(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) Two seasons back, the Grizzlies were a Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder away from making it to the Western Conference finals. To that, they entered the 2011-12 season with
NEW YORK — If Dan Gilbert wants to raise the basket height to 12 feet, or have the All-Star ballot printed in Comic Sans font, he can bring it up for discussion with the competition committee. And now, he can be a part of the discussion, too. Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was announced Wednesday as one of the new members of the league’s reformulated competition committee — the group that recommends rules changes such as the ones that were
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made it a habit to rest his veteran stars this season, come what may. Up until Game 3, the Coach of the Year had been treating the playoffs much the same way. Tim Duncan played 35 minutes in San Antonio’s 102-90 Game 3 victory Saturday night, and Tony Parker played 40. But during the first two games against the Utah Jazz, the only Spur to play more than 31 minutes was Parker, who logged 37
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the less glamorous teams in the postseason party. They shoot 3-pointers about as poorly as any team in the NBA. They don’t have many high flyers offering up highlight-reel dunks a la Blake Griffin. They have not one but two ground-bound post players in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies simply defend like mad, play through their big men and try to make hay in transition and at the free-throw line. And for the last
NEWS The Atlanta Hawks’ Ivan Johnson and the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried were today named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in April. The Indiana Pacers’ Frank Vogel and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Lionel Hollins today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in April. Paul Pierce was back at practice for the Boston Celtics on Friday, a day after briefly leaving the regular-season finale with a
For the first time in their franchise’s 17-year history, the Memphis Grizzlies have earned homecourt advantage in a playoff series. That said, simply having a deciding game in their building probably won’t get them any closer to victory without taking these factors into consideration: THE HEALTH FACTOR: Zach Randolph was the catalyst for the Memphis Grizzlies’ improbable upset of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in last year’s NBA playoffs. After missing 38 games this season, he seems to be rounding into
We’re gonna go out on a limb and say the artist formerly known as Ron Artest won’t be repeating as winner of the Citizenship Award. But what of the NBA’s other season-ending awards? Our winners are below, replete with the customary snotty remarks. EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: Indiana’s Larry Bird turned the Pacers into a borderline elite team, with offseason additions David West and George Hill and in-season addition Leandro Barbosa, adding needed playoff experience. He also preserved his cap room for this
Memphis is famous for barbeque, Beale Street and Blue Suede Shoes. Each of those has helped produce some of the finer institutions in the city including brisket, bourbon and, when the King was around, Burnin’ Love. If there is one area where Memphis has failed to captivate the masses, however, it is basketball – at least the professional variety. Yes, it’s true that a fanatical group of perhaps 150 natives – give or take a few (very few) – remember those glorious