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
You may already be a champion. If so, congratulations! Many fantasy leagues are finished, opting to avoid the zaniness that is part of every NBA season as it winds down, and figures to be worse than ever this year. Other leagues are just beginning the final “week” of their playoffs, which is actually 10 days. If you’re still playing, best of luck. You can expect stars to sit for no reason, injured guys to be shut down and unexpected big
As the truncated season winds down, teams are jockeying for playoff positioning and home-court advantage. One of those teams should be the San Antonio Spurs. But coach Gregg Popovich is playing a different game. Popovich, the silver-haired, long-tenured guru who is among the frontrunners for Coach of the Year Award, decided to sit out three of his top three players – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – for the second time this season. The result was the same as the last time
Around The League WAS @ CHA: Jordan Crawford scored 20 and the Wizards’ bench had fun, especially James Singleton (18 PTS, 12 REB) and Cartier Martin (19) as the Bobcats made very little effort to defend their home court. Corey Maggette played just 19 minutes off the bench, but did score 23 points. TOR @ IND: Without Andrea Bargnani (calf) the Raptors started Amir Johnson, who had 16 points. James Johnson (4) is still coming off the bench behind Alan Anderson (17)
Since their previous meeting on March 24, when Vinny Del Negro’s job was in the balance, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers have lost a combined three games. Needless to say, they have been two of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. They collide again for the third and the final time this season as Chris Paul and the Clippers visit Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies in Monday’s best game. The Clippers (34-22) hosted and won the first two meetings between
After having trouble on the road, the Miami Heat have predictably stepped up at home to help erase some bad karma. The team has an astounding home record of 23-2 and a win tonight would match the best home winning streak in franchise history with 18 consecutive victories. LeBron James and the Miami Heat look to extend their overall winning streak to three straight games as they host the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in Friday’s best game. This is the first and only meeting
All it took was for me to speculate here that something “must be wrong” with Monta Ellis, and he finally had a huge night — 33 points and 8 assists — to lead the Bucks to a much-needed win. Brandon Jennings added 18 and Drew Gooden (16 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) was solid. Ekpe Udoh played well in place of Ersan Ilyasova, who sat out with back spasms. For Atlanta, Josh Smith stuffed the scoresheet with 30 PTS, 18
The marriage started out so beautifully. Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers from the New Orleans Hornets as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan jumped for joy and proclaimed themselves as “lob city.” The team got off to a tremendous 19-8 start and looked destined to be an immediate contender. Soon after losing Chauncey Billups to a torn Achilles tendon, however, the team’s lack of cohesion became more apparent by the game. Caron Butler fell off the map, Griffin’s offense proved to be limited