Posts Tagged ‘Marc Gasol’
Fratello Telestrator
Friday, May 17th, 2013Gameday Dish: Grizzlies vs. Thunder
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
Tonight’s contest in The Sooner State will feature the league’s highest scoring team, the Thunder, at 105.7 ppg versus the NBA’s stingiest team defense, the Grizzlies, at 89.5 ppg allowed.
The Grizzlies come to Oklahoma City without their leading scorer Rudy Gay. The 7th-year, 6’8” SF was traded along with reserve C Hamed Haddadi (1.2 ppg) to the Toronto Raptors after spending his entire career with Memphis.
In return, the Griz got PG Jose Calderon and 3rd-year, 6’10” PF Ed Davis from north of the border. Memphis GM Chris Wallace then shipped Calderon to Detroit for 11th-year SF Tayshaun Prince and 4th-year, 6’11” F Austin Daye.
New owner Robert Pera didn’t want to pay the steep luxury taxes the next two seasons, so Memphis cut salary while acquiring three quality forwards in exchange for one exceptional forward.
The 29-15 Memphis squad has won five of their past seven games including a 103-100 victory at Philly on Monday. Rudy Gay scored the winning basket off his own rebound with 13.3 seconds left. He went for 26 points, 7 boards and 5 dimes in his last 48 as a Grizzly.
Memphis’s starting 6th-year PG Mike Conley sat out the Philadelphia game with an ankle sprain. The ultra-quick Conley and his 13 ppg, 5.8 apg and 2.3 spg will be a game time decision tonight.
The Thunder at 34-11 own the NBA’s second best record and are 19-3 in their own building.
The league’s top scorer and MVP-frontrunner Kevin Durant and cast return home after a 3-3 road trip that ended on Sunday with a 105-96 loss to the Lakers. KD poured in 35, and PG Russell Westbrook had 17 points and 13 dimes on 6 for 22 shooting in the defeat.
On November 14th, Memphis beat the Thunder in OKC 107-97. Gay had 28 points, 6 boards and 5 assists, while 2X All-Star Zach Randolph went for 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Griz outscored the 2012 Western Conference Champs 36 to 15 in the pivotal second quarter.
Tune in to TNT at 8:00 PM ET to see who will win the battle between the Thunder’s prolific offense and the Grizzlies’ shutdown defense.
Czar’s Midseason Review
Monday, January 28th, 2013Gameday Dish: Nets vs. Grizzlies
Friday, January 25th, 2013
The 26-16 Brooklyn Nets come to The Home of the Blues tonight to battle the 27-14 Grizzlies. Jay-Z’s reenergized squad has gone 12-2 since Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo took the reins last month.
Carlesimo inserted 11th-year, rugged PF Reggie Evans into the first 5 in place of PF Kris Humphries. This new starting group of PG Williams, SG Johnson, SF Wallace, C Lopez and Evans has gone 9-1. Brooklyn currently sits just one game in back of their city rival Knicks in the Atlantic Division.
After being the topic of trade chatter for more than a year, 5th-year Brook Lopez is the highest scoring 5 in the league at 18.6 ppg to go along with 7.4 rpg and 2.1 bpg. With a PER of 25.45, many find it ludicrous that he was left off of the East’s All-Star roster. Many residents of the Nets’ borough think Lopez puts the Brook in Brooklyn.
Memphis has an All-Star snub as well according to Griz fans – 5th-year, 7’1” C Marc Gasol. The Spaniard has played in and started all 41 games this season and can fill up the stat sheet. He is averaging 13.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 bpg and 1 spg while shooting close to 50% from the field and 88% from the line.
Both sides play defense well and statistically rank high in points allowed per game. The Nets at 94.1 are 5th and the Grizzlies at 89.5 are 2nd. Memphis PG Mike Conley is 2nd in the league in steals at 2.35 per game. Nets Lopez, Evans and the high-energy Wallace may be the most for formidable defensive front court in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn last played on Wednesday at Minnesota where they were victorious, 91-83. Deron Williams led the team with 18 points, 6 boards, 8 dimes and 3 steals.
Memphis also added to their win column on Wednesday, hosting and beating the flailing Los Angeles Lakers, 106-93, to improve their home record to 16-6. They outscored LA in all 4 quarters with 6 players reaching double figure points. The Grizzlies’ top performance on Wed. belonged to back-up PF Darrell Arthur. Arthur had 20 points, 9 boards and 3 dimes in 28 minutes of run.
Tune in tonight at 8PM ET to the YES Network to see if Brooklyn can continue their winning ways against a formidable Western Conference foe.
