| Grizzlies Lose To Rockets; One Word... |
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| Written by Matthew Noe |
| Friday, 05 February 2010 21:21 |
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...s-l-u-m-p. Yep, I said it, it's time. It's been quite a while since the Grizzlies really cut loose on offense, and tonight did nothing to change that. It's well-known around the NBA that the Rockets have been playing above their collective hustling little heads all season, and the Grizzlies have enjoyed (?) that same treatment to some degree from the national press. "Enjoy", however, was the last word that any Grizzlies fan would use to describe this "game". So just what went wrong? No. Freaking. Energy. As in, a turtle as old as Methuselah with an armful of Oxycontin. This lack of molecular motion manifest itself in lots of ways: -Good grief, I never once thought we'd get to where we  just expect to win the battle of the boards, but when your team leads the league in rebound differential, that can happen. And tonight, the Grizzlies were just flat-out hustled into the gutter on the glass. Minus 15 total rebounds, largely courtesy of former D-League headcase Joey Dorsey. It wasn't really some complex disadvantage born of technique or mismatches (Lord knows no current Rocket is even 6'10", except the Aussie, and he is evidently allergic to the smell of paint), it was just pure hustle. Very discouraging. -Settling for poor shots when the hi-lo or 2-man with repost doesn't work. This is not good, since one of the worst easily discernible things that was happening early on in the season was a total lack of patience and total lack of ability to reboot the offense after a first option fails. This leads to lots of rushed/hurried/ill-advised shots, which leads to things like 0-5 from Tinsley AND Carroll, and 6-22 from Mayo and Conley combined. Yowie. Now we all know that the Rockets are one of the best-drilled defensive teams in the NBA, but the Grizzlies' offense has fallen off, and it needs to press that button on its Lifealert necklace ("I've fallen, and my scoring average can't get up!"). -Failing to come out with the level of energy the Grizzlies have habitually displayed to start the third quarter this season. It's all mental as far as this goes-negative performances become self-fulfilling and feedback-looping occurrences, and the Grizzlies cannot afford to circle the bowl too many times if the "p-word" is to stay in the Griz' lexicon for this season. The West is just as tough as the talking heads say it is. -Games like the last several serve to demonstrate the importance of the Grizzlies' backcourt perimeter shooting and how it can positively or negatively affect the outcome of a game. The energy aspect is just as present here, and relates to something I said earlier-when the ZBo/Gasol option is covered, the perimeter players have to start moving and setting screens for one another to take advantage of teams digging back to keep the Grizzlies' paint attack under control. It's a simple game, really. Loooonnng flight to Minny tonight, fellows. Plenty of time to rest and reflect on the egg you just laid. Come on Grizzlies. Take 'em down tomorrow night. |
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