Vernon’s Blog (chrisvernon.blogspot.com) – 19.65%

The Memphis Edge (thememphisedge.com) – 18.69%

 

Favorite Sports Radio Personality

Just listen to Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner — Chris Vernon should be an NBA general manager. Vernon is the longtime most outspoken, grand slam-winning radio personality in Memphis, offering advice and commentary to Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace from himself and his listeners on a regular basis. He’s withstood multiple lineup and station shake-ups and is still voters’ choice for favorite sports radio personality.

Chris Vernon, The Chris Vernon Show – 33.51%

Gary Parrish, The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins – 27.21%

“Boat” Woloshin, Sportime and Sportstime Extra – 15.86%

 

Favorite Sports Radio Program

Utterly hilarious guests (read: Sonny Vaccaro) make the afternoons from 3-6 p.m. all the more enjoyable. But what’s gotten the Chris Vernon Show to grand slam status is consistent quality. The show brings to the table and breaks more Grizzlies news than your average afternoon radio show. But don’t tell him that. He might go on full segment-long rant about it and use it to explain why OJ Mayo should start at point guard.

The Chris Vernon Show – 35.96%

The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins – 27.9%

Sportime with George Lapides and “Boat” Woloshin – 9.18%

 

Favorite Sports Television Personality

Jarvo isn’t afraid to ask Lionel Hollins tough questions or to receive the subsequent #thundastick to the dome. Heck, he even got Hollins to apologize to him. From the windmill-finger point combo at the end of his sports segment to the smile that never goes away, Jarvo has no competition on the sports television airwaves. And for that, he’s all but untouchable in this category.

Jarvis Greer, Action News 5 Sports Director – 31.15%

Jerry “The King” Lawler, Monday Nght RAW – 20.77%

Greg Gaston, FOX 13 Sports Anchor – 15.30%

 

 

Best Uniforms

Though they’re painfully difficult to read and look more like silk bed sheets, they’re one of the bigger Grizzlies marketing successes since Allen Iverson. Oh wait...

Grizzlies Beale Street Blue Alternates – 34.74%

Tennessee Titans Oiler Throwbacks – 25.14%

Redbirds Blue Jerseys – 17.66%

 

Best Hair

Unless you’re from Memphis, you probably can’t read what’s written in Doneal Mack’s hair. And unless you’re from Memphis, you probably think it’s pretty stupid. But we are from Memphis, so it’s awesome. Even better than Gary Parrish’s ensemble.

Doneal Mack, UofM Basketball – 23.69%

Gary Parrish, The Gary Parrish Show – 22.01%

RC Johnson, UofM Athletic Director – 21.83%

 

Favorite Mascot

The mascot for the city’s most popular team. Stunning. But did you know this — Chris Douglas-Roberts still has a photo of Pouncer as the screensaver on his iPhone.

Pouncer, UofM – 26.58%

Grizz, Memphis Grizzlies – 24.12%

TOM III, 22.54%

 

Favorite Spirit Squad

Makes you wonder — what really goes into being the “favorite” spirit squad? Gotta be the personality.

Memphis Tigers Dance Team – 37.55%

Memphis Tigers Cheerleaders – 16.25%

Memphis Tigers Blue Crew – 11.73%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Fighter or Wrestler

The King still gets in the ring, doles out gratuitous numbers of piledrivers and pulls the strap down when it comes time to defend the crown.

Jerry “The King” Lawler, WWE Commentator and Wrestler – 46.39%

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – 31.19%

Dustin Starr, Local Wrestler – 10.53%

 

Favorite Golfer

Good ol’ boy John has a lock on this one with Timberlake right on his heels. Who would have thought that Tiger Woods would take over John’s mantle as the bad boy of golf this year.

John Daly, PGA Tour – 27.7%

Justin Timberlake – Mirimichi owner – 25.54%

Loren Roberts, Champions Tour – 14.99%

 

Favorite Football Player

DeAngelo’s going to take this one to the grave, it seems. With one of the more overwhelming victories of the awards, the grand slam winner is still the most recognizable and beloved football player in the city and probably the most famous and successful Tiger football player ever. Why his number isn’t retired remains a mystery.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers - 52.55%

Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans – 14.96%

Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens – 11.86%

 

Favorite Basketball Player

All-Star, charitable citizen, accused drug kingpin and a walking double-double all in one. How can you not like Z-Bo?

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies – 21.31%

OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies – 19.85%

Joe Jackson, White Station High School – 18.58%

 

Most Hated Rival

Though you’ve gotta give kudos to Kentucky from coming out of nowhere (thanks to you-know-who), there’s still nothing that sucks quite like a big orange.

Tennessee Volunteers – 41.81%

Kentucky Wildcats – 24.38%

Ole Miss Rebels – 16.9%

 

Favorite Athlete

He’s on the radio. He’s on magazine covers. He’s still the face of the college football team even though he’s off scoring touchdowns in Charlotte, N.C.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers – 35.99%

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies – 16.88%

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls – 13.36%

 

Favorite Coach

Is it a reach to say Pastner’s got this one on lock for, um, ever? At least until he leaves for Kentucky? Put a boyish look with top recruits as the face of Tiger basketball, and you might as well be the mayor of this town.

Josh Pastner, UofM Basketball – 63.77%

Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans – 12.08%

Tommy West, UofM Football – 4.8%

 

Favorite Team

Leading candidate for the “Let’s Just Name the Category After Them” award — the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Who else would nearly sell out conference games against Tulane while players make it rain at the Plush Club across the street? No, but really. The Tigers have this city and the voters on lock. Just like it’s fun to hate Tennessee, it’s even better to love the Tigers.

UofM Basketball – 57.69%

Memphis Grizzlies – 11.71%

Tennessee Titans – 7.87%

 

In response to the recent Indianapolis drug arrest, Zach Randolph released the following statement through representatives.

"I am committed to my family, my career, the NBA and the Grizzlies.  Although I had a rough start, I've learned valuable lessons from all of my mistakes and I can assure my family, the Grizzlies and the city of Indianapolis I was not involved in any of the allegations. There were no controlled substances found in my locker.  The reports that have surfaced are inaccurate.

I have been very intentional in distancing myself from anything that would jeopardize my personal and professional relationships.

IMPD made an official statement around 6p Eastern Standard Time this evening stating that I am not a suspect in any current narcotics investigation.

It is so unsettling to work so hard at rebuilding the trust of the Grizzlies organization, my teammates and my family only to have my image tarnished by someone else's questionable behavior.   I would like to thank my family, the Grizzlies, and the city of Memphis for their continued support."

This story has been updated since it's original posting. New information at the bottom.

The other shoe may have dropped on Zach Randolph's tenure in Memphis. The Indianapolis Star reports the Grizzlies' All-Star was implicated in an Indiana drug arrest yesterday, after a man arrested "on suspicion of dealing marijuana" was stopped in a Cadillac Escalade registered to Randolph.

"A police detective described Randolph as a financier for known drug dealers in Indianapolis, according to court documents obtained by The Indianapolis Star."

It is important to note that Randolph has not been charged or arrested in the case.

Memphis Sport interviewed Randolph at the end of the regular season, and found him hesitant to talk about any personal issues, particularly those tied to his troubled past.

An unedited section of the interview is below.

What changed for you this year, from a personal perspective?
Not nothing. Really not nothing. People just go off what they hear from three of four years ago but they really don't know a person. What happened was so long ago so, not nothing. Just being in a great situation. Memphis is a great city and this is a great organization. I'm just surrounding myself with the organization and the team.

Is the Hoop Family here?
Naw (laughs) I got nothing to do with any of that.
Note: The "hoop family" refers to a group of individuals implicated in criminal and civil cases connected to Randolph while he was in Portland.

What would be one thing you could pick as a reason for your having such a successful season?
Just my conditioning. Putting time in, working out, shooting jump shots, running, treadmills, all that stuff. I love the game. So I'm like this 82 in and out, even before I came to Memphis. If you can't get inspired by the job you do, you shouldn't be doing it. I work hard and I love to play.

Then what do you say to those people who say you were a problem?
99 percent of the people don't know me. I work hard.

It would be wrong to start casting stones this early in the game, but the situation is very troubling, especially given Randolph's problematic past.

A longer, edited version of this interview is on stands now in the latest issue of Memphis Sport Magazine. It is available at select locations in the Memphis area including Kroger, Huey's and the Flying Saucer.

We will update here as the situation progresses.

Update 1:

Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace has released the following statement concerning the situation:

“Since Zach Randolph joined this organization, he has been an active member of the Memphis community and embraced our core values of hard work and leadership. These qualities helped him develop into an NBA All-Star this season and guided one of the NBA’s youngest teams to a 16-game improvement.

“Zach’s continued commitment to the team has been evident the last couple of weeks as he’s been working out with members of our staff on the West Coast.

“Due to the ongoing police investigation, we do not feel it would be appropriate to comment further. Unless some other information surfaces, Zach remains a valued member of the Grizzlies family and Memphis community.”

Update 2:

Things don't seem to be getting any easier for Z-Bo. TMZ.com reports Randolph was involved in an altercation at a Los Angeles strip club. Like the Indy case, no charges have been filed.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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.