Posted 2/02 at 1:14 PM
The Memphis Grizzlies conclude what will arguably be their toughest stretch of games of the season tonight in Cleveland after coming away with a big 95-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night.
With tonight’s game marking the fourth game in five nights tonight’s contest presents the greatest challenge to the Grizzlies, not only because the Cavaliers are the best home team in the NBA, but also because it could be a letdown game after last night’s emotional win. As hard as it might be to do, the Grizzlies have to leave the emotion from last night’s win in the rearview mirror and focus on LeBron James and Cavaliers tonight. The Grizzlies are one of only five teams in the NBA who have defeated both the Lakers and Cavaliers (a list that includes the Nuggets, Jazz, Rockets and Raptors), so there is no reason to think they can’t come up with another win tonight. The key to stopping the Cavaliers will be to keep LeBron James in check, but the Grizzlies bigs will also have to keep an eye on Shaquille O’Neal, who has bounced back from a slow start with his new team to score in double figures in 18 of the last 19 games and over his last seven games has averaged 17.3 points on .694 shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Here are a few things to watch for in tonight’s contest…
Looking for payback: The Grizzlies will have to beware of a Cleveland team that will be looking for payback tonight after falling to the Grizzlies 111-109 in overtime on December 8. That particular game was a defining moment this season for the Grizzlies as it gave them the confidence that they could defeat any team in the NBA. Would the victories that came later in the season against the likes of the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, Jazz and Trail Blazers would have happened if the Grizzlies had failed to pick up that win? Possibly, but there is no questioning what that win did for the psyche of this young Grizzlies team. That win served as a launching point for the best December in the team’s history, a Coach of the Month nod for Lionel Hollins, an 11 game home winning streak and the start of a momentum changing stretch of games that has firmly placed the Grizzlies in the playoff picture over halfway through the season. The Cavaliers are playing the best basketball of any team in the league right now, even without Mo Williams, but with one win against LeBron and his running mates already, there is no doubt that the Grizzlies have the talent to pull off another upset.
Matchup of the night: As is usually the case when matching up against the Cavaliers, the key to the game will be slowing down LeBron James. The last time these two teams met up James had a very LeBron-like 43 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The task of slowing him down will be placed on Rudy Gay who will start against James, but Grizzlies Head Coach Lionel Hollins might be advised to give James multiple looks tonight in the effort to slow down the reigning league MVP. While Kobe Bryant went off for 44 points last night, it might be worth it to have O.J. Mayo match up with James for certain stretches tonight as well. Mayo did an excellent job of defending Brandon Roy earlier in the season, and if James gets going offensively, it wouldn’t hurt to give him another look. After missing last night’s game, Sam Young should also be available tonight to give James a change of pace. Regardless of who checks James, the Grizzlies will need to rely on Marc Gasol and Hasheem Thabeet to provide a shot-blocking presence down-low as a second line of defense.
Stat of the night: If the Grizzlies are going to come away with a win tonight at Quicken Loans Arena they will have their work cut out for them, as the Cavaliers have been close to unbeatable recently at The Q. The Cavaliers are 17-1 and has held their opponents to 93.7 points while scoring 104.0 points per. To make the situation more imposing, the Cavaliers are 10-0 against Western Conference opponents at The Q. Since the 2008-09 season the Cavaliers have only lost one contest at home to a Western Conference opponent.
Posted 2/02 at 1:14 PM
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