Former Grizz O. J. Mayo savoring breakthrough season in Dallas

December 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

One by one, Dallas Mavericks shooting guard O. J. Mayo was embraced by those with whom he had assembled strong ties over the previous four years.

First by Zach Randolph. Then Rudy Gay. Then Marc Gasol. Then Tony Allen.

Dallas Mavericks shooting guard O. J. Mayo (right) attempts to drive past Grizzlies defender Tony Allen during Friday night’s game in FedExForum. Allen held his former teammate and the Mavs’ leader scorer in check by limiting him to 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting in Memphis’ 92-82 win (Photo by Justin Ford)

Then Marreese Speights. Then Hamed Haddadi. Finally, before Friday’s opening tip between the Mavericks versus the Memphis Grizzlies in FedExForum, he found his way to the opposing team’s bench and exchanged pleasantries with his former coach, Lionel Hollins.

For Mayo, it was a moment about which he knew would come to fruition the moment the five-year veteran in July signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Mavericks. But as the former Grizzlies reserve tells it, it was a moment in which he admittedly has anticipated since the start of training camp.

“I’m a little excited,” Mayo said while addressing reporters before the game. “After being here four years and coming back, it’s a little different. It’s an exciting feeling to go against my guys.”

While Mayo’s first trip back to Memphis since joining the Mavericks allowed him to reunite with family and old acquaintances in a city he still calls home, the outcome of Friday’s contest was unfavorable for a Dallas team that has been hampered by a slew of injuries for most of the season.

The Mavericks (12-15) had five players to score in double figures against Memphis (18-6). Still, that wasn’t enough to upend a more experienced and healthy Grizzlies team that captured its four consecutive win with a 92-82 victory. An announced crowd of 17,677 — many of whom cheered Mayo during player introductions — witnessed Mayo struggle on the same court where he emerged as one of the NBA’s most-feared sixth men in recent years.

(Click here for “Reaction to O.J. Mayo’s unimpressive return to Memphis“)

Having entered Friday’s game as the Mavericks’ leading scorer with 20.9 points, Mayo played the second-most minutes behind forward Shawn Marion, but managed just 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting. He was held in the check for a majority of the game, particularly in the first half against Allen, one of the NBA’s best defenders. Although Dallas trailed, 40-39, at intermission, Mayo registered one point through the opening 24 minutes, while misfiring on each of his four field goal attempts. However, he exhibited some energy during the Mavs’ furious fourth-quarter rally when he forced a steal, then sprinted back to the other end of the floor and drained a 3-point basket that trimmed the Grizzlies’ lead to 88-82 with 1:42 remaining.

In assessing Mayo’s performance, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said the nervousness of returning to FedExForum on the opposing squad coupled with his team’s late arrival to Memphis at approximately 2:30 am Friday following Thursday’s late game against Miami, may have been among the factors that gave way to his top scorer’s inability to find his rhythm against his former team.

“I thought O. J. did a good job of letting the game come to him,” Carlisle said after his team was dealt its second straight defeat. “He forced some shots. But your first game back at your old place is always tough. It’s a tough stretch. We have down bodies, but we’ll keep working at it.”

Despite the Mavericks’ early-season struggles, Dallas appears to be a suitable fit for the 25-year-old Mayo who, during his three-year stint with the Grizzlies, never cemented the full-time starter’s role for which he had lobbied in Hollins’ system. In his brief time with the Mavs, Mayo has become not just the catalyst of the team, but the player whom opposing teams assign their top defender.

“I’m not the GM,” said Allen, when asked why he believe the Grizzlies did not re-sign Mayo after last season. “But he’s definitely making a name for himself in Dallas.”

Such was the case in a Dec. 8 game at Houston. That’s when Mayo enjoyed arguably the grandest game of his career when he matched his career-best by erupting for 40 points on 15-of-26 field goals in 116-109 win. It was a feat that Mayo, the NBA’s 12th-leading scorer, hadn’t accomplished since his second year (and his most efficient campaign with the Grizzlies) in the league when he exploded for 40 points on 17-of-25 shooting against Denver. Mayo’s recent breakout game for the Mavs, to his credit, reinforced that his joining the franchise was befitting, considering the Mavericks were seeking veteran leadership at the shooting guard position after the departed Jason Terry signed a three-year contract with the Boston Celtics over the summer.

“I love O. J.,” Carlisle said before Friday’s game. “Since coming to us, he’s demonstrated a great work, a lot of physical toughness. I mean, he’s played through injuries. He had a really bad thing where the skin was ripped off the palm of his hand and he played through it. I’ve never seen anybody play through an exhibition game like that. He’s played through a turned ankle three or four weeks ago and he didn’t miss any games. We’ve seen growth, his long-range shooting, his reading situations. Right now, he’s our only 20-point scorer. He’s getting a lot of attention and learning to deal with the double teams and getting the other teams’ best defender.”

Among those whom seemed delighted to see Mayo Friday was Hollins, although his former coach declined to say whether he believes Mayo is in a better situation in Dallas.

Saying Mayo is having an “outstanding year,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins embraced his former player moments before Friday’s game. (Photo by Justin Ford)

“You can’t ask me a question and put me in a box and get me to say we didn’t need O. J.,” said Hollins, who demoted Mayo to a reserve role early in the 2010-11 season after he was late to a game-day shootaround. “O. J. was a good player. He was placed in a role that was hard for him to deal with at that time in his career. I thought he did a good job. He didn’t shoot consistently, but he served that role. O. J. is having an outstanding year. He’s shooting 52 percent from the field. He’s getting to the free throw line more. He’s probably had higher assists than he had ever. He’s gone on a different team and had a chance to start. Even now, he’s getting to the free throw line more because they don’t have any big men clogging up the lane.”

Now that Mayo has found his niche on the Mavs’ roster, the team is hoping to add some size to its lineup in the coming days. Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has been out since having offseason knee surgery., began practicing recently with the team and reportedly could return for the Mavericks’ Dec. 27 game against Oklahoma City team sources said. Nowitzki, who averaged 21.6 points in 62 of 66 regular-season games last year, traveled with the Mavericks Friday to Memphis and participated in a light shootaround before the game.

“I’m ready to go to war with him,” Mayo said of Nowitzki. “I look forward to playing with him. He’s one of the best players to play the game.”

Unlike his final two seasons in Memphis, when he found it difficult adjusting to a reserve role and admittedly “acted immaturely” after losing his starting job to then-rookie Xavier Henry, Mayo conceded that joining the Mavericks has given him a new outlook on his career. How else to explain why on Friday he all smiles for most of his ten-minute pregame interview session with the media?

“I knew it would happen,” said Mayo, when asked if he sensed the Grizzlies’ Game 7 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last year was his final game with the team. “But of course, it was supposed to happen two or three times before that. I miss the people, the food, it’s a great city.”

Given his resurgence in this, his fifth season, it safe to assume that Dallas is a better situation.

SEE ALSO: Reaction to O.J. Mayo’s unimpressive return to Memphis

Andre Johnson covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. To reach Johnson, email him at andre@memphisport.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.

 

 

 

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Grizzlies reserve O. J. Mayo ‘sleeping well,’ producing big numbers in the postseason

May 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Grizzlies guard O. J. Mayo (right) assumed much of the blame for Memphis' Game 1 collapse to the Clippers. He responded by scoring 20 points in 27 minutes off the bench in a Game 2 win. (Photo by Justin Ford)

O. J. Mayo couldn’t sleep a wink.

Hours after the Memphis Grizzlies squandered a 27-point second-half lead to the Los Angeles Clippers en route to a 99-98 loss in Game 1 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs, Mayo didn’t pay much attention to what was being said or written about arguably the grandest collapse in franchise history.

Instead, the Grizzlies shooting guard took home video footage of the game and watched the fourth quarter repeatedly until he couldn’t bear to see it anymore.

“It was tough, really,” said Mayo, “watching that fourth quarter over and over again, four times.”

But watching repeats of the Grizzlies’ colossal meltdown against the Clippers, by and large, proved beneficial for Mayo, the team’s top reserve, who was dismayed so much by the loss, he went nearly two days without sleep and assumed much of the blame for Memphis having allowed a golden opportunity to slip away.

Unlike in the first game, when the Grizzlies became too relaxed after building a sizable cushion, Mayo exhibited more assertiveness in the pivotal Game 2, particularly in the game’s crucial stages.

He finished with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting and played 24 minutes in helping the Grizzlies even their best-of-7 series against the Clippers at one game apiece. Ten of Mayo’s points came during a critical stretch in the fourth as he played all 12 minutes.

“I wanted a little bit bigger guy on (Clippers shooting guard) Mo Williams,” said Hollins, explaining his decision to play Mayo the entire fourth. “He did a good job on him. O. J. can play the one and two (guard positions), which is why Gilbert Arenas didn’t play.”

If the Grizzlies, who trail 2-1 in the series heading into Game 4 Monday night at the Staples Center, are to recapture home court advantage in what is shaping up to be an intense matchup against the Clippers, they will need more offensive contributions from their reserves.

That shouldn’t be such a hard task to accomplish, considering Memphis boasts one of the NBA’s deepest benches, with four players averaging double digits in minutes.

Mayo, a third-year pro, leads the Grizzlies’ reserves with 27 minutes per game.

Not bad for a player who, after last year’s postseason run that ended with the Grizzlies losing to Oklahoma City in seven games of the semifinals of the Western Conference playoffs, wasn’t sure if he would be back with the team this year.

After losing his starting spot to former Memphis and current New Orleans Hornets guard Xavier Henry last year, the 24-year-old Mayo was the subject of trade rumors midway through the season, in part because many believed that he and Hollins couldn’t co-exist after the coach benched him in favor of an unproven rookie.

Fortunately for Mayo, though he conceded that he handled losing his starting job in an immature way, he eventually took Hollin’s decision in stride. The midseason demotion, it seems, benefited Mayo considerably, much like the video footage of the Grizzlies’ disheartening Game 1 defeat.

That’s because Mayo witnessed his scoring average increase to 20 points per game as he helped the surging Grizzlies to a 32-22 record and wrap up the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Now that he has adjusted comfortably to his sixth man role, the Grizzlies will need more of Mayo’s offensive heroics if they are to remain in position to advance to the Western Conference semifinals for a second consecutive year.

“O. J. hit some timely shots,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul told reporters after their Game 2 loss. “Me and (Eric) Bledsoe didn’t do a good job of keeping him out of the lane. Me and Bledsoe slept on him a lot tonight.”

Fortunately for Mayo, the Grizzlies’ performance in Game 2 enabled him to catch up on much-needed rest, something that was virtually difficult to acquire after their playoff opener.

“We definitely, after Game 1, learned that our focus for the entire game was to stay focused,” Mayo said. “The great thing is that we had two days to prepare (for Game 2). I took a lot of that blame that we blew that lead.”

Which explains why he stayed awake long enough to ensure that he doesn’t repeat such costly mental mistakes.

Andre Johnson is a regular contributor for MemphiSport. Follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.

 

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Did the Grizzlies make a mistake by trading Kevin Love?

March 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With ice packs strapped to both knees and his feet soaking in a keg of ice water in the visitors’ locker room in FedExForum Tuesday night, Kevin Love told reporters he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Memphis Grizzlies.

After all, the Minnesota Timberwolves center realizes the NBA is a business and that team executives will occasionally implement transactions they feel would benefit their franchise.

So when the Grizzlies traded Love to Minnesota moments after selecting him with the fifth overall pick in 2008, Love admittedly took the news in stride. Such a move, nevertheless, has benefited the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.

Photo by Justin Ford

The Grizzlies (27-21), who traded the 6-10 Love to Minnesota along with Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins in exchange for the draft rights to O. J. Mayo, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric, and Antoine Walker, are moving closer toward securing their second consecutive postseason berth, given they are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves (24-27), meanwhile, are still very much alive to earn a postseason berth for the first time in eight years. Minnesota, despite its 7-10 mark since the All-Star break, trails eighth-place Denver by three-and-a-half games with 15 regular season games remaining.

To get a clear indication as to why the Timberwolves are still in the playoff hunt, look no further than Love’s astounding numbers this season.

“Without him, I’m not sure where we’d be,” Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said of Love. “We lost (Ricky) Rubio, a real key to our team this year. But Kevin has been there.”

Love’s 26.3 points per game is fourth-best in the NBA and his 13.8 rebounds per contest makes him the league’s leader in double-doubles. It seems all the former UCLA star has done is emerge as one of the league’s elite players after a stellar third year in which he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player after posting career highs in points (20.2 PPG) and rebounding (NBA-best and franchise-record 15.2 RPG).

Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, his big numbers—coupled with his continuous progress in recent years—have theoretically been disregarded mainly because the Timberwolves have struggled in the wins-loss column.

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case this year for Love who, despite being passed up by the Grizzlies four years ago, has convinced many to believe he is a legitimate candidate for league MVP.

Given Love’s success, that begs the obvious question: Did the Grizzlies, who were one shy of reaching the Western Conference finals last year, make a mistake by trading Love to the Timberwolves?

“I think it turned out well for them and for me,” Love said after registering his league-leading 43rd double-double (28 points, 11 rebounds) in Tuesday’s 93-86 loss at Memphis. I’d definitely be able to help them. But they have others bigs like Z-Bo (Zach Randolph), and Rudy (Gay), (Marc) Gasol, and (Marresse) Speights. I mean, it’s just wherever I could land, I wanted to have success. Luckily, I’ve been able to do that in Minneapolis. (The Grizzlies) had a nice playoff run last year.”

Love, to his credit, has become the catalyst of a Timberwolves team that went 17-65 last year. So far, Minnesota has eclipsed last year’s win total by seven games. Also, Love has consistently shown resilience and assertiveness on both ends of the floor this year, even drawing comparisons to former Boston Celtics great Larry Bird.

That his name is often uttered in the same sentence as Bird brought a seemingly banged-up Love to smiles as he sat in front of his locker, soaking his knees and feet.

“Larry Bird is one of the top five, six, seven players of all time for sure,” said Love, adding that he’s spoken with Bird, a Hall of Famer and three-time MVP, on several occasions since he entered the league. “It’s humbling to hear that.”
Which, after all, is probably among the reasons he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Grizzlies.

Andre Johnson is a regular contributor for MemphiSport. Follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.

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Should any Grizzlies Players go for a Name Change?

January 9, 2012 by 1 Comment

This article originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of MemphiSport.

MSL hosts Kevin Cerrito and Marcus Hunter debate.

Now that Ron Artest has legally changed his name to Metta World Peace, should any Grizzlies players opt for a unique name change?

Will Tony Allen change his name to @aa000G9? Photo by Justin Ford.

Kevin: This is an interesting question. Just a little over ten years ago, people in Memphis were debating whether or not the franchise should change its name when it moved to town.  Now actual NBA players are changing their names.

Marcus: Ron Artest is a character. Chad Ochocinco is a character. Tony Allen is a character, and he is the only Grizzlies player I could see doing something so outrageous.  How about Tony Grindhouse? If he does that, it would be instant media attention and will make the name Gridhouse all his.

Kevin: There are countless new name ideas for Tony Allen. How about Salmon And Mashed Potatoes? Grit And Grind? Or what if he changed his name to his Twitter handle? I could see @aa000G9 jerseys selling better than BBQ nachos.

Marcus: No one would know how to pronounce @aa000G9, so we would have to call him The Player Formerly Known As Tony Allen. I like the idea though. Sounds like an easy way to get more followers.

Kevin: Rudy Gay and Mike Conley both already wear part of their Twitter handles on the back of their jerseys.

Marcus: Every NBA player needs to take a look at all the pros and cons before going through with a name change. Sure it will grab you worldwide headlines and possibility make you a household name, but look at what has happened to the careers of the major stars to already make the leap. Chad Ochocinco changed his name and now he is terrible at football. Ron or Metta World whatever changed his name and just a few days later he was eliminated off Dancing with the Stars.  Seems to be bad luck.

Kevin: You may have a point, but that still shouldn’t stop Tony Allen from changing his name to Metta World Bourrée Champion.

Marcus: Tony Allen should just change his name to MEMPHIS!

Kevin: What if he gets traded?

Marcus: He would have to change it again, or he could just claim to be a big fan of the Broadway musical by the same name.

Kevin: Zach Randolph should go ahead and officially change his name to Z-Bo.  Everyone already calls him that and his real name carries too much baggage with it from his past.

Marcus: If Pau Gasol was still on the team, he could change his name to Pau GaSoft! I kid of course. Pau is a good guy… just a soft big man.

Kevin: Hamed Haddadi should keep his last name but change his first name to Who’s and his middle name to Your.

Marcus: Mike Conley could change his name to MediaHatesMe.

Kevin: Rudy Gay could sell his naming rights to the classic snack food Dunkaroo’s.

Marcus: Speaking of food, O.J. Mayo is one player on the Grizzlies who already has a cool name and doesn’t need to change it.

Kevin: As long as he doesn’t change his last name to Simpson, he will be okay. But I wouldn’t mind if O.J. changed his name to my favorite breakfast drink and condiment. How could Coach Lionel Hollins not start someone named Coffee Lenny’s Hot Pepper Relish?

Marcus: I wish Michael Jackson was still alive just so he could advise players on possible name changes.  Don’t forget, “The King of Pop” named his own child Blanket.

Kevin: That is true. The names of pro athletes are starting to become just as outrageous as the names of celebrity babies. It’s a trend I think we can all get behind.

Click here for MSL podcasts and interviews.

Kevin Cerrito and Marcus Hunter host MemphiSport Live (MSL) every Saturday from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm on Sports 56 WHBQ. MSL was voted 3rd Best Sports Radio Show in the 2010 & 2011 Memphis Flyer Best of Memphis poll. 

Follow the MSL hosts on Twitter @cerrito & @marcus_hunter

-Photo by Chase Gustafson

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Grizzlies win using Grit and Grind mixed with Flash and Finesse

December 31, 2011 by 3 Comments

The Grizzlies got their first win of the season in convincing fashion at home, beating the Houston Rockets by 20 points 113-93.  It looked like there was going to be a close contest in FedExForum after the first quarter, as there were 8 lead changes in the first quarter alone.  However, the Grizzlies made sure that no more lead changes would happen after Josh Selby drove the length of the floor and made a layup to put the Grizz up by two with little more than a second left on the game clock to end the first quarter.

The grit and grind that fans grew accustomed to watching during last year’s run was evident throughout the game.  Coach Hollins made his game plan clear early on.   Pound the ball inside, and give your star big men a chance to do some serious damage.  Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph dominated inside offensively and defensively, combining for 43 points and 17 rebounds while holding Luis Scola and Samuel Dalembert to just 8 points.  Gasol tied a career high in blocks with five, and Z-Bo’s defense was the best that head coach Lionel Hollins has ever seen him play.  “I can’t agree with that,” Randolph said laughing at his coach’s comments about his defensive play.  The two starting big men for the Grizzlies outscored the entire Rockets team in the paint, as Houston was only able to score 36 points.

Yet grit and grind was not the only style the Grizzlies showed us during this game.  When Gasol and/or Randolph were on the bench Memphis looked more like a flash and finesse team, with Jeremy Pargo and Josh Selby pushing the ball.  The tempo increased and the Grizz looked to run every chance they got.  Dante Cunningham played extremely well (filling in for Darrell Arthur), logging 19 minutes and bringing some much needed energy off of the bench.  Memphis went to a full court press with him in the game and this gave Houston fits.   The press took the ball out of the Rockets’ point guards’ hands, disrupting their offense and forcing them to take poor shots.   Other bench players also contributed to this up-tempo style of play. O.J. Mayo had 10 points off of the bench, and Quincy Pondexter (or Q-Pon as we like to call him here at MemphiSport) added a much needed 13 points.  The bench played so well that Coach Hollins was able to rest Gasol and Randolph for almost all of the fourth quarter.  Memphis will need similar production from their role players if they want to go deep into the playoffs this year.

Although Memphis dominated the game, the Grizzlies did have two glaring issues, scoring and guarding the three point line.  They did not make a single three and allowed Houston to score 33 points from long distance.  This is in issue that must be fixed if the Grizzlies are going to make it deep into the playoffs, because you cannot be outscored 33-0 from three and expect to win many games. When asked why his team struggled from behind the arch Coach Hollins simply stated, “We do not have any three point shooters.  You have to have shooters to make threes and we do not have any.  It is as simple as that.”

Overall this was an impressive win against a team in the division that has given Memphis problems in the past.  They will need to carry this momentum into their next game on Sunday against the reigning MVP and the Chicago Bulls if they expect to get their second win of the season.  Team grit and grind is back, but this flash and finesse unit coming off of the bench looks pretty good too.

CJ Hurt covers the NBA for MemphiSport.  Follow him @churtj09 for live tweets from FedExForum all season.

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Top Five Everything from the Grizzlies’ Game 6 win over the Thunder

May 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Grizzlies will not die. Not in Memphis anyway. On the back of a massive 30-13 performance by Zach Randolph, who would not be stopped by Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins or any other type of Thunder, the Grizzlies rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to keep this series going and set up the first Game 7 in franchise history.

This is the master list from that game. If you want a more traditional recap, go here.

As always these are real things that happened in a real game…

Top Five Basketball Moments

5) Loose ball frenzy

GASOL BALL!!!

Two of these were memorable. One came in the fourth quarter, about 2:51 left with the Grizz up 88-79 and looking to close the game out. A crazy rebound bounced off hands and around the floor until Shane Battier flew in like a missile attacking the hardwood to secure the ball and pass ahead to a teammate. The effort was undeniable.

Two quarters earlier, Marc Gasol had an even more amazing loose ball effort play. On another botched handle, again on the Thunder side of the court, Gasol and the much quicker Thabo Sefolosha had an equal distance between them and a ball slowly rolling toward half court. Gasol managed to scoop up the roller and call timeout without even using his body. He just got there faster.

It was that kind of effort that had been missing from the Grizzlies for about six quarters prior to the event, and that kind of effort that propelled them in this victory.

4) The best dunk that didn’t count

With about two minutes left in the third quarter and the Grizzlies finally taking the lead on what was, at that time, a 26-12 run, Darrell Arthur barreled through Nick Collison for a jam reminiscent of a Blake Griffin highlight reel or O.J. Mayo’s physics defying dunk from Game 4 against the Spurs.

It was awesome, and it didn’t count. Nick Collison managed to eek a charging foul. Didn’t look like much of a call to most of the crowd, who didn’t realize the basket was null until they finished cheering for the spectacular dunk.

3) Tony Allen finishes a fast break

For more than three games now, the Grizzlies have struggled finishing and defending fast breaks. It’s been murder for them in this series and in direct contrast with their execution on such possessions in the regular season.

Well in the third quarter the Grizz started executing on those fast breaks. The change was a big part of the third quarter run, and none more memorable than an easy finish from Tony Allen.

With 9:40 left in the quarter, Tony Allen grabbed a fast break pass and dropped it in for a soft two-handed jam to extend the half-opening run to 6-0 and force a Thunder timeout. After a full game and two quarters of blown breaks and missed layups, it was a sign that the Grizzlies were becoming the Grizzlies again.

2) O.J. Mayo’s and-one

Did you know Juice can roar?

Lionel Hollins finally brought O.J. Mayo back into the starting lineup, and Juice made the most of it. Mayo finished with 16 points 4 rebounds 2 assists and 4 steals. Mayo nailed two three pointers, but none were as memorable as his fearless three-point play in the third quarter.

With 2:10 left in the period, Mayo dove into the lane and used his body like a heat seeking missile programmed for Kevin Durant’s torso. Mayo was able to convert the basket, get a whistle and latch a third foul onto Kevin Durant. The drive plus the free throw gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the first quarter at three points. It was neutralized seconds later on Durant’s only FG of the second half (which was also an and-one), but the tide had turned permanently.

1) Ibaka can’t deal with Z-Bo

Don't you know who I am? You must not know who I am.

If Mayo’s and-one was the turning point (and it was) Z-Bo’s fourth quarter performance was the foot on the neck, or the nail in the coffin, or chair in the back, or some other cliche.

Randolph massacred every Thunder big down the stretch. Mayo’s extra minutes had helped. Z-Bo had space and he made the Thunder pay by going back to the so-ugly-its beautiful layups and juggernaut post moves that have made him the darling of the city and the go-to-guy on the team.

The most memorable move came just before O.J.’s and-one, tying the game. Matched up one-on-one with Serge Ibaka about three feet from the paint, Z-Bo finalized his dominance over the big with a pivot, bump, pivot, bump, 360 pivot and lay-in that just said “You’re done #9. Accept it.”

Top Five “You had to be there” Moments

5) Christopher

Seriously. This happened.

Does non-halftime entertainment get crazier than Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey? Apparently yes. In between the first and second quarters, the Grizzlies brought out “Christopher” (seriously this is how he was introduced) who was a one-man version of the Village People. See the picture above for proof. He performed to a village people medley. Wild.

4) Flood Video

Want to love Memphis enough to almost cry? Watch this video.

The Grizzlies have been knocking out the pre-game intro videos, but they sent the whole thing to another level by adding that vid to the normal one that plays before the player introductions. Perfect. Perfect. Seriously watch it.

3) Fun with signs, giant heads

Definitely a step up from the last game. One highlight was “We Believe Hell or High Water,” a theme also used in the updated signs for BBQ Fest.

Taking the cake though was, again, Section 116, the kings of the giant heads, who this time showed up with a Barack Obama head wearing a Grizz headband in honor of Booker T. Washington High School having won the opportunity to have Obama speak at their graduation. The high school’s achievement and the head in attendance were featured on the jumbotron in the second half.

2) Al Green’s National Anthem

Yes this is Al Green.

How do you follow up an amazing National Anthem from the NBA’s best PA announcer Rick Trotter? Book Al Green. The Memphis legend absolutely nailed the anthem, because he’s Al Green! He could sing it again tomorrow and nail it again. If the Grizzlies get another home game they’ll have to book Justin Timberlake. And even then the singing probably wouldn’t be as good.

1) Jerry ‘The King” Lawler

Strap didn't even need to be down.

Very important stat: The Grizzlies are 3-0 in the playoffs when Jerry “The King” Lawler shows up to pump up the Grindhouse crowd. This time was the best. Just as the Grizzlies were starting their third quarter run (at this point it was at 6-0) Lawler slammed a chair into the back of a faux OKC fan and covered the body with a yellow growl towel. He then noted that, “It’s time for the Grizzlies to put the chair on the Thunder!”

Top Five Quotes

5) Zach Randolph on playing in game seven
“That’s what it’s all about. It’s what we play for. I’d rather be playing now than on vacation or anything else. We have to be ready. It’s going to be a tough game going into their place. They’ll be ready, their fans will be ready, but we’ll be ready also.”

4) Marc Gasol on not wanting to let the series end in Memphis
“We don’t want to go out at all. Not that way or any other way.”

3) O.J. Mayo on starting
“All year I’ve just been trusting in coach Hollins and staying behind whatever he says 120%. It’s a big responsibility to come in and start, you gotta make an impact fast. I just tried to do the best I could.”

2) Shane Battier on Al Green’s performance
“That was pretty sweet. He’s a big reason why my wife and I got married”

Note: Before anyone misunderstands this (as it seems to happen with Shane’s musings) he was referring to the man’s music.

1) Lionel Hollins on Kevin Durant only making one FG in the second half
“He’s saving himself for Sunday. He had some good looks but just didn’t make them. We can’t take credit for that.”

Top Five Tweets

5) @Grizzinmypants
I was planning on watching Thor tomorrow, but when I found he was the god of Thunder, I knew the movie would blow. #GoGrizz

4)@PeterEdminston
DA JUST MURDERED NICK COLLISON. JAYHAWK ON JAYHAWK CRIME

3) @bharris901
When Tony Allen hits a corner 3-pointer, it’s like finding $20 in your pocket.

2) @ShaneBattier
What a fantastic crowd at the Forum tonight. They propelled us to the win. Quick turnaround for Sunday. Uno Mas!!!!!! Mucho Believe-o!!!

1) @PatForde
Market size is irrelevent. This is fun basketball from Memphis tonight.

Top Five Photos

Still hungry for more from the Grizzlies’ payoff run? Check out the Top 5 Everything from the Grizzlies’ Triple Overtime Loss to the Thunder in Game 4, the Top 5 Everything from the Grizzlies’ Game 3 Overtime Win Over the Thunder , or our Game 1 recap.

Also take a look back at the historic series with the San Antonio Spurs by checking out the Top Five Everything from Game 6, the Top Five Everything from Game 4, the Top Five Everything from Game 3, or our take on the Game 1 win.

For more Playoff fun, check out Shane Battier proves young people no longer  watch Animal House,  MSL presents “Have Grizzlies PA announcer Rick Trotter say whatever you like”, Jerry “The King” Lawler talking Grizzlies on MSL, Traveling NBA super fan James Goldstein on MSL,  and the Top 6 Beards of the Playoff Run.

Doug Gillon covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter@douggillon. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow @memphisport, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto

Photos by Chase Gustafson.



Filed Under: Grizzlies, The Big Features, Web Exclusives Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Top Five Everything from the Grizzlies’ Triple Overtime loss to the Thunder in Game 4

May 10, 2011 by 2 Comments

The blue bears of Memphis have had several “greatest game in history” games, and most of them end with the fans, the players and coach Hollins smiling a little wider.

This one didn’t though. It dragged, on and on and on, and eventually the Thunder were the last team standing.

This is the master list from the Monday/Tuesday Marathon. You can find a more traditional recap here.

As always these are real things that happened in a real game…

 

Top Five Basketball Moments

Notables:

Effort.

In a game this long and this tough, it’s nearly impossible to just pick out five moments that were special for the home team. O.J. Mayo played fantastic minutes and hit some huge shots to finish with 18 points. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, especially Randolph, battled as best he could underneath – finishing with 34 and 26 points. Randolph had 16 rebounds and Gasol had 21, tying the franchise playoff record set by Randolph on Saturday night. The bigs being dominantly productive has become so expected and their production so consistent that the more memorable moments have been coming from the guys who DON’T normally step up big. The following list is a result of that, but the bigs need their due.

5) The first 20 game minutes

About four hours before the final buzzer, the Grizzlies were steamrolling the Thunder en route to a lead that ballooned to 18-points halfway through the second quarter. The game started with an 8-0 Grizzly run. Gasol finished the quarter with 12-points, which matched the Grizzly advantage at the end of that quarter.

At that point the Thunder only had 16 points. Early fouls on Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka made it difficult for the Thunder to play as tough underneath, and Randolph and Gasol took advantage. Even Hamed Haddadi was able to come in again and out muscle the Thunder for two rebounds and two blocked shots during the stretch. Looked like the Grizzlies would roll.

4) Shane Battier’s put back

Yeah, now fast-forward two or more hours. What you missed that won’t be covered below: a constant drag-out foul fest in which Kendrick Perkins temper flared so loudly that it extended to an Oklahoma City fan that had to be removed from the arena, Scott Brooks going small and watching his team chip away at the Grizzlies lead and come within 4 at the half, the Thunder eventually take the lead in the third quarter, then the teams battling back-and-forth before miracles started happening.

In the second overtime period, this was the Grizzlies second-to-last real step on the gas. With 1:49 left, Battier missed short on a wide-open corner three, but was able to get his own rebound and put the ball back in to give the Grizzlies a lead again at 114-112.

3) Greivis diving and-one

Drive.

And the was the last big step on the gas, happening just afterward. Vasquez, who could have had the name “huevos” on the back of his jersey for all his production, fearlessly drove at a wall of Oklahoma City bigs that hadn’t been called for a foul in almost a century, and somehow floated in a layup and finally drew a foul call.

He made the free throw, giving the Grizzlies a three-point lead with 1:22 left in the second overtime.

Despite excellent defense on the following possession, Oklahoma City’s James Harden made a three on the next possession. It was that kind of game.

2) Mike Conley three-pointer

Heart.

After number five, but necessary to get to numbers three and four, were two miracle shots. The first came from Mike Conley.

After Kendrick Perkins missed two potentially game-winning free throws, the Grizzlies chose not to take a timeout as Mike Conley rambled up the floor and made a desperation three-point shot over two Oklahoma City defenders to tie the game with 3.5 left and give Grizzly, OKC and NBA fans everywhere a collective heart attack.

On the following possession the Thunder could not convert, and the game went to overtime.

1) Greivis’ three-pointer

Which is where this happened. Conley quickly fouled out at the start of the first extra period, and late in the game with the Grizzlies down one, so did O.J. Mayo. In came Sam Young and Greivis Vasquez.

With Conley and Mayo out and the team down three in the final seconds, again, who would shoot the three?

You know who it was it says it right up there. Vasquez’ three was even more insane than Conley’s. Off-balance, ugly, looking like he was trying more to get a foul call than make the shot, it dropped in. Game tied. OKC can’t covert and everyone moved to OT 2.

 

Top Five “You had to be there” Moments

5) The “Z-Bo Gasp”

wwoooOOO

There’s a crazy thing that happens in a packed NBA arena when a bona fide superstar gets the ball and starts to work one-on-one. It’s this collective gasping roar of anticipation that slowly builds until the star player takes a shot.

In FedExForum, the superstar gasp usually was only heard on the first few possessions by LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. Never really heard it for Durant. Carmelo Anthony got about half of one.

But ever since the playoffs started this year in Memphis, Zach Randolph has gotten that gasp from the crowd every time he’s matched up one-on-one near the basket.

It’s something you just have to hear in person, and it’s something the hardest working player on the team has certainly earned.

4) Rick Trotter’s National Anthem

Within hours of this post, this will be Rick Trotter's desktop wallpaper.

It’s no secret that we love Rick Trotter at MemphiSport. It’s hard not to – especially when the famed Grizzlies PA announcer keeps adding to his legend in the way he did to start this game.

Trotter absolutely nailed the National Anthem – best one of the year – and then somehow was able to deliver his pre-game team introductions, have witty conversations on twitter and discover a source of efficient, renewable energy.

Trotter deserves extra credit for a few other things at the game, including his pregame heckling of fans on the jumbotron who were not wearing their free white t-shirts for the White Out.  Plus he never – ever lost an iota of energy during the marathon session that include the three overtimes. The man is a city treasure.

3) The almost non-stop “Let’s go Grizzlies” chants of the final two hours

They never gave up.

For the fourth quarter and the first two overtimes, the crowd was right there with him. There was no problem with crowd energy in this one, they were on their feet from the start, and only lost some moxie when the Thunder made it impossible not to do so.

The “refs u suck” made a few re-appearances, but “Let’s Go Grizzlies” ruled the arena for an amount of time that can have no other repercussion other than about 18,000 people going to work hoarse tomorrow.

2) Double collective heart-attacks

Yeah so the plays are described above, kind of, but the emotion of watching those two shots drop, hearing the roof come off the place, it was surreal.

If a building was ever going to actually explode from noise, from emotion, from the unlikely happening, from 18,119 people being rewarded because they believed, it would have happened then. It was the whole of why we love sports.

After Greivis’ shot, WMC sportscaster Jarvis Greer whipped a yellow growl towel around his head while screaming “This is while we built this building!”

He couldn’t contain it. No one could. No one could believe all that was happening.

1) Final Standing Ovation

Despite it all – all the heroics, all the miracles, and all the noise, it became clear about halfway through the third overtime that the Grizzlies just didn’t have enough to finish it out. Really it became clear at the end of OT 2, when Randolph and Gasol had several shots to tip-in what could have sealed a win, but the bigs were too tired, and over shot and over tipped.

At the start of OT 3, about 5-10% of the crowd started to head out. It was almost 12:30 and about two game minutes later, more joined them.

But plenty of fans stayed. About 30% of the crowd hung around until the final buzzer, and even though the scoreboard favored OKC, they gave the home team a standing ovation for the relentless heart, grit and grind they showed for more than four hours. Not a slow clap. Better.

 

Top Five Quotes

5) Marc Gasol
“I think we could have done better but nobody is perfect. We tried our best; effort was there… no one can be mad at themselves. We tried our best.”

4) Mike Conley on the end of regulation three
“I had to take it. I had a feeling I was going to get a good look, and it went in.”

3) Lionel Hollins
“Nobody wanted to go home. Nobody wanted to lose.”

2) O.J. Mayo
“We’ll be alright man. It’s a tough loss, it’s almost one o’clock in the morning now, but we’re gonna go home, get our rest and come back ready.”

1) Greivis Vasquez on his shot at the end of OT 1
“I will trade that shot for a win any day. I would trade every single thing I did and every single thing I can for a win tonight.”

 

Top Five Tweets

5) @GaryParrishCBS
If there’s a fourth OT, I say we play it at Club 152.

4) @ChrisMannixSI
Hamed Haddadi acknowledging fans during timeout. Like a Presidential candidate pointing to the crowd.

3) @GregAkers
Chris Vernon owes Mike Conley a shirt design.

2) @Eli560
Guy in a Perkins jersey getting kicked out. Apparently just wearing the jersey makes you angry

1) @johnhollinger
Ref: “Stop” Perk: “YOU stop” Tech.

 

Top Five Photos

Still hungry for more from the Grizzlies’ payoff run? Check out the Top 5 Everything from the Grizzlies Game 3 Overtime Win Over the Thunder , our Game 3 recap, or our Game 1 recap. Also take a look back at the historic series with the San Antonio Spurs with the Top Five of Game 6, our Game 6 recap, the Top Five Everything of Game 4, our Game 4 recap, the Top Five Everything of Game 3, our Game 3 recap, our take on the Game 1 win, and for some further back nostalgia, our Top 6 Beards of the Playoff Run.

Doug Gillon covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter @douggillon. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow  @memphisport, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto

Photos by Chase Gustafson.


Filed Under: Grizzlies, The Big Features, Web Exclusives Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Five Everything from the Grizzlies’ Game 3 OT Win over the Thunder

May 7, 2011 by 2 Comments

These headlines are really getting too long – might be about time to rename the series.

This is the master list from the greatest comeback in Grizzly history (going on quality not quantity). It was a weird one. Zach Randolph posted a 21-21 game, but this post is mostly going to be about O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen with a pinch of Sam Young. It was just like that.

You want a more traditional recap, go here.

As always these are real things that happened in a real game…

Top Five Basketball Moments

5) Tony Allen puts Thunder bigs in foul trouble

Do not underestimate Tony's tenacity.

In the fourth quarter, the crowd had finally showed up and the Grizzlies were showing signs of life. Tony Allen pushed that momentum with 7:31 left in the game with his trademark hustle and tenacity.

The series started with a steal by Allen, who drove fast to the basket and drew a hard foul. Allen missed his second free-throw, but tracked down a hot potato rebound and drove again. Again Allen missed the layup, but drew a foul and went 1 of 2 from the charity stripe.

The big thing about this, aside from how it showed a continuing change in momentum in which the Grizzlies were the harder working team, was that the two foulers on Allen were Thunder bigs Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. Perkins would eventually foul out in overtime and Ibaka finished with five fouls. Allen propelled them to that fate in about 7 game seconds.

The extra fouls meant the Thunder big men could not play as aggressively underneath as they had in game two and for most of this game. It opened up lanes for Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo drives, and space for Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph late in the fourth and in overtime.

4) Three straight one point possessions somehow take a two-point lead.

Getting only one of two free throws plagued the Grizz in the fourth quarter, but their fourth quarter defense was so stout, that the team was able to tie the game and take a two-point advantage with less than a minute left on three straight one-point possessions.

It went pretty much the same way for each. The Thunder set up on offense and turned the ball over. The Grizzlies ran out on a fast break and were fouled while attempting the layup. The foulee would make only one free throw. This happened three times in a row because in the fourth quarter the Grizzlies became the great wall, and the Thunder the Mongolians.

3) O.J Mayo’s hustle

Mayo didn't have the biggest statistical day, but he made the W happen.

“Juice” kept the Grizzlies in this game. Lost in this story of the Grizzlies amazing comeback is how terrible the team played in order to dig themselves into a 16-point hole at the start of the fourth.

If not for Mayo, the hole could have been 25. Mayo sparked the team in the first quarter with eight points in four minutes, propelling the Grizzlies to a 22-20 lead in the period. Later in the game he made crucial threes during the Grizzlies’ fourth quarter run.

Even more impressively, Mayo defended the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, one of the league’s elite scorers, and shut him down. Westbrook only managed two points in the closing minutes. Lionel Hollins said he made the switch to allow Conley to get some rest on defense, and Mayo’s performance allowed that switch to stay and benefit the Grizz.

2) Going Small

Sometimes smaller is better.

If not for the chaos of the number one selection here, this would have to be it. This changed the game.

Coming out in the fourth quarter, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins sat his two bigs, the heart of his team’s offense, and went with a small lineup of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Shane Battier, Darrell Arthur and Sam Young.

The move was different. The Grizzlies are a big team, they outmuscle their competition with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Problem was, Gasol and Randolph were struggling underneath and getting themselves out muscled. Early in the game Hollins countered with Hadaddi, who played admirably in limited action. But it wasn’t the answer.

The Thunder were insanely aggressive underneath, poking at dribbles, pushing and shoving for rebounds, and preventing Gasol or Randolph from getting into any kind of rhythm.

So Hollins tried letting the small guys to run around what had become a cage match under the basket and it worked. The small lineup was able to begin closing the gap on the Thunder while clamping down defensively and wearing down the Thunder bigs.

By the time Gasol and Randolph returned halfway through the fourth quarter, Perkins, Ibaka and Collison had more fouls, less energy, and less moxie. Z-Bo took advantage en route to the 21-21 monster stat game he posted, and the entire quarter set up the Grizzlies’ ability to roll in overtime.

Monster STAT: Once the Grizzlies went small, they outscored the Thunder 40-17 in the final 19 minutes. That’s the fourth quarter and overtime.

1) Sam Young’s ALL CAPS DUNK

No other way to describe it. This was the moment everyone in the arena, who started the game with enthusiasm to match the “whiteout” name of the game’s t-shirt promotion (hint: there wasn’t much) but had, at this point, come back into the contest with some energy as things began to look desperate.

Sam Young took that energy and slammed it right down Daequan Cook and Nick Collison’s throats. Young took a pass from Battier and, after a pump fake, found himself looking at a clear lane to the basket from 18 feet out. Young drove for the huge jam that brought the Grizzlies  within 7 with 9:20 left. At this point the crowd, and the Grizzlies, believed again.

Top Five “You had to be there” Moments

5) Penny Hardaway wins tater tots for everyone

Pretty self-explanatory here. Three-point shooting contest, one made three from someone in attendance in 30 seconds wins tots for everyone. Crowd gets to pick who the shooter is, Penny Hardaway happens to be one of the choices. He makes the second bucket and everything is rainbows, because Memphis loves Penny.

4) Fun with signs, disasters

This may have been the weakest sign night of the playoffs, but that says more for the quality of the previous nights than lack of effort in this one.

Some highlights included a “Marc > Pau” sign, and several signs making variations on the “we’ve survived a damn flood, what’s a little thunder” joke.

3) #“REFS U SUC!”

Considering the free throw differential (44 attempts for Memphis, 23 for OKC), this seems an unlikely chant. But it happened, and in a big way. After a third traveling no-call on OKC (it’s not nice to complain about this stuff, but all three were blatant) that was followed by a technical foul called on Zach Randolph late in the third quarter, the crowd, which had started to flirt with the idea of again being a factor in these playoffs, started the loud, unlikely chant.

“REFS YOU SUCK! REFS YOU SUCK!” Had to be coming from every person in The Grindhouse based on the volume.

Even this kid.

The crowd would not go away after that, although they had not yet reached their apex. For those moments see: dunk, Sam Young and Buzzer, final.

2) “Let’s Go Grizzlies!”

Not nearly as spontaneous or unexpected for most games, but somewhat for this one after three quarters of antiseptic from those in attendance. These chants went on so long and so enthusiastically that the unison began to break down from the echo. The chant continued like a round. So row, row row your boat, except with Grizz fever.

1) Growl Towel display

Normal towel use.

First, the whiteout kind of sucked. It sucked in Miami this year and last year and it sucked in Memphis on Saturday. It’s stupid. It looks stupid. in person and on television. It has a stupid name. There is nothing cool about it. Stop with the passing out of one color t-shirts. It’s garbage. Motion is lost in the sea of a single color.

Growl Towels on the other hand, highlight both a team color and the motion and enthusiasm of the crowd. They are AWESOME. Normally the proper display method of the growl towel is an elbow-based circular motion that whips the towel like a helicopter above the head of the fan.

But not late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. Especially during those three consecutive one-point possessions, the proper growl towel display was a straight hang, slightly above head, with the words “Believe Memphis” staring down on the audacious visiting team and pledging staunch support for the man at the line and the blue-collar team on the floor.

Clutch Towel Use

 

It was movie stuff. Couldn’t have been scripted better.

Top Five Quotes:

5) Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins
“I had preached to my guys all year long that it’s not over until there’s zero on the clock. We were dead in the water, and we needed to do something to get some energy. WE went small. You’re just trying.”

4) Grizzlies guard Sam Young
“It doesn’t always work the way you plan it, but a W is a W. I think that we played our best and when the time came everyone dug deep and we clawed this one out.”

3) Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo
“It’s like coach told us, tonight we needed the perimeter to step up big and help out the bigs. We’ve definitely got one of the best front lines in the NBA, that’s the bread and butter of our team, but we’re a team, and we all have to contribute.”

2) Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph on his “sulking” which was heavily talked about on the ESPN broadcast:
“Yeah I was ticked off. I was mad at myself. But I don’t let it carry over. I might get mad Monday you never know, I’m always getting mad at myself. Doesn’t mean anything except that I got to figure out something better to do.”

1) Grizzlies guard Tony Allen on the team going small:
“That was coach of the year type stuff. [Hollins] is a genius for that.”

Top Five Tweets

5) @ricktrotter
OJ’s end of quarter speech deserves a parental advisory label. I love the passion! #gogrizz

4) @sylamore1
WHAT the hell? Now announcers are saying Randolph “threw Ibaka to ground.” Replay obv shows him turn ankle and fall in to Zbo. HACKs

3) @johnhollinger
hollins was protesting to Mauer b/c he didn’t realize Mauer called a charge. Then attempted to high-5 him when informed of call.

2) @cerrito
The Grindhouse crowd sings “Whoomp There It Is” much better than they do the National Anthem.

Note: the crowd was invited to sing the National Anthem along with a Navy band to start the game. Thankfully, Grizzlies PA announcer Rick Trotter will take over singing the anthem on Monday.

1) @flyergrizzblog
Instead of waving the towels down the stretch, fans have been holding them up in defiance, showing “BELIEVE” logo. Cool.

Top Five Photos

Still hungry for more from the Grizzlies’ payoff run? Check out the game one recap, or from the Spurs’ series: Top Five of Game 6 the Top Five Everything of Game Four, our Game Four recap, the Top Five Everything of Game Three, our Game Three recap, our take on the game one win, and for some further back nostalgia, our Top 6 Beards of the Playoff Run.

Doug Gillon covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter @douggillon. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow  @memphisport, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto

Photos by Chase Gustafson.


Filed Under: Grizzlies, The Big Features, Web Exclusives Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

First to 100: Grizzlies claw to beat Thunder 101-93 in OT, lead series 2-1

May 7, 2011 by 2 Comments

Call it the biggest comeback in franchise history. Not by numbers, but by magnitude. Facing a 16-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 23-10 in the period to force overtime, and started the extra minutes with a 6-0 run that put the Thunder away and the Grizzlies up 2-1 in the series.

For most of the game, the Grizzlies didn’t look like the hardest working team in the NBA. O.J. Mayo, who finished with 18 points off the bench, kept the Grizzlies in the game, but the team and the crowd looked lethargic until late in the third quarter. The bigs were getting outmuscled underneath, and the Grizzlies were getting out hustled.

The amazing fourth quarter run was sparked by a small lineup which countered the Thunder’s physicality with quickness. Tony Allen was able to force fouls on both Thunder bigs in one possession. The added Grizzly speed sparked the run.

The Grizzlies closed and took a two-point lead with three straight one-point possessions that came from 1/2 trips to the charity stripe. Two late free throws by Russell Westbrook kept the game tied with less than a minute. Kevin Durant and Zach Randolph were unable to make attempts to win the game, and it went to overtime.

But by then there was no stopping the Grizzly tide.  The crowd wasn’t going away, and neither were the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph had finally gotten rolling thanks to the Thunder bigs being in foul trouble. He finished with 21 points and 21 rebounds and dominated extra time. The Thunder only managed 7 points to the Grizzlies 15 in the final five minutes, extending their late-game breakdown to 18 minutes.

The Grizzlies play next at FedExForum on Monday. They lead the best of seven series 2-1.

Doug Gillon covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter @douggillon. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow  @memphisport, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto

Photo by Chase Gustafson.

 

Filed Under: Grizzlies, Web Exclusives Tagged With: , , , ,

Top 5 Everything from the Grizzlies’ Game 4 Win

April 25, 2011 by 6 Comments

Tornadoes raged through Memphis in the morning and at night. Inside The Grindhouse which is also sometimes called FedExForum, a furry blue tornado raged through the San Antonio Spurs playoff hopes.

This is the master list for Monday’s “Beale Street Beatdown”. You want a more traditional recap, go here. As always these are real things that happened in a real game…

 

Top Five Basketball Moments

5) “You have to be the man Mike”

Pictured: Being the man

The final score kind of covers this fact up, but the Grizzlies looked like crap for the first half of this game. They trailed at the end of the first two quarters, were outscored in the paint, had a shooting % of lower than 40 for most of the half, and were losing the battles for rebounds and fast break points.

The Grizzlies were playing in quicksand on offense, and the Spurs couldn’t miss. It was amazing the Grizz were able to stay in the game.

Part of the reason why was Lionel Hollins. With 5:27 left in the second quarter and the Spurs lining up for free throws, Hollins grabbed Mike Conley by the shoulders and told him “you have to be the man Mike.”

After that the Grizzlies started to wake up and set up the monster second half.

4) O.J. Mayo buys dinner for laws of physics, says “I’ll call you”

Seriously Newton... it's just not working out.

O.J. Mayo must have overheard the talk to Conley, because HE was the man in the stretch surrounding it.

Mayo missed a free throw due to an air horn, but Gasol grabbed the rebound and kicked the ball out to Mayo – who hit a three. Two-point play becomes four. On the next possession, Mayo decided that matter, anti-matter, the fabric of the universe and generally accepted restrictions of human movement were irrelevant and slammed home a reverse jam that Grizz fans will be seeing for a long time.

3) Shane Battier sends Spurs to the bench with corner three

5:43 left in the game, the Grizz were rolling, and Battier nailed a corner three (as he is one to do) to extend the lead to 20. Popovich gave up at that point, called a timeout and sent his starters to the bench.

2) Darrell Arthur inspires a new Eminem hit, “Forgot about DA”

You should never forget about DA.

Nowadays everyone wants to talk like they got something to say. Like that the Grizzlies still couldn’t beat the Spurs despite being up 2-1. Those people obviously forgot about DA.

Arthur, who has been sneaky good all year, especially when Vasquez is in the game, had the minutes of his life in this one. With 1:24 left in the third, he pressured the Spurs into a turnover of their inbounds pass. Then he made a 20-foot jumper. Then he made another 20-foot jumper. Then he put on wings to send home an alley-oop from Mayo. He finished with 14 points.

1) The whole third quarter

Yeah this was when the game went from “Oh crap, here we go again” to “Whoa, are the Grizzlies going to run the Spurs out of this arena?”

“Believe Memphis” kept becoming more appropriate as the Grizzlies outscored the Spurs 30-15 in the quarter.

It started early as the Grizzlies were able to get into the bonus within 5 minutes. The Grizz capitalized on the free throws but also clamped down on defense, not allowing the Spurs to score until 7:22 remained in the quarter.

During this initial 14-0 run, Popovich called two separate timeouts to try and swell the tide. The second one finally did, resulting in a Ginobli layup, but the damage had already been done.

 

Top Five “You had to be there” Moments

5) Spirit of Memphis nails National Anthem

Nailed it. Nailed it. Nailed it. A soulful, a cappella rendition by the perfectly named group was a fantastic start to the night.

4) “The Grindhouse” originator passes out yellow cards for Ginobli

He was on the radio Saturday talking about how he invented the Grindhouse moniker, but Ryan Hamlin, aka @Hamlin38103, wasn’t content with that being his only contribution to the Grizzlies universe. After tweeting all day about how to make large yellow cards, Hamlin decided to pass them out to fans sitting behind the goals, with the intent of holding them up for every Ginobli flop.

The cards didn’t seem to catch on, but it was funny watching Hamlin pass them around before tip-off.

3) Grizzline joins in with “All I Do is Win” before fourth quarter and it doesn’t seem out of place at all

Because they believe.

Yes, the Grizzlies played the song normally reserved for end of the game a quarter early, but after that third quarter performance it didn’t seem like it would have been a jinx. By anyone. The crowd did the bump and grind right with Grizz line.

2) Tim Duncan picks up second foul, crowd erupts

Ginobli still got plenty of hate, but nothing like the boos he received in game three. The biggest hostile moment though had to be Tim Duncan’s second foul pickup in the third quarter.

Duncan predictably made the face he always makes, eyes wide open, hands out in front like “what did I do?” and the crowd ate it up. If anything Duncan made The Grindhouse louder by protesting the call.

1) The entire fourth quarter

This pretty much sums it up.

It became clear pretty early in this period that the Spurs were done, and then it was party party for the Memphis fans. For the first part of the game, the crowd didn’t seem to know how to get crazy for two games in a row. By the fourth quarter, they were screaming for every basket as the Grizzlies continued to pull away.

 

Top Five Quotes

5) Shane Battier on being up 3-1
“We held home court, and these guys can expect the toughest game of their life come Wednesday.”

4) Mike Conley on the start of the fourth quarter
“I think everybody smelled blood. We realized, a couple more punches and we got ‘em.”

3) Coach Hollins on who was the better team
“They’re the better team. They won 61 games, and we won 46 games. Their record all year long said they were the better team. As I’ve always said, it doesn’t matter who is the better team during the regular season. When you get to the playoffs, each series you have to be the better team.”

2) Darrell Arthur on winning both early home games
“We’ve been playing well at home all season. I think we can beat anybody. I can’t remember the last time we lost several games in a row.”

1) Marc Gasol on whether the Spurs were prepared for Darrell Arthur
“They stuck to their game plan tonight, but I promise you they’re going to change it to look for him next time.”

 

Top Five Tweets

5) @ShaneBattier
Are those tornado sirens going off or are they just trying to hype up the city for tonights game?

4) @HPBasketball
It’s ALMOST like Matt Bonner can’t guard Zach Randolph. ODD. MORE RESEARCH NEEDED.

3) @chasingphoto
Ginobili definitely has a career in acting after the NBA. I have the photos to prove it.

2) @johnhollinger
@ChrisVernonShow May need an ice bath for my Griz fever after this one.

1) @FakeCoachPop
I knew I should have bought that Groupon for that guided fishing trip yesterday.

 

Top Five Photos

For more Grizz playoff coverage, check out the Top Five Everything of Game Three, our Game Three recap, our take on the last Grizz watch party (you know, because another one is coming up Wednesday), and for some nostalgia, our Top 6 Beards of the Playoff Run.

Doug Gillon covers the Grizzlies for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter@douggillon. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow  @memphisport, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto

Amazing photos by Chase Gustafson.

 

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