Brad Hurt's Memphis Grizzlies fan blog

The Grizzlies caught a break with the absence of Toronto's Chris Bosh on Saturday, and they took advantage of it by beating the Raptors 78-70.  The Grizzlies were shorthanded themselves, playing without three of their regulars.  Rudy Gay was a late scratch because of a sore hip, a sprained ankle sidelined Kyle Lowry, and Darrell Arthur missed his second straight game due to a family illness.  With those three out the win became even sweeter.

O.J. Mayo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies close out the game.  That came after the rookie couldn't buy a basket early on, missing 10 of his first 12 attempts.  His assist to Marc Gasol for a fast-break layup in the third quarter capped an 11-0 run to put the Grizzlies on top for good.

Continue reading "Grizzlies 78, Raptors 70"

A poor first quarter cut short any chance the Grizzlies had of exploiting a struggling L.A. Clippers team on Friday.  The Clippers entered the game riding a seven-game losing streak, but they jumped on the Grizzlies early and came away with a 126-105 win at FedEx Forum.

Zach Randolph led all scorers with 35 points for the Clippers, who set a franchise record by connecting on 16 3-pointers.  That marked the second time this season the Grizzlies have allowed a record 3-point performance.  The New York Knicks set their own franchise record against the Grizzlies in a 132-103 win in December.  The Clippers shot 59 percent from the floor, including 55 percent from 3-point range.  It goes without saying that such a defensive breakdown is not going to win many ballgames.  The problem is that it is now February, and the Grizzlies still have not figured out how to cover shooters on defense.  It really is a simple concept:  Just stand in front of the guy with the ball and stick your arms in the air.  And yet, this team has played together for four months and still not learned a lesson they should have mastered years ago.

Continue reading "Clippers 126, Grizzlies 105"

The long losing streak is over, and it appears the Grizzlies are taking a turn for the better under Lionel Hollins.  The Grizzlies won their second straight game on Wednesday, surviving a late rally by Houston to hold on for a 104-93 win.  O.J. Mayo scored 32 against the Rockets, two nights after putting up 33 in a win at Washington.  The two wins are the first consecutive victories for the Grizzlies in nearly two months and the first consecutive double-digit triumphs in two years.

Hollins now has a 2-3 record as head coach this season, which includes the final three losses of a 12-game skid that followed a surprising 102-82 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 4.  Hollins has made his mark on this team already, moving Mike Conley to the point and proclaiming him the most important part of his system.  With that removal of doubt concerning Conley's future with the team, the guard has emerged as a leader.  The team has been rejuvenated on the defensive end of the floor, where they got the season off to a good start before struggling in December.

Continue reading "Grizzlies turnaround is possible"

The Grizzlies introduced once-and-current head coach Lionel Hollins at a press conference this afternoon, allowing him to get in a full day of practice with the team before Tuesday's game against Denver.  It is still unclear at this time who will serve as Hollins' assistant coaches.

The Grizzlies (11-32) fell to the Nets 99-88 on Saturday despite hanging around for three quarters and winning the third.  As in most of their recent losses they collapsed in the fourth quarter, losing the period 27-18.  They opened the game by shooting well, especially from the perimeter.  O.J. Mayo broke out of his recent shooting slump to lead the Grizzlies with 23 points.  Mayo is having a rough January, suffering through the same shooting woes that haunted Rudy Gay earlier this season.  It was good to see him match Vince Carter point-for-point.  Statistically, the Grizzlies didn't play all that poorly.  Probably the telling stat was the fact that New Jersey only turned the ball over six times, while the Grizzlies coughed it up 11 times.  New Jersey scored 11 points off the Grizzlies' turnovers while the Grizzlies scored seven points off the Nets' miscues.

Continue reading "Grizzlies fall to Nets, prepare for change in style"

Lionel Hollins will sign a contract this weekend to become the full-time coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.  No doubt barraged by questions about this hasty and, well, questionable, decision, owner Michael Heisley said this one is all on him.  Heisley said this is the first coach he has ever selected himself, and he will take responsibility for the outcome of his decision.  On one hand, that seems awfully big of him.  At closer inspection, however, you have to ask : How much risk is Heisley himself actually taking?  His job can't be on the line if this pick doesn't pan out.  He's the owner.  Still, it brings up the possibility that he is tired of relying on his general manager to make such a critical decision for the franchise.  This may bring him one step closer to replacing Chris Wallace.  It's a mess.  There is no other way to describe it.  The Grizzlies franchise is in a state of chaos.  Any dreams of a three-year plan are now officially shot, not that such a plan ever really got off the ground to begin with.  We can only hope that somehow Hollins has improved as a coach since he was last here, or else Heisley is just wasting more time and money.

Continue reading "Grizzlies tab Hollins, fade against Knicks"

I have just read that Lionel Hollins is bringing Maurice Cheeks with him as an assistant coach, so Hollins may not end up being the full-time guy after all.  Cheeks was one of the first names to come up in rumors yesterday as a possible replacement for Marc Iavaroni.  Hollins hasn't signed a contract as of yet, so he isn't officially the new head coach.  All I am asking is that Michael Heisley and his front office staff put some consideration into this move.  The Grizzlies are struggling to get fans to come to their games, and they need to make a positive move now to show that they are committed to winning.  I guess I will get off Chris Wallace's back for now, but I still don't trust him not to screw this up somehow.

According to ESPN, Avery Johnson declined an offer from the Grizzlies, which doesn't surprise me much.  The Grizzlies reportedly offered Johnson a five-year deal to leave his analyst position with ESPN.  Assistant Johnny Davis will coach the team tonight against the New York Knicks.

Continue reading "Coaching Update"

The Grizzlies fired Marc Iavaroni last night.  Good job, here's a cookie.  Unfortunately, they couldn't wait to screw it up.  They had to name Lionel Hollins as the permanent replacement to Iavaroni less than 12 hours later.  That was after announcing that there would be a league-wide search.  Hollins has been the interim coach before, and we all know how well that went.  This will be his third stint with the Grizzlies.  Apparently I forgot about one of them last night.  He is 18-46 in that time.

What is disgusting is that Michael Heisley is cheap, as my new hero Geoff Calkins pointed out in his column in the Commercial Appeal today.  http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/23/makes-no-cents/

Heisley and general manager Chris Wallace are not willing to spend the money it takes to make this franchise successful.  It's going to take a financial commitment to lure a top-notch, or even mid-level coach to Memphis.  They didn't even bother to try this time.  Why even lie to us and act like you are going to look outside the organization?  Really, Wallace is the problem.  It's nothing new.  I've said it before.  I'm sure he's probably not done screwing the fans, so I'll probably say it again.

Continue reading "Grizzlies Front-Office Ineptitude Continues"

The Memphis Grizzlies fired head coach Marc Iavaroni Thursday night.  Thus continues the trend of professional sports owners giving their coaches the "kiss of death" vote of confidence.  Everytime an owner says a coach's job is safe, you know he is about to get the boot.  It's the same as when a coach says he's not interested in any job other than his current one.  Grizz owner Michael Heisley said earlier in the year that Iavaroni was safe, only to retract that statement prior to the New Year, when his tone changed to "The month of January will decide Iavaroni's fate." The Grizzlies are currently in the midst of a seven-game losing skid, among their longest of the season.  Their lone win this month came against Dallas, and they got thumped by the lowly Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday, 101-86.  That loss was the Grizzlies' second of the year at the hands of the Bobcats.

Continue reading "Iavaroni done as Grizzlies coach"

The more they lose, the less credible the Grizzlies become as an organization.  It's getting hard to buy even the players' comments anymore.  The team lost for the 13th time in its last 15 games on Friday, and they seem to bring the same lazy attitude to the court every night.  I know deep down somewhere they must want to win.  If they didn't, they wouldn't be human.  I understand that they are young, but they don't appear to be learning much from their losses.  Every night, we hear them say that they just didn't get it done.  They say the opponent just wanted it more.  If coach Iavaroni is the problem, and I'm sure a lot of this has to do with him, I still think the players could play together and win some games in spite of him.  So you have to

Continue reading "Jazz 101, Grizzlies 91"

The Memphis Grizzlies faced a short-handed Cleveland team on Tuesday, but the Cavs still had the only player they really needed.

LeBron James put up a triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as Cleveland breezed past the Grizzlies 102-87.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace both missed the game, making things a little easier for the Grizzlies to get the ball inside.

Darius Miles appeared in his ninth game of this season, one short of the 10 that would put his salary completely on the Portland Trailblazers.  Miles scored 13 points in 13 minutes, a promising offensive display.  I think he has proven that he still has the potential to be a consistent scorer, although he hasn't gotten extensive playing time yet.  He has definitely made the most of the time he has gotten.

Continue reading "Cavaliers 106, Grizzlies 87"