Grizzlies hope to recover against weak Bobcats

The Grizzlies know their task tonight.  They must take advantage of a favorable matchup and defend their home court against the visiting Charlotte Bobcats, who are definitely beatable.  The Bobcats will have their top scorer, Gerald Wallace, back in the lineup as they try to win consecutive games for the second time this year.  Wallace, who is averaging 15.4 ppg, lost both his father and grandmother last week.

The Grizzlies put up a good fight at New Orleans on Tuesday before falling 91-84.  What kept them from winning that game was the fact that New Orleans got hot late in the game and the Grizzlies couldn’t find an answer.  The Grizzlies need more than one or two guys to contribute in order to win on any given night, and that just didn’t happen consistently on Tuesday.

The Grizzlies can take some comfort in knowing that the Bobcats’ lineup isn’t nearly as lethal from top to bottom as the Hornets’ lineup.  After Wallace, recently-acquired Boris Diaw is the team’s next leading scorer.  Diaw is averaging over 15 ppg in three games since coming over from Phoenix.  Overall he is putting up 9.2 ppg.  Along with Wallace, D.J. Augustin, Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton average double figures.

The Bobcats have some scrappy and physical players in Diaw, Adam Morrison, Sean May and Nazr Mohammed, but Diaw is clearly the most talented of the bunch.  The Grizzlies should be able to force the tempo against the Bobcats, and they will probably need to hit some jumpers to set the tone.  I don’t think they want to get into a physical battle with the Bobcats.  Besides, if they can get off to a good start, this is a game they could lead by double digits.  If they are able to get a lead like that in the first half, we will see how much they have grown since the Oklahoma City debacle.

Most importantly, the Grizzlies simply need to have a good shooting start to this game to shake off the bad feelings from Tuesday’s loss and get on their way to another win streak.  They showed signs of being a playoff contender over the past couple of weeks, even in the very deep Western Conference.  Now is the time when they need to prove that they can learn from a loss, put it behind them, and beat an inferior team at home.