SB Nation - Memphis Grizzlies

Warriors Game Day Links: Golden State Warriors 107 @ Memphis Grizzlies 123 - Curry returns, Hunter dinged up, Warriors keep 3rd place lotto spot

IQofaWarrior — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:46:50 -0000

Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: RECAP: Golden State Warriors 107 Memphis Grizzlies 123 -- Calling All Big Men
Game thread: Gamethread #69: Golden State Warriors @ Memphis Grizzlies -- A Look at the Trade that Wasn't (800+ comments)

Grizzlies: Straight Outta Vancouver
Recap: Title to be added
Game thread: GameThread: Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies

Other Recaps

Associated Press recap: Grizzlies hand Warriors 13th straight road loss
Sports Network recap: Grizzlies get balance on offense to beat Warriors
nba.com recap: Arthur turns disappointment into success as Grizzlies roll
Marcus Thompson II recap: Warriors taken apart inside by the Memphis Grizzlies

Pregame News

- No pregame news found.

Pregame Videos

- No pregame videos found.

Postgame News

- MT2 reports that Raja Bell is the one to be waived to keep Reggie Williams. Quotes from Riley and Bell.
Marcus Thompson II: Warriors Will Waive Raja to Make Room for Reggie
Marcus Thompson II: Warriors decide Williams and George are keepers; Bell to be waived

Postgame Videos

Don Nelson in the hallway.

Highlights by orangino.

CSN highlights, recap.

nba.com recap.

Postgame Quotes from warriors.com recap

Don Nelson
On tonight's game:
"The second half was very difficult for us. We don’t have much size anyway and when (Chris) Hunter came up with tendinitis and couldn’t play, we had to play with a small team the whole way and got beat on the boards again. They got control of inside points. It was a long night."

Stephen Curry
On tonight's game:
"I feel fine, but the injuries set us back a bit. As a team we are just having trouble putting an entire game together. That is our real struggle right now. With nine undersized guys, and really only one center on the floor, it is tough to match up with bigger teams."

On playing bigger teams:
"It is very difficult. You can win a few here and there just by shooting the ball well, but you have to have a rock down low that can get you extra possessions and makes it easier on defense."

Corey Maggette
On tonight's game:
"It’s tough. I always think we are going to get out-rebounded because of our size. We don’t really have a true center or true forwards. We have threes playing the four and twos playing the three and four. Plus, we have so many guys out and don’t have guys to try to be on the boards. It is tough for us. "

On the season:
"It has been tough because I think we have the potential to be a decent team but injuries really hurt us. We are just in a bind and everyone is just trying to find their position. It has been really tough for us, but we are just trying to hang in there for the remainder of the year and hope that next season guys can stay healthy."

Twitter fun

gswscribe
@Warriorsworld Notice Stephen Jackson is wearing Jordans now? No more Protege

My Notebook

- Though not officially announced, MT2 reports that Raja Bell will be waived for Reggie Williams. An official announcement is expected to be made tomorrow.

What's next?

- A 3 game homestand with the Suns, Grizzlies, and the Mavericks. Suns game will be on Monday at the usual 7:30pm.

Therapy

- You've probably seen the clever Old Spice commercial where the guy ends up on a horse. I found an interview with the guys who wrote the ad and they talk about how the ad was filmed.

Poll

Your thoughts on waiving Raja Bell for Reggie Williams?

RECAP: Golden State Warriors 107 Memphis Grizzlies 123 -- Calling All Big Men

Feltbot — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:19:43 -0000

Any of you gals play center?

Open Thread (800+ comments) | Box Score | Straight Outta Vancouver

It's getting tough to watch, isn't it? If this Warriors season were a prize fight, the corner would have long ago thrown in the towel. If it were a softball game, the ump would have invoked the mercy rule. If it were a horse, the vet would have put it down.

Unfortunately, it's professional basketball, so it's going to be played out to the bloody, bitter end. But with what players? The Warriors have already lost their entire veteran frontline of Biedrins, Turiaf, Moore, Randolph, Wright and Radmanovich. They've lost their starting wing player, Azubuike. Their standout rookie point guard, Stephen Curry, is now hobbled by a mysteriously "locked up" ankle. Its not a sprain, exactly, it's locked up.

And tonight, their lone remaining player over 6-9", Chris Hunter, came up lame with a bad case of tendinitis of the knee. How bad is it when you need emergency D-league replacements for your emergency D-league replacements? 100 year flood bad. Black Swan financial crisis bad. NBA Rule No. 3 (Section 1A) bad.

Chris Cohan bad.

No sense in recapping this game is there? With only one lonely player over 6-8" left , 6-9" Anthony Tolliver -- and he a mid-season D-league call-up -- the Warriors are an NBA team in name only. There will be no more wins at all this season unless Curry gets healthy, and the Warriors find a big man. Back-to-back road games against winning teams? Forget about it.

So what's left for a blogger to do? Invoke that special feature:

Lipstick on the Pig:

Monta Ellis played a beautifully efficient game. Now healthy again, he got wherever he wanted to on the court against OJ Mayo. This 28 point performance on 12-20 shooting, coming on a back-to-back after putting up 39 points against San Antonio, shows just how special Monta Ellis is as a scorer.

One man Thabeet.

Earlier this season, still trying to figure out his role alongside Stephen Curry, Monta was plagued by turnovers. He had only 1 in this game, and in the last four games his assist:TO ratio is 31:7.
Mayo had a decent game offensively, although its tough to judge a marksman in a turkey shoot. You want to know how bad it was? Even Marcus Williams and Zach Randolph hit threes. On defense, it was another story. Monta Ellis is a tough cover, no doubt. But Mayo is helpless.

Dude IS tall.

Hasheem Thabeet: Nellie has made a career out of making players like Hasheem Thabeet look bad. This game was no exception, even though Tolliver couldn't hit a shot. Nellie trade for Thabeet? Not in a million years. He'd rather shake hands with Tim Kawakami.
Trade Monta Ellis for OJ Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet? I wouldn't trade him for 3 OJ Mayo's and 5 Thabeet's.
Reggie Williams has beaten out Anthony Morrow. That seems clear enough now doesn't it? Williams has an all-around game that Morrow is still struggling to put together. Of course, he suffered from the feltbot curse in this game, and couldn't hit a shot. But he displayed a nice talent for offensive rebounding, picking up 4. Will the Warriors keep him?
Stephen Curry: Curry ran the team well when he was on the floor, despite his injury. He made the game easier for Monta, finding him for some open threes. And he produced a highlight: the patented Steve Nash hesitation reverse that caught Zach Randolph by surprise at 0:38 of the second quarter.
Want a two word summary of this Warriors season? Rewind your game tape to 9:22 of the second quarter to see Chris Hunter in agony on the Warriors bench. And read his lips.

Tonight I'm giving it out to someone special: Warriors fans. Its a wonder there are any left.

Poll

You are Don Nelson, errr..... Larry Riley. Do you trade Monta Ellis for OJ Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet?

RECAP: Golden State Warriors 116, San Antonio Spurs 147 - No, NO, and NOOOOOO!!!

R Dizzle — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:18:38 -0000

Originally posted Mar 20, 2010 11:18 AM PDT

Don Nelson: NOOOOOOO!!! I will NOT wear those wack shoes!

Open Thread | Warriors Web Links | Warriors vs Spurs recap | Pounding The Rock

Ok...that was...fun? Exciting? Interesting? Horrendous? Ya, let's go with horrendous. Nothing about that game could be considered fun, and this is why I bring you the exact opposite of what I wrote in the beginning of the season (Yes, YES, and YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS). That's right get ready for...

No, NO, and NOOOOOOOO!!!

NOOOOO!!! I only have one more game with the Warriors unless they cut someone!

NOOOOO!!! I couldn't score for jack today!

NOOOOO!!! I don't get to the play the Warriors every night!

NOOOOO!!! I don't get to the play the Warriors every night! (I wonder how many of these I can do)

NOOOOO!!! I don't get to the play the Warriors every night! (You don't even know who this is)

NOOOOO!!! I don't get to the play the Warriors every night! (Maybe the media would get off my...)

NOOOOO!!! We can't win even though I score 39 points! (go figure...)

NOOOOOO!! I'm still considered in every trade proposal on GSoM!

and one final one for good measure...

YESSSSSSS - no one likes me.

At least I still have that one to laugh about.

Sigh...on to tonight's game against the Grizzlies. Hopefully Steph Curry comes back from his sprained ankle and we don't get destroyed by 31 points two nights in a row.

Here's to dreaming.

Reggie Williams. Maybe not for last night's performance (who can you REALLY give this too? 39 points mean nothing when we lose by 30) but more for RW's hustle and hard work during his 10 days performance. I hope ya go out with a bang tonight.

Poll

Is this the worst loss of the season?

Warriors Game Day Links: Golden State Warriors 131 vs New Orleans Hornets 121 - Curry DNP on ankle, GSD Leaguers shoot away 21 pt deficit

IQofaWarrior — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:04:05 -0000

More photos » Ben Margot - AP

Browse more photos »

Box score | Gameflow

Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: RECAP #67: Golden State Warriors 131, New Orleans Hornets 121 - "D-League Destruction"
Game thread: Gamethread #66: New Orleans Hornets @ Golden State Warriors - Hornets are the Queen Bees... (910+ comments)

Hornets: At The Hive
Recap: Title to be added
Game thread: Game 69: Hornets @ Warriors

Other Recaps

Associated Press recap: Warriors rally to beat Hornets
Sports Network recap: Warriors rally from 21 down to top Hornets
nba.com recap: Warriors rally from 21 down, knock off Hornets
Rusty Simmons recap: Warriors rally from 21 down to beat Hornets
Adam Lauridsen recap: Three Party (Warriors 131, Hornets 121)
Mike Massa recap: Tolliver, Hunter, Williams and old pro Ellis lead Warriors back from 21 down against Hornets
Marcus Thompson II recap: Golden State Warriors use 3-pointers to fuel comeback win over New Orleans Hornets

Pregame News

- Curry's ankle was OK at shootaround, but something didn't feel right before game time.
Rusty Simmons: Curry day-to-day with ankle sprain

- Some Monta quotes about playing with Stephen Curry from Tuesday.
Scott Ostler: Ellis tries to survive small world after all

Pregame Videos

- No pregame videos found.

Postgame News

- No postgame news found.

Postgame Videos

Jaymee Sire interviews Tolliver, Reggie, Hunter.

Don Nelson at the podium.

Highlights by orangino.

Postgame Quotes from warriors.com recap

Don Nelson
On tonight's game:
"I am so happy for the D-Leaguers. They had 69 points between them and 18 rebounds. It was pretty exciting. They got an opportunity. We kept saying as poorly as we played in the first half to keep playing and keep trying. Sometimes things just turn around and we got hot at the right time in the fourth quarter. It all ended up going our way. It was a lot of fun for those kids to play and do well. Reggie Williams is quite a player. (Anthony) Tolliver and (Chris) Hunter really did a good job for us. I thought (Devean) George turned the game around when I inserted him in the lineup when he made his first couple of shots that he had. He gave us life that we were lacking and everybody caught on and boomed it up 10 notches in the fourth quarter."

Reggie Williams
On tonight's game:
"It was just everybody was just going a lot of energy got created form the team and we feed off everybody and kept it going. Coach Nelson wants us to push it and if it’s open shot just to go ahead and take it , and if not just get out of it and then play, and maybe run a set or maybe have an advantage or a mismatch to take your man and everybody has the green light and everybody has the same opportunity to do the same thing."

"When you hit a shot and you see all the fans standing up and look at the bench and they are cheering, that’s a good feeling."

Anthony Tolliver
On tonight's game:
"Anytime you can get a win, it’s a great thing. I’m just glad I could help the team the way I did. I wouldn’t really care if it was me rebounding or on defense or whatever I’m just about trying to get wins and tonight was my night to get some shots and help the team on the offensive end. I’m glad my teammates kept looking for me, and I just try and capitalize on that."

On another comeback win:
"We’re just relentless. I try not to use that word as much, but that’s the only word I can think of that describes this team. When we’re down and out, it seems like we play our best basketball. We try and not get in that position. You don’t want to be down 18 or 20 and have to come back, but sometimes that is what it takes to wake us up. We came off of a really emotionally high against the Lakers and we came out with a rough start against New Orleans. We were kind of slow and sluggish as a team and everything, but once we got it going Devean George came in and brought some energy and some defense and some veteran presence and he hit a couple shots and got us going."

Stephen Curry
On injuring his ankle:
"I was going through pre-game warm-ups, like I normally do, and my ankle locked up on me so… we’re going to get an MRI and figure out exactly what happened to it tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be ready for Friday. Shootaround today I was fine, even got a dunk, and then I went home and got back to the gym and just didn’t feel right so hopefully my MRI is fine and move on from there."

"Hopefully by tomorrow, a nice rest, it should be that much more better and then the MRI hopefully turns out clean and we’ll be fine."

On missing his first game:
"It’s a little disappointing, especially the way it happened, coming in a regular game day situation and feeling like you are ready to play and then not being able to go. Team pulled it out, played great, nice to cheer them on and see them get a win and now I can worry about getting healthy."

Twitter Fun

JaymeeSireCSN
(After the game)
Curry: injury happened in warm ups. I asked if he thought he'd miss much time and he said type of pain scared him a bit b/c never felt it b4

reggiew55
Big Win tonight !!! Guys gave me the rookie treatment but its ok lol . Time to eat and watch Shutter Island
(The rookie treatment: When the Warriors ran out of the tunnel, they let Reggie Williams go first. The other Warriors stayed back and left Reggie to run out alone. The other Warriors ran out moments later, laughing.)

- I found these twitter conversations pretty interesting between MT2 and his followers about Monta. The conversation ends up forking between 3 people. Hope you can follow it.

(last night)
Chris_Cohan: @gswscribe What'd Monta tell ya? #gsw #warriors #nba
gswscribe: Monta didn't talk to the media after the game. No surprise there @Chris_Cohan What'd Monta tell ya?
Chris_Cohan: @gswscribe He's smart. New market might appreciate him more. Oslter got som good stuff out of him. Real good. #gsw #warriors

(earlier today)
gswscribe: Monta's smart and personable. I think it's trust issues not market issues. If he ever opens up, will be huge star @Chris_Cohan
Chris_Cohan: @gswscribe He doesn't trust the market bashing he takes. It's the market/team. If he ever gets free, he'll be a huge star. #gsw #warriors
gswscribe: Been 'round Monta since '05. He was same 2 yrs ago as MIP & beloved @Chris_Cohan He doesn't trust market bashing he takes. It's market/team

(last night)
nateoak5: @gswscribe why dont he talk to the media? tired?

(earlier today)
gswscribe: He doesn't like too. When he really doesn't want to, he doesn't @nateoak5 why dont he talk to the media? tired?

(earlier today)
espnaranas: @gswscribe Monta smart? The moped/pickup game fiasco? The Curry " we can't work", the SJax trade "Who else is gonna play D?" That's smart?
espnaranas: @gswscribe He's a talented player...Smart? Ehh http://myloc.me/4XNCN
gswscribe: Yes. Learned from brother's ills. Avoided usual 'hood pitfalls. Good with his loot. Etc. Bball IQ ain't everything @espnaranas Smart? Ehh

Other stuff

- Matt Steinmetz weekly chat transcript.
Matt Steinmetz: Matt Steinmetz March 17 Chat Transcript

My Notebook

- Stephen Curry did not play because of a left ankle sprain. He was in a walking boot after the game. MRI tests tomorrow. Jaymee Sire in pregame said he looked fine at shootaround earlier today. X-rays were negative.
- From the Matt Steinmetz chat, Anthony Randolph was at practice yesterday, was out of his boot, took a few standstill shots.

What's next?

- A quick road back-to-back @Spurs Fri 5:30pm, and @Grizzlies Sat 5:00pm.
- Reggie Williams last day is Sun Mar 21, so this Hornets game was his last home game in a Warriors uniform this season, unless the Warriors waive someone else and make room.

Poll

You didn't turn off the TV at 21 pts down, did you??? Pick it.

CJ Watson

3 votes

Monta Ellis

75 votes

Anthony Morrow

4 votes

Corey Maggette

2 votes

Anthony Tolliver

143 votes

Chris Hunter

7 votes

Reggie Williams

130 votes

Devean George

19 votes

Multiple guys (specify in comments)

33 votes

Yes I did turn off the TV. Arrrrgh!

59 votes

475 votes | Poll has closed

Game 66 Recap: Rockets 107 - Grizzlies 94

Xiane — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:45:42 -0000

More photos » David J. Phillip - AP

No, I won't be missing any trees tonight.

Browse more photos »

As a special Dreamshake service to our loyal readers tonight's recap will be presented in a phony Irish accent in "honor" of St. Patricks Day. Since you can't hear it, you'll just have to imagine it. Or go here and choose "Caitlin" to read the recap to you. (You really should.)

Aaron Brooks certainly felt the luck of the Irish tonight. Anytime you score 31pts on 14 attempts and make 7-7 3pters you should kiss the Blarney stone, or something. Perhaps it's because he's a leprechaun? I have to say that unlike Dave, my one-way relationship with Aaron is pretty much Love/Love.

This was an odd game. The Rockets looked horrible at the start of the game, and progressively got better. They went from being abused in the paint, and looking as though the whole team was in competition to discover new and inventive ways to turn the ball over, to coasting along for an easy win. Memphis is a close match in record, and is assumed to be our equal or better in talent, but once again the Rockets seemed to somehow turn on the jets, from the end of the 2nd quarter until midway through the 4th, and break the will of the Grizzlies yet again.

OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay combined for 18 points on 7-23 shooting, leaving all the heavy lifting to big Zach Randolph, who dropped 30pts to go with 15 rebounds. Randolph is one of the few players that is big enough, and strong enough, to really take advantage of Chuck Hayes. Unlike most players, Zach can actually move Chuck out of his way

Once again the Rockets’ depth was useful, as having the complete team of 2009-2010 available really makes a difference. Jordan Hill is beginning to show us more and more, contributing 9pt and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes. He's incredibly active on the boards, with quick feet and hands, and several times kept plays alive and threw down the ball with the authority we associated with the beloved Carl Landry.

Both benches scored 27 points, but the Rockets seemed to provide more quality, with Shane Battier contributing a timely 3 as the Rockets fended off a half-hearted Memphis comeback in the 4^th.

More important the Three Amigos, Brooks, Martin and Scola continued to score. It’s very difficult to contain the three of them, especially as Brooks and Martin seem to be getting more comfortable with one another. Martin seems to know what to do, now all that’s left is for him to do is take his confidence up a notch. Add a healthy Yao to the picture and the Three Amigos may well become The Four Horsemen. This is looking to be a scary, scary offense.

Tree Up

Aaron O’Brooks turns over a 4 leaf clover and makes 7-7 3pters.

Jordan Hill looks like a guy who might have been drafted in the Top 10.

Kevin Martin scores 18pts without anyone seeing him do it. He may be a leprechaun as well.

And a special St. Patricks day shout out to Luis McScola who had an off night and still scored 20pts.

Tree Down

The first quarter – it looked like the Rockets didn’t really want to start the game and waited until the second to begin playing.

Not enough time for the bench – Coach Sleepy sees everything (correctly) as a must win, but we can’t expect Scola, Brooks and Martin to be as fresh for a long long stretch run at 40+ minutes.

Kyle Lowry – it looks like he hurt his ankle again. Uh oh.

The Grizzly scene.

Grizzlies Start Hot, Aaron Brooks Gets Hotter, Rockets Win 107-94

djturtleface — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:45:10 -0000

More photos » David J. Phillip - AP

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If the Grizzlies got to pick one quarter to throw out at the end of every game, they'd probably be playing much, much better than they have been lately.

Tonight it was the 3rd, not an uncommon time for the Grizz to slump, when Memphis didn't convert a field goal for nearly half the quarter. It literally took until the 6:05 mark for Zach Randolph to flip in a bucket.

The Rocket's perimeter defense is obviously good with Shane Battier and Trevor Ariza, but tonight it was spectacular. Rudy Gay scored just 14 and Mike Conley only added 11 of his own. O.J. Mayo had one of the worst nights of his career, shut down for just 4 points on 1-6 shooting.

Aaron Brooks was the hero for the Rockets, not that they needed one, scoring 31 on just 14 shots from the field. He dropped in all 7 three-pointers that he shot and was just spectacular overall. Luis Scola also saw a lot of looks, scoring 20, and Kevin Martin also played well.

Overall an extremely tough loss to swallow. They're now 0-3 against Houston on the season, half a game behind them in the Western Conference, and look beat up and tired. The last time the playoffs looked this distant, we were 1-8 and talking about what to do with Allen Iverson.

Empty Runway: Grizzlies Hold On to Beat Shorthanded Bulls

djturtleface — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:42:25 -0000

More photos » Lance Murphey - AP

4 days ago: Memphis Grizzlies center Hasheem Thabeet (34) blocks a shot by Chicago Bulls guard Jannero Pargo (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Memphis, Tenn., Tuesday, March 16, 2010. The Grizzlies won 104-97. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

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The FedEx Forum was pretty full tonight; fans expected to see hometown favorite and Memphis's star alum Derrick Rose. If they came to see the stars, though, then I'm sure they went away at least a little unsatisfied.

The Bulls were missing Rose, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Joakim Noah. The Grizzlies were without Marc Gasol and who knows where Rudy Gay was in mind. In short, this one got more than a little ugly.

It was clearly a game of runs, as the Bulls came out with a three point-guard lineup that clearly frustrated the Grizzlies early on. Acie Law IV, Jannero Pargo, and Flip Murray were incredibly disruptive and incredibly quick both getting to the ball defensively and breaking back to their own offense. The small-lineup Bulls began the game by doubling the Grizz 20-10.

Fortunately over time the Grizz's talent advantaged played out, putting Memphis up by 25 late in the third quarter. O.J. Mayo shot like he was in an open gym, scoring 24 on 8-12 shooting, and both Zach Randolph and Mike Conley double-doubled against the weak Bulls defense. The other big news of the night is that Hasheem Thabeet started in the place of Marc Gasol and nearly doubled up, scoring 10 with 9 boards and 2 blocks. Notably Thabeet had just 3 fouls in 28 minutes, and had a team high +21 on the game.

Of course when you're up 25 it's time to put the bench in, and the Grizzlies's bench performance might have been the worst of the season. Hakim Warrick proved why we never should have given him up; he outscored the entire Grizz bench (6 players, playing 71 minutes). The subs lost all the momentum and the starters were forced to scrap it out just to hold on and win this one 104-97.

All those fans who came out for the first time to see Derrick Rose? I think we can be pretty sure they don't plan on coming back any time soon.

Where Clinching a Playoff Spot Happens

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:47:24 -0000

More photos » Elsa - Getty Images

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Per an Orlando Magic news release distributed earlier today, the team has clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year. The Magic needed any of the following outcomes tonight to happen in order to clinch:

Charlotte loses to Indiana
Miami loses to San Antonio
Chicago loses to Memphis

The Pacers just upset the Bobcats, 99-94, to formally clinch a playoff spot for Orlando and to make the results of those other games irrelevant to them.

Of course, when the season began, anyone would have told you Orlando would make the playoffs, as a defending conference champion what did not totally tear down its roster, so this news isn't exactly surprising.

UPDATE: John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com has details on how to obtain playoff tickets:

Magic season ticket holders will be given first priority at tickets for the playoffs. Fans can still become season ticket holders by calling 407-89-MAGIC. Single-game tickets for the playoffs will begin being sold in a couple of weeks.

The focus of Denton's write-up, though, is Orlando gearing up for another championship run; it is more than just ticket information, in other words. Strongly recommended, as is everything he writes.

Previewing The Playoff Push

djturtleface — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:18:52 -0000

More photos » Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Can Coach Hollins lead his Grizzlies into the playoffs down the stretch run? (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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As of the exact moment I'm writing this sentence, the Memphis Grizzlies are exactly 5 games behind the Portland Trailblazers in the battle for the 8th seed. If the Grizzlies hope to get back into the playoffs, they'll have to finish the season ahead of, most likely, either the Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, or Phoenix Suns.

And it might not be smart to count out either the Rockets or Hornets. The Houston Rockets are just a half game behind the Grizzlies and are beginning to mesh behind Kevin Martin. Chris Paul could be returning to the Hornets any day now, though it's unclear if they'll be able to both maximize their talent (play Paul and Collison) and win (with 2 tiny guards).

What kind of chance do the Grizzlies have to make the playoffs, then? The odds certainly seem stacked against them. John Hollinger has Memphis with a 1 percent chance to get in, Houston with a 3 percent chance, and New Orleans with a staggering 0 percent chance. At least we're not the Hornets.

Just what that 1 percent chance entails, however, is the subject of concern over the jump.

I guess the first thing that we should establish, then, is what each of these teams' futures look like, so off to the last dozen or so of the schedule:

Trailblazers: Portland's remaining schedule is actually pretty favorable. You've got to like their chances to pick up a bare minimum of 1 top win, 2 in the middle, and 4 from the bottom. So the Blazers, barring catastrophe, have an excellent shot to finish 48-34.

Top-Tier: Dallas, Denver, Dallas, Lakers

Mid-Levels: Phoenix, New Orleans, OKC, OKC

The Dregs: Washington, NYK, Sacramento, LAC, GSW

Spurs: The Spurs have a lot of games left, and you'll notice that they're looking at some top-heavy weeks. Also 11 of these 18 games are also on the road. I'll let the Spurs steal 3 of 9 big wins, get 2 of the mid-levels, and take 3 of the easy ones. That puts them at 47-35; with a lot of wiggle room on the top and bottom.

Top-Tier: Orlando, Atlanta, Lakers, Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Lakers, Denver, Dallas

Mid-Levels: Miami, OKC, Houston, Phoenix, Memphis

The Dregs: GSW, New Jersey, Sacramento, Minnesota

Houston: Absolutely the best schedule of the bunch. Houston should steal at least 1 of their hardest games, get 4 of these mid-levels, and 5 of the bottom feeders. That gives them 10 more wins, and they've got multiple chances to put space between them and the Grizz, NOH, and the Spurs. 10 more wins still only puts them below the threshold at 44-38, though.

Top-Tier: Boston, Lakers, Boston

Mid-Levels: Memphis, OKC, Spurs, Memphis, Utah, Charlotte, Phoenix, New Orleans

The Dregs: Knicks, Bulls, LAC, Washington, Indiana, Sacramento

Memphis: You look at the start of this and are like, "How are the Grizzlies not going to make the playoffs?" Their next month or so is practically all against bad teams. But then the real games come. April includes just one game against a bad team and 3 against the best of the best. I'm giving the Grizzlies 1 against a championship contender, 3 against the middle, and 4 of the easy wins. That's probably favorable, and it still only gives them 8 more wins - enough for a 43-39 finish. Not bad, but probably not good enough either.

Top-Tier: Dallas, Orlando, Dallas, Denver

Mid-Levels: Houston, Milwaukee, NOH, Houston, Spurs, OKC

The Dregs: Chicago, GSW, Sacramento, GSW, 76ers

Poll

Will the Grizzlies make the playoffs?

Alexander Johnson, NBA D-League Call-Up Candidate Breakdown

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:32 -0000

Alexander Johnson is the most NBA-ready big man the NBA Development League has ever seen. There, I said it.

What's that? You want me to blow your mind by backing that outlandish statement up? Okay, will do.

Alexander Johnson is 6-foot-9, 240 pounds and a relative beast in the D-League. When I say beast, I mean he's averaging 23.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting better than 55% from the field. The best thing is that this is production off of the bench, as he's started just four of 16 games since joining the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the end of January. To put those numbers into perspective, he currently ranks fourth in the D-League in scoring and third in rebounding and efficiency. Not bad, huh?

Typically the reason players have trouble getting called-up from the D-League, as far as I can tell, is due to a lack of an NBA resume. Johnson was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft out of Florida State University (Beat the Zags!), but eventually ended up with the Memphis Grizzlies after a couple of draft day trades.

With Memphis, Johnson started 19 of 59 games as a rookie, averaging 12.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per 36 minutes. The following Summer, though, he was surprisingly released - though quickly signed a deal with the Miami Heat. With the Heat, Johnson played in 43 games, starting six, and put up similar statistics to his first season. Still, he again didn't get an NBA contract following the season (I have no idea why, but it doesn't seem to be due to on-court issues) and thus went to Germany to play last season.

This season, though, Johnson decided to give the NBA another shot by going to camp with the Utah Jazz. Johnson played well enough for the Jazz this preseason, it seems, but the Jazz had a bevy of big men in camp, leaving Johnson on the outside looking in when the Jazz made their final cuts.

Now that you know what he does, you're probably wondering how he does it.

On offense, Johnson splits his work from just physicaling the ball into the basket from the low post (It's what he does, don't try to argue) and going into iso-mode from 17-feet on the baseline.

His low post game isn't particularly refined, mostly consisting of counter moves followed by a dunk of some sort. It's been very effective, however, because to make up for the occasions that he doesn't score, he gets to the line at a pretty alarming rate. He's actually been to the charity stripe more often (202 times) than he's credited for field goal attempts (196). That's astoundingly efficient. When he gets the ball further out, he typically puts the ball on the floor and beats the (usually) slower defender to the basket. I've actually been really impressed with this facet of his game.

On defense, he's what Synergy Sports considers "Excellent," ranking in the 96th percentile overall. That percentage rank includes post-ups, isolations, spot-ups and defending the picker on the pick-and-roll, all of which he is, at worst, very good. I hate to make an example of a guy I really like, but according to yesterday's box score, Johnson all but shut down Rob Kurz. By shutting him down, I mean Kurz shot 3-of-13 from the field and had just four attempts from the free-throw line to finish with 11 points - six below his average. Johnson picked up three blocks in the game, though only one came due via Kurz. Since I'm talking about yesterday's game, Johnson also scored 25 points and grabbed 18 boards.

Now that we have all of the analytic stuff out of the way, let's get into the meat and potatoes part of my argument - Why does he deserve a call-up?

NBA size: While he's not going to be the tallest of NBA power forwards at 6-foot-9, there won't be many that will outmuscle his 240 pound frame.
NBA readiness: Whether it's for a playoff contender or a team just calling players up to get a better look at them for next season, Johnson's ready to contribute. He's 27 years old, has played two seasons of meaningful NBA minutes and seems to have improved quite a bit since then.
Rebounding: This might be the facet of his game. When he grabs an offensive board, he's almost always in a shot-ready position. I don't know if that's a trainable skill or it's something he's born with, but he is typically able to go right back up with a shot/dunk every time he gets the offensive rebound. He's explosive.
Game translates: I think his coming off of the bench in the D-League has actually helped his call-up possibilities. Knowing he can produce, even when not starting, is exactly what he'll have to do in the NBA. He'll also be counted on to rebound, something that typically translates alright to the NBA as well.
I know teams are looking at him. It's a copy-cat league, so when one team is looking at him (I know of two that could make the move early this week if things fall into place and I'd like to add New Jersey even though I've not heard anything regarding the Nets), more teams are going to take notice. And when they actually watch Johnson, they'll like what they see.
I said so. Rather self-explanatory.

This is the second in a series of randomly occurring posts about players I think deserve a call-up. The first was Mustafa Shakur.