SB Nation - Mike Conley

News to Us: Von Wafer Injured, Trade Rumors

djturtleface — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:06:38 -0000

Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal finally broke some news today, revealing some details on the intrigue surrounding Von Wafer. At his physical with team doctors, Von Wafer was found to have multiple injuries, which led to the Grizzlies rejecting the dangerous shooter.

Doctors noticed that Wafer had back and hip injuries that they believed to be severe enough to keep him from playing for the Grizz. Interestingly enough the Rockets hoped to re-sign Von Wafer, planning on replacing Chase Budinger while he's out with an ankle sprain for the next 2-3 weeks, since the Grizzlies passed.

According to Inside Hoops, the Rockets also identified these injuries but don't seem to believe they are severe enough to keep Von Wafer off the court over the long-term because their press releases announced that they will reevaluate Wafer in the near future.

More news and thoughts over the jump, as well as updates on the Marko Jaric situation and a new trade rumor straight from GM Chris Wallace.

Maybe the Grizzlies are just, rightfully, skittish about adding an injured free agent after the out-of-shape Allen Iverson debacle. But I find it hard to believe that Memphis's doctors saw something serious enough to stop the Grizzlies from signing, arguably, the best free agent available. Especially since the injures would have definitely knocked Wafer's price tag to the minimum.

Or maybe the injuries weren't that severe or long term at all, and Chris Wallace really declined to sign Von Wafer for this reason:

The Griz backed off because of Wafer's pre-existing conditions and their interest in a sudden trade proposal, according to team sources.

How intriguing. And then there is this bit of news as well:

Griz general manager Chris Wallace had a couple of items on his managerial plate Tuesday as the team is close to finalizing a buyout agreement with swingman Marko Jaric.

A couple of items, as in a possible trade being one of the items? Hopefully a trade like this one:

The Grizzlies-Warriors contest might have been a home game for Monta Ellis on Tuesday night if trade talks had gotten serious last month. The Griz and Warriors engaged in mild discussions involving Ellis, an NBA source told The Commercial Appeal.

So who knows what this phantom trade offer might be, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the trade for Monta Ellis probably looked something like: Mike Conley, the Lakers 1st rounder (potentially the Grizzlies first, actually), and a fully bought out Marko Jaric for Monta Ellis.

Keep your ear to the ground and be sure to check us out over the next few days for any new word from Chris Wallace or The Commercial Appeal.

Backsided: Randolph Carries Grizzlies Past Warriors 121-108

djturtleface — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:46:57 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

2 days ago: MEMPHIS, TN - DECEMBER 22: Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies smiles after his buzzer beater before halftime in a game against the Golden State Warriors on December 22, 2009 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Two nights after Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies to a big win over the Denver Nuggets, he took the Grizzlies back to the promised land, leading the pounding of the Warriors 121-108.

Z-Bo led all scorers by dropping 33 points and snagging 18 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive, which was a huge boost for Memphis tonight.

He was complemented by the rest of the starters though. O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol each had 22 points (Marc's stat line was stuffed tonight, with 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks) , while Rudy Gay only managed to score 16 with 2 blocks in limited minutes. Mike Conley rounded out the bunch with 11, the low total a result of some serious shooting woes (5-15 from the field).

Another good home win for the Grizzlies, who are pushing ever closer to .500 despite their difficult schedule lately. Our residents by the Bay, Golden State Of Mind, have their own take, and I'll have more in the morning.

Doing Dirt: Grizzlies Hammer Pacers 107-94

djturtleface — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:45:30 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

6 days ago: MEMPHIS, TN - DECEMBER 18: Rudy Gay #22 of the Memphis Grizzlies dunks past Troy Murphy #3 of the Indiana Pacers on December 18, 2009 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Well I picked the winner in this one, and it's good to see the Grizzlies managing to definitively beat the teams that they should beat.

The Pacers, short breakout star Danny Granger, struggled on offense despite pushing the tempo for the bulk of the night. They only shot around 40% from the field, which is especially poor given the Grizzlies inability to hold much of anybody below 50%.

Instead of listing all the guys who played well for the Memphis Grizzlies, I suppose it would just be easier to list off the starting lineup: Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol. All of them got busy last night.

And Z-Bo got especially busy, dropping 26 points with 16 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. The dude has been playing inspired ball for Memphis.

A little bit worrisome, however, is that even with extended minutes the bench only managed to score a measly 7 points. They didn't shoot much, with only 11 field goals attempted, but that's probably warranted since they only made 3 shots in the entire game.

Next game, against the Denver Nuggets, is going to be tougher than this one. And judging by both team's play lately, it looks like it will be a shootout between the starters.

IC Cold Links: Hansbrough Gets Hometown Crowd In Memphis

spstevenson — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:18:50 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

Mike Dunleavy, O.J. Mayo and Tyler Hansbrough chase down a loose ball during the Pacers' loss Friday. Hansbrough had a large following in the FedEx Forum as nearly 1,500 fans from Poplar Bluff attended the game.

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It wasn't exactly no place like home, but Indiana Pacers rookie Tyler Hansbrough was as close as he is going to get last night.

In the Pacers 107-94 loss to the Grizzlies Friday, Hansbrough played to a crowd of his hometown faithful who made the trip from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to the confines of the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Jeff Rabjohns of the IndyStar estimated that nearly 1,500 people from the small town crowded the arena to get a look at their favorite son. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from Poplar Bluff to Memphis.

Here's Hansbrough after the game: "It's exciting to see everybody from my hometown coming out supporting me. It means a lot. There are people out there I haven't seen in a while."

Hansbrough played 22 minutes, went 4-of-13 from the field for 14 points and four rebounds. Check out more links after the jump.

AP Story
NBA.com Recap/Box Score
Photo Gallery
The Pacers Inside The Game looks into how the Pacers blew a first-half lead by managing only five points in a 10-minute span that allowed Memphis to take control of the game.
Indianapolis Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns recaps the game by focusing on the exploits of local legends Zach Randolph and Mike Conley against their hometown team. It was linked before the jump, but Rabjohns' notebook has a lot of good stuff about news surrounding last night's game.
Rabjohns took over the Pacers Insider blog and reported on Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy struggling from beyond the arc in last night's game.
Andrew Perna of Real GM looks into the blue and gold's recent success without star Danny Granger in the lineup.
Eight Points, Nine Seconds previewed yesterday's matchup against the Grizz, while Always Miller Time sets us up nicely for today's tilt with the Spurs.

Grizzlies 107, Pacers 94: Indiana Boys Help Put Away Pacers

Tom Lewis — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:17:40 -0000

Zach Randolph (Marion) and Mike Conley (Lawrence North) have a combined four Indiana High School state titles between them and Friday night they combined to help take down Pacers, 107-94.

Conley came out firing for the Memphis Grizzlieswith a couple of 3-pointers to help push the Grizz to an early 20-8 lead over the sluggish Pacers who took their time getting up to game speed. After the Pacers battled back in the second quarter to take a lead at the half, Conley fired up the Grizz in the third quarter by getting his teammates involved and once Memphis took control of the game Conley hit a couple more 3-balls to help seal the deal.

For the game, Conley was 5-6 from 3-land and finished with 19 points and 8 assists continuing his strong play of late. It really is nice to see Conley's game beginning to mature at the NBA level despite the pain inflicted on the Pacers tonight.

Randolph's game on the other hand, provided no pleasure, just pain. Once the Grizz re-asserted themselves in the third quarter by minimizing the perimeter shots and maximizing their interior options, Z-Bo went to work with a few back-breaking and 1 3-point plays. Randolph and Marc Gasol were just way too much for the Pacers to handle, and with Troy Murphy's shot abandoning him the front court mismatch was the difference. Randolph finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds while Gasol chipped in 17 points and 14 rebounds.

The Pacers problems were pretty easy to diagnose. For starters, they didn't bring a consistent level of play for 48 minutes and with the slight margin of error this team carries, simply putting up a big second quarter isn't enough. The other obvious problem was the amount of iron the Pacers rattled. The Pacers have to shoot well to give themselves a chance on most nights. If they don't shoot well, forget it.

3-21 from 3-land? Yeah, forget it.

Seriously, pretend this game didn't happen, it's just not worth the grief. Besides there are more pressing issues to consider, like facing the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. Hopefully the Pacers find their shooting touch in Texas.

Five Game Cycles: New Year Early

djturtleface — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:31:35 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

The Grizzlies got off to a bad start to this five game cycle, getting blown out and dunked on regularly against the Hawks last night. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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The Grizzlies had a tough set of five games, which is how Coach Hollins has told the young team to see their schedule, over the past two weeks. With Dallas, Cleveland, and then Oklahoma City at home, Memphis saw some serious superstar scoring.

They then took it onto the road against Miami, and then came back home against the Celtics. For those of you that don't really follow the rest of the league, that's five teams currently in the playoffs with a combined 82-41. For those of that don't really follow mathematics, that means they win twice as often as they lose.

And yet the Grizzlies came away from this five 3-2, which is one win better than Coach Lionel Hollins wants to average on the season, and two wins better than I predicted in the last edition of 'Five Game Cycles'

Get over the jump to see how the Grizzlies made dreams come true and also what to expect from this five game cycle.

The Breakdown- (3-2): Talk about some kind of goodness. The Memphis Grizzlies just lit it up on offense, just torching some big time defensive squads. The Grizzlies averaged a nice 105 points per game.

Yes, that number is somewhat high because the Grizzlies battled, and beat, the Cavaliers in overtime, though they probably also would have dropped a few more buckets had they needed to play the starters longer during a blowout against the Mavericks. And against Miami the Grizzlies offense barely even had to play to score 118, all they needed was to put the ball in Rudy Gay's hands -- he scored a career high 41 points.

The two losses came against Boston and Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies looked flustered by a very motivated, and increasingly talented, Oklahoma City Thunder. But when Boston came to town they worked out Boston's defense, getting up and down the court, shooting 50%, and scoring 105. It was too bad Boston had even less trouble on offense.

What Feels Good- Big wins against big teams always feel good for the Grizzlies. But this five game cycle was special because it also included two blowouts against playoff teams, not to mention the young Grizzlies leaving their hearts on the court in losses against the Celtics and the Thunder.

Rudy Gay continues to prove that he can contribute in more ways than highlight reel dunks. Rudy is racking up steals and rebounds like never before, and is sharing the ball better than ever also. Most importantly though, in my opinion at least, that extra muscle is helping. Rudy is now averaging a career-high number of free throw attempts per game -- if only he could start making some.

You've also got to like seeing Marc Gasol coming out of his relative slump, Mike Conley has been scoring much better at times, Jamaal Tinsley has made some serious intangible contributions, Sam Young and Hasheem Thabeet are both playing better, and O.J. Mayo is getting some consistency on his stroke.

Tell Me What Hurts- We're going to harp on this all season, I think, because the Grizzlies defense is just downright poor at times. It's definitely improving, but I also have a feeling that no amount of cohesion and growth under Coach Hollins is going to get rid of this problem.

I mean Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, and O.J. Mayo all have significant shortcomings as defenders. Zach just isn't that great and, more importantly, isn't respected by the other team. No matter how many hands he puts in their face, other power forwards just shoot right over him with confidence because they have no fear. Mike is too small and isn't strong enough, and O.J. Mayo arguably is as well.

Also there has to be some serious concern over the minutes these starters are playing, especially Rudy, who is around 40 minutes per game and still doesn't really have a sub. If Von Wafer is signed, he will slide to backup shooting guard and Sam Young will be at the forward spot, but our sub teams definitely need at least one starter on the floor with them at all times.

Into the Horizon- Here's a big prediction: the Grizzlies are going to lose to the Atlanta Hawks 110-97. Joe Johnson will handle the much, much smaller O.J. Mayo. And Rudy Gay will roll his ankle, which is more than a little bit worrisome without much depth on the bench.

But the next four are Indiana, Denver, Golden State, and then Dallas again. Indiana has some serious problems without Danny Granger, and T.J. Ford is one of the few good matchups for Mike Conley. Denver will be somewhere between tough and impossible, especially if Rudy Gay is laying on the sick bed all game. Golden State should be a win, but even in their dilapidated state, that franchise is always dangerous. And Dallas certainly isn't planning on crapping out against against Memphis, especially not at home.

So I'll give us a number that will make Coach Hollins nice and happy. The Grizzlies should come out of this stretch 2-3, and this next couple weeks is definitely going to test their staying power. The national media is starting to give respect -- the Grizzlies are 16th in ESPN's newest power rankings -- and this week, especially possibly dealing with Rudy's injury, is going to go a long way towards proving they deserve to be there.

The Truth: Boston Celtics Edge Out Grizzlies, 110-105

djturtleface — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:56:13 -0000

More photos » by Mark Weber - AP

Marc Gasol channeling his inner Darko. (AP Photo/ Mark Weber)

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The Grizzlies may have lost two of their last three games, but they're still moving up my power rankings.

And while they might not be rising quite as fast as a couple weeks ago, the Memphis Grizzlies are showing a hell of a lot more resilience than anyone expected from this team. This recent run has seen the Grizzlies playing the Mavericks, Cavaliers, Thunder, Heat, and Celtics. That's quite the spread right there.

I don't want to take anything away from the Celtics, because that's not my point. It takes an enormous change in team culture for the Memphis Grizzlies that most people remember as the Memphis Grizzlies to come out on the second night of a traveling back-to-back and play a full-strength, reloaded championship squad down to the wire.

And this game wasn't just down to the wire, it was the Memphis Grizzlies making all the easy plays while the Celtics seemed to make all the hard ones. Don't call it luck, because it's clutch execution since the C's do it time and time again, but I honestly believe that the Grizzlies played better than the Celtics tonight.

A little more post-game plus a return to the awards are on the other side of the jump; CelticsBlog probably has clips of that Ray Allen three if you'd rather just face it now than in your nightmares.

Even a moral victory is a tough loss though, huh? I honestly believed the Grizzlies would pull this one out. They had great contributions from Jamaal Tinsley and Hasheem Thabeet. Sam Young scored a little bit too. In what seems to be becoming the norm here in Memphis, there were three scorers over 20 points on the night.

Everything seemed to go right. Rudy Gay was showing his new aggressiveness, shocking the Celtics by getting to the line seemingly at will in the first half. O.J. Mayo was a rock solid shooter, Zach Randolph was being Zach Randolph, which, as it turns out, isn't so detrimental to a team.

The difference in the game was that the Grizzlies couldn't hit their threes, with a hand in their face or not. Rudy blew it by shooting 0-5 from deep, and OJAM's long ball wasn't exactly splashing tonight -- he shot 1-6. The Celtics, by the way, made 10-20 of their three pointers. Difference maker? I wonder.

Rockness Monster: It's tough, because I really liked O.J.'s game and he defense on Ray Allen, but I have to give this one to Rudy. I don't know if it's Coach Hollins, him just putting it all together, or steal-master Z-Bo's sage advice, but Rudy has finally figured out how to make his agility, awesome hands, and creepily long arms work to start some serious thievery. The 3 steals against Paul Pierce, just like the one's against Prince James, were just a bit bigger than huge.

U-Turn: Hasheem Thabeet posted 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in 18 minutes. This boy's learning how to play the game of basketball.

Bitter Limon: Is plus/minus really one-hundred-percent useful in a single game. No, not really. But after several solid performances, Mike Conley looked pretty mediocre and posted a team worst -12. Jamaal Tinsley tied his 4 assists. The difference is that Ashey Larry only played a third of the minutes and was the only Grizzlies with a positive plus/minus at +7.

Sleeping With the Enemy: Maybe it's my Midwestern sensibilities, but if there's one thing I hate more than the city of Boston, it's their sports teams. Don't care about the enemy. I have nothing to say terrible about the Celtics that I haven't already said a million times about Dancing With the Stars -- they're all fake, way past their prime, and their knees will be shot by the end of the year anyhow.

Some Take, Some Give: Grizzlies beat by Thunder, 102-94

djturtleface — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:41:24 -0000

More photos » by Jim Weber - AP

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Kevin Durant proved why he is the future superstar, while Rudy Gay is struggling to get a contract for the price of a second banana. While Durant exploded on Rudy for 32 points and 10 rebounds, Rudy looked out of place and confused on the way to a night of shooting 25% from the field.

This one appeared to be a first-half blowout, not unlike the Cavaliers game, but the Grizzlies killed it in the 3rd quarter with Zach Randolph getting after it on the boards and solid defense causing even the best Thunder players to turn into habitual shot-missers.

But in the 4th the Grizzlies fell back to playing pretty poorly on offense and terribly on defense, giving up 36 points to the Thunder. Oklahoma City scored 10 straight capped by a three-point dagger from Russell Westbrook that essentially closed out the game.

The positive points were Mike Conley putting up 20 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals and Zach Randolph snagging 20 boards and scoring 19, albeit awfully inefficiently. The rest of the Grizzlies barely made any noise, doing just enough to keep the team in it by shooting an abysmal 41% from the field and 58% from the line as a team.

Stop by Welcome to Loud City to give props, hit up the comment threads to speak your mind, and lets all send Grizzlies a get better soon card -- the next three games, at Miami, back home against Boston, and then on the road against Atlanta, aren't going to get any easier than this one.

Game 21: Oklahoma City at Memphis

Zorgon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:49:46 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

Ryan Bowen gawked at the fact that the Thunder lost against the Grizzlies in the Pre-Season. Kyle Weaver was concerned too, but at least he tried to do something about it.

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Fedex Library, Memphis, Tennessee

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Tennessee

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): 3 Shades of Blue, Straight Outta Vancouver

Backstory: Just another game, or just another surprise?

Okay, so there's not a whole lot to marvel over or write about when concerning the Memphis Grizzlies.But, contrary to popular belief, they are doing relatively well. Sure, they're only on pace to win 30 some games, but they've won their last 3 games against Minnesota, Dallas, and Cleveland. And the team is showing no signs of slowing down. The starting lineup has had the talent there, but they haven't yet had the teamwork in place in order to win. Until now, at least. With a lean, mean mix of veterans and young'uns in their starting lineup that Garry St. Jean could only dream of, this team is poised and in position to upset the Thunder tonight.

Meanwhile, the Thunder got their anger out when they played the lowly and depleted Warriors, and they're well rested going into tonight's game. They straight up dominated the Grizzlies last season, and history would say that the Thunder could easily be the team to end the Grizzlies win streak.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Marc Gasol

Pau Gasol lite may not be as good as his brother, but he's definitely much better inside than Nenad Krstic. Expect limited minutes and less than 10 points for Krstic, while the majority of the game is spent with battles between Gasol, Collison, and Thomas, with Gasol winning most of them.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Zach Randolph

The story of Jeff Green's season has been his struggles against bigger power forwards, but luckily for Jeff, Zach Randolph is much of a defender. Expect both of these guys to score bucket after bucket upon each other, and for each of them to get their fair share of rebounds.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay is quite the dunker, but history says that Kevin Durant will win this matchup every time.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. O.J. Mayo

O.J. Mayo is a solid overall shooting guard, and history has dictated that he usually performs above-average against the Thunder. But with Thabo Sefolosha guarding him now, who knows what will happen?

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Mike Conley

Mike Conley is a solid point guard, but not the best player on the Grizzlies by any stretch of the imagination. He'll provide scoring for them in the pinch, but Westbrook will have a better game.

Battle of the Benches:

For how good their starting lineup is, the Grizzlies bench is extremely thin. A lot of guys will play, and one will occasionally step up and be an X-Factor, but in general, they're all pretty ineffective. The only real notables are this years 2nd Pick in Hasheem Thabeet, and former Pacers PG Jamaal Tinsley. In any case, our bench has this thing covered.

Coaching and Intangibles:

The Grizzlies are at home, but that doesn't make that much of a difference, as it's a pretty quiet arena, and it's where we got our much-heralded 2nd win last year. Both teams are well rested, so all in all, it makes a pretty even intangibles matchup on the floor tonight.

Bottom Line:

I know things have been going well for the Grizzlies lately, but I'm still not convinced. This is a team we beat 3 times last year, and a team without any bench help. They could win, but they'd need everything to go right with all of their starters, and they'd need to put up a good defensive effort. That being said, this team can be dangerous, and they will be able to compete. But, in the end, I'll just chalk this one up as another Thunder win.

Prediction: Thunder 103, Grizzlies 97

Let's rock the library!

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I might be by during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

My Back Is A Wall: Grizzlies Thrill Big Crowd, Beat the Cavaliers

djturtleface — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:25:45 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

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The Memphis Grizzlies blew up in the second half, just outright hustling to this win against the Cavaliers. The bench might not have done much, but the entire starting lineup put in an incredible night's work.

O.J. Mayo kept the Grizzlies in it through the first half, Rudy Gay closed it out on both ends in the second half, but Zach Randolph was a fixture throughout. Randolph led the Grizzlies with 32 points, O.J. Mayo had 28 while dropping a mini-triple double with 5 boards and 5 dimes, too. Rudy Gay scored 21, but his biggest contributions were the 4 steals.

After a terrible 2nd quarter, the Grizzlies equalized it in the 3rd quarter with fantastic ball-denial defense. They duked it out in the 4th, tying the game up with a Rudy Gay drive right past LeBron James. In overtime O.J. Mayo hit a huge three pointer on a set play, and then Mike Conley sealed the win with a nice layup drive on another great, intuitive play-call by Lionel Hollins.

The Grizzlies got the win despite a huge night from LeBron, who scored 43 points and tallied 13 rebounds and 6 assists, and nice contributions from both Shaquille O'Neal and Mo Williams. The rest of the Cavaliers were quiet, though LeBron was

I'm going to get in an update on this later tonight, so be sure to get over the jump for the opinion section in a hot minute.

I grew up around Cleveland hating the Cavaliers and getting hated on constantly for being a Grizzlies fan, so I'm just soaking it all in right now. To see this young team that I backed hard all summer, despite some moves most pundits called questionable, fight for this win in front of a near capacity crowd just could not have felt better.

I'm just trying to put myself in the shoes of O.J. Mayo, who gets clutch-nasty all game, is willing to drop back and trust his teammates in the second half, and then comes on for a post-game interview responding, "Yes sir, Coach McHale." Wow, I had to slap myself to check if his attitude was for real.

Talk about a team that's actually working hard to get away from their dunk-silly, Allen Iverson signing, ball-hogging recent pass. Jamaal Tinsley, who's trying to play for redemption, looked happy to be on the bench, coaching his teammates into the right defensive scheme. This is a guy who the Pacers just paid millions and millions to get the hell out of the clubhouse.

Did I see Zach Randolph missing some wide open shooters? Yes. But I saw him make some smart exit passes out of the post as well, including an under-handed gem that got Hasheem Thabeet room for a nice flourish. Did Rudy Gay takes some selfish looking shots? Yes. But he took a hell of a lot less of them then LeBron.

This game might not have meant that much to the Cavaliers, and I'm not sure if it meant that much to the Grizzlies either. Why? Because it's becoming increasingly clear that the Grizzlies players already are trusting each other and playing hard for the win.

But to move back to myself, as well as every other Grizzlies fan I can hear the voice of around the world wide web, it meant a lot to us. Why? Because the Memphis Grizzlies are finally starting to prove to everyone else that they're coming together as a basketball team that demands respect.