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Rudy Gay vs. Ersan Ilyasoya didn't turn out to be quite the mismatch I expected.
Posted 11/22 at 10:05 AM
It’s been a Grizz filled weekend. I stayed in Friday night and watched the Grizz-76ers game and was in attendance at last night’s home game vs. the Bucks. Here’s my take on the weekend’s games.
The 76ers win was the biggest win of the young season. While the Grizz had put together a 2-game win streak, it was against teams they should’ve beaten at home. The 76ers game was a litmus test to see if Memphis could win a game on the road against a decent team. The Grizz controlled the 2nd half and the end result didn’t seem to be in doubt through much of the 4th quarter. Road wins are precious and the Grizzlies are going to need to continue to steal games like this.
The bench is coming together and has to continue to play well to keep the Grizzlies in games. Rookies DeMarre Carroll and Sam Young are becoming important pieces. Carroll provides the energy, hustle and defense while Sam Young has carried some of the 2nd unit scoring burden. Young scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting last night and although he only had 4 points against the 76ers, he did have this ferocious dunk:
The Bucks loss was frustrating but understandable. The Grizz came out firing on all cylinders and took a 10 point lead to end the 1st quarter. Milwaukee whittled the lead down until super-rook Brandon Jennings got hot in the 3rd quarter. Jennings looked like a chucker for most of the 1st half, throwing up off balance three-pointers. In the 2nd half, watch out. He started hitting his jumpers and taking the ball to the paint. He seemed unstoppable at times and for the most part, the Grizz played decent defense on him. It was just a case of good offense beating good defense. It happens, just not by rookies. I came away impressed. Congratulations Milwaukee, you got a good-to-great player for the next 10+ years. (I’m not afraid of hyperbole).
As for the Grizz, I think last night’s loss was just a case of a team losing some of its mojo and pressing too much. When the Bucks made their run and took the lead in the 2nd half, the Grizz got away from some of the team-oriented basketball that was the blueprint for their wins and started to press too much. Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo both forced a few bad shots and that was that.
When Ersan Ilyasoya goes for 18 points and 12 rebounds, it just might not be your night. One of the bright spots for the Grizzlies this season is that Zach Randolph hasn’t forced bad shots but last night I think the Grizz might’ve benefited from the Z-Bo of old showing up. Randolph probably could’ve scored on Ilyasoya about every time down the court. I would’ve fed him the ball like it was a Thanksgiving turkey.
Rudy Gay has been stepping it up. He’s always been a scorer but he’s adding to his game. He’s had 10 rebounds in back-to-back games and on consecutive nights I’ve seen him set up other teammates with great passes. He’s starting to fill up the stat sheet and is playing better defense as well. Rudy Gay might be turning into the player Grizz fans have been predicting since his second season.
The Grizz turn around and face the Kings on Monday night. University of Memphis hero Tyreke Evans returns to the Forum and the Grizz should go for the jugular. They’re coming off a loss and should win this game. I’ll be there.
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It’s time to really build the team.We need experience.We already have 3 young great players(OJ,RUDY AND GASOL).Play OJ at PG.HE is a PG.HE only need time.I think he could play 2 but only sometimes,he is real a PG.I hope we could add a great SG and a PF in the next 2 drafts.
PF: Monroe,Motiejunas or Davis
SG:Harrison Barnes or Rodney Williams
Wallace make one trade and change our team situation.This add defense and experience
Trade:Conley,Jaric,Zach and Haddadi for Barbosa and Amare
This year
PG:OJ/M WILL/TINSLEY
SG:SAM/OJ/BARBOSA
SF:RUDY/DEMARRE
PF:AMARE/DARREL/HUNTER
C:GASOL/THABEET