Teflon Don said it. In both performances of his M.E.M.P.H.I.S Grizzlies song last night, the lyric “We can’t miss! We on fire!” came out. And he was right.
The Grizzlies shot 55 percent from the floor in an impressive beat down of the Boston Celtics in
Dominant from the Start
The Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders, leading by 16 after the first quarter, 22 at the half, 19 after the third quarter and winning by a 20 point margin. The margin matches
Don’t think the Grizzlies sluggish third quarter woes are entirely gone though. The Grizzlies were outscored in that quarter 30-27, but were so dominant throughout the rest of the game that it was a non-issue.
Rudy Gay led the team in scoring with 28 points, with O.J. Mayo adding 17. Next in line was, surprisingly, backup point guard Marcus Williams with 16, and Zach Randolph with 13.
Other bench players followed Williams’ lead, as Sam Young added 10 points and Hasheem Thabeet finished with 7.
Thabeet was playing in his first game since being recalled from the d-league Dakota Wizards, and as Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley promised the Commercial Appeal earlier this week, he logged more than 25 minutes. Thabeet was only in the d-league for about a week, but he seems to have learned something. His final line (the 7 points mentioned above plus 6 boards and a block) was one of the best of the season and a huge improvement from his usual performances.
Bizzaro?
So despite the home losing streak being over, the Grizzlies are still acting somewhat like the Bizzaro team that’s impossible to predict, although some of these things are turning into trends.
The road streak continues – that’s one Bizzaro Grizz point still in effect, but again with a few more it will become expected.
Again the backups played well and this is the second game in a row with solid production from the bench. If this continues up until Ronnie Brewer returns, I’ll take it out of the Bizarro category, but for now it’s still an anomaly.
A big test comes over the next seven days. The Grizzlies have back-to-back games at home, followed by a home-road back-to-back in the middle of the week. The Grizzlies swept their only other home back-to-back in January, and have not lost on the second night of a back-to-back since February 6.
If the Grizzlies win at least 2 out of the three home games AND continue their road streak against
Playoffs?
There are 17 games left in the season, and the Grizzlies are currently 3.5 games behind
Big Love from the Hometown
Last night’s Memphis Sport watch party featured a full house of Grizzlies fans at the Poplar Lounge – with cheers and free stuff to go around. Fans won MS O.J. Mayo t-shirts, Grizzlies flags and hats, some of Jack Eaton’s books and even some premium tickets to Saturday’s game against
Everyone also enjoyed free Red Bull from the Red Bull girls, and two performances by Teflon Don. Also a HUGE Grizzlies win.
The Grizzlies are now 1-0 with a +20 point differential when Memphis Sport throws a party to watch the game.
The Grizzlies next game is against the Knicks Friday night at 7 p.m. CST at FedExForum. You can follow @douggillon on Twitter for live updates and insight during games.
