|:: Touch The Sky [2-3] ♦ Stephen Curry is better than you.

[Clutch]

great game by Belinelli! (fool Warriors should've kept him ); man your Grizz are off to a bumpy start and with no relief in sight from the looks of the coming sched; i'd try giving Thabeet more burn just to mix it up

[mp3]

I like the simple format your posting and iam sure you will agree that it makes it easier to stay focused on the actual game without thinking of the massive post up you have waiting online lol

Hows that HOF working out then ? some low player stats there.

[Martti.]

Nice simple presentation, that's the way you should be going, not recapping 1230 games.

Tough start so far though. I'd expect Randolph to do better then 10 points and 3 boards.

[mp3]

I hope you dont make to many trades either i really like the core guys of Gay - Mayo - Zach - Brewer - Arthur.

Is id like to see anyone leave it would be A.I .... one of my all time fav's but even ive got tired of his antics with Pistons/Grizzlies.

[kibaxx7]

Only 14 minutes for Brewer? Booo!

Thanks for dropping by shadow As I said in the recap, I'll slowly start to give Ronnie more minutes. He wasn't very effective against the Pistons but had a nice game against the Raps.

great game by Belinelli! (fool Warriors should've kept him ); man your Grizz are off to a bumpy start and with no relief in sight from the looks of the coming sched; i'd try giving Thabeet more burn just to mix it up

I'm on the Belinelli bandwagon from now on. If he gets a game like this the next time I face Toronto, be sure I'll make a try to acquire him. The coming schedule is hell.. Lakers, Nuggets, Kings, Warriors, Clippers (all this on the road, and consecutive) then Rockets, Blazers and T-Wolves.

I like the simple format your posting and iam sure you will agree that it makes it easier to stay focused on the actual game without thinking of the massive post up you have waiting online lol

Hows that HOF working out then ? some low player stats there.

Lol, yeah I agree. I'll try to post a game a day, if I have time two. So far, HOF difficulty is killing me... If I can grab a couple of triumphs in this coming roadtrip, then I'll continue with it, if I go 0-6 I'll change it

Nice simple presentation, that's the way you should be going, not recapping 1230 games.

Tough start so far though. I'd expect Randolph to do better then 10 points and 3 boards.

Recapping 1230 games... what a stupid idea I had Zach is having some bad games because I focus the offensive in Gay, Mayo and Iverson... Randolph, Gasol and Conley are more on defense, along with Thabeet (MONSTER blocks!)

I hope you dont make to many trades either i really like the core guys of Gay - Mayo - Zach - Brewer - Arthur.

Is id like to see anyone leave it would be A.I .... one of my all time fav's but even ive got tired of his antics with Pistons/Grizzlies.

Well, I'll make trades, that's for sure. Iverson, Gay, Mayo, Brewer and Arthur are safe, but to be honest, I really don't like Randolph; I'm keeping him for the 2011 free agency, if I get there; and I'm also thinking in trading Gasol (I'm open to any advices you guys might have, on acquiring players).

[mp3]

I think Zach but i also dont have a good feeling playing with Marc Gasol i always find myself giving more burn to Hasheem or playing Zach and DA together !

[cavs4872]

Just out of curiosity, why did you simulate the second half of that game against Detroit? Other than that, I really like where you're going with this association so far.

[kibaxx7]

MEM @ DEN :: Mayo, Gay hand Nuggs annoying loss
Grizzlies.com | November 1, 2009

I had to watch the full game on tape-delay, because I was away from home all day. Superb 106-90 win for Memphis, shooting a blistering 63% from the field; some quick bullets from the match. First bullet goes to our man O.J. Mayo. I've got to admit that when the buzzer starts and everybody is on the floor, the benefits of Mayo are obvious; I don’t know if he took a significant step forward mentally, or if something happened during halftime that justified benching him for the majority of the third period (only 3 mins). But from a basketball standpoint, it’s clear that if he's in uniform and ready to play, he should be getting significant minutes; everything just looked so much better with him on the floor. He’s in superhuman condition and brings an amazing energy level on both ends, but even more, it’s his versatility and energy level that makes him a special player. He punished Denver's guards in the post, made lightning-fast decisions passing the ball, identifying the open man and correct play before he touched the ball and opening up the offense for a career-high 13 assists to go with 18 points (also a season-high). When he didn’t have the ball, he was flying to the open spot on the floor and cutting furiously to make an aggressive drive (8/14 field goals). And this is all without his outside shot being back yet (only 1/1 from beyond the arc), which is yet another weapon by him. And to complete the statline, his defense had a huge impact, limiting J.R. Smith to only 6/19 shots (14 points). Gold medal for O.J.

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With 3 games played, Marc Gasol looks a little lost. Rushing in the post, trying to power through double-teams instead of passing out of them (Nené Hilario and Kenyon Martin just butchered him). He looks slow defensively, and shoving Martin when he gave a foul was a sign that he's a little frustrated trying to work back into the team’s flow, as Hasheem Thabeet is showing (really, really slowly) why he was picked by Memphis. Despite that, Gasol did end up helping the team in the end (a key block on Chauncey Billups in the last period), using his size to punish Denver's 2nd unit in the second half, not only allowing Memphis to survive with Mayo sitting, but getting the Nuggets in the penalty with 4:32 left in the third. As the season goes on, hopefully the coach will start using Marc with a specific purpose in mind and in a more clever way.

I haven’t even gotten to the Grizz’ leading scorers. Honestly, what is there to say? Missing 1/10 field goals is a good game plan, and Rudy Gay was on that one tonight. Going 3/3 from 3-point land is going to swing the game in a major way. I've already talked about Mayo, so, as for Zach Randolph, the criticism didn't jinx him. 8/11 from field for Z-Bo, finishing with a line of 17/3/3 with (catch this) 0 turnovers. Before I forget, also nice game from Mike Conley: 13 points and a season-high 9 dimes. For Denver, Smith and Billups were a combined 8/35 from the floor, just terrible. The more troubling part of this loss for them is the fire and energy they played with in the first half (a 42-33 score for them with 7 mins. left in it), completely vanished in the second. Given these obvious facets of tonight’s game, it’s not hard to see why the Nuggets lost. Only Carmelo Anthony made the cut with 31 points, five assists and a game-best six steals.

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[shadowgrin]

No Ronnie Brewer?! Fuck this shite, I'm outta this thread.

[kibaxx7]

I think Zach but i also dont have a good feeling playing with Marc Gasol i always find myself giving more burn to Hasheem or playing Zach and DA together !

Yep, Thabeet is slowly gaining more confidence and having some nice stats. Arthur had 8 and 7 rebounds against Denver, really nice too.

Just out of curiosity, why did you simulate the second half of that game against Detroit? Other than that, I really like where you're going with this association so far.

Ah, had to leave in a couple of hours so I played the first half and then simulated, I really wanted to have a game posted, that's why. Might let the CPU play the first and then play the 2nd in other games, if I see a nice challenge for me. And thanks a lot.

No Ronnie Brewer?! Fuck this shite, I'm outta this thread.

8 points but I wrote Arthur because of his 7 rebs; just as Thabeet, Ronnie's getting confident as games happen. I got a feeling he will play really nice against Sacramento.

[Mark.]

Looking good dude Good to see your back on track, I hope this one lasts ya, should be a challenge!

[Spotlight]

Are you planning to stick with HOF level? For more realistic shot percentage, I would suggest you to reduce medium and long distance shots percentage to 47(for both USER and CPU). So far your association looks great, keep it up!

[mp3]

Good win , Gay and Mayo be beasting !!

Id stick with HOF , i love not been able to dominate with teams and makes a win even more sweeter

Nice update !!

[kibaxx7]

Looking good dude Good to see your back on track, I hope this one lasts ya, should be a challenge!

Thanks man! I also hope this one lasts, I already have the backups, and I like challenges Of course, trades and signings coming later so it's a little easier.

Are you planning to stick with HOF level? For more realistic shot percentage, I would suggest you to reduce medium and long distance shots percentage to 47(for both USER and CPU). So far your association looks great, keep it up!

If I win against the Kings, then I might stick with HOF difficulty. And yeah, I suppose I should lower the FG% a little... thanks a lot!

Good win , Gay and Mayo be beasting !!

Id stick with HOF , i love not been able to dominate with teams and makes a win even more sweeter

Nice update !!

I focused the scoring on Gay when Mayo was on the bench and viceversa. I wasn't dominating at all, I was losing by 11 at the second quarter, then Melo went to rest and my offense was unstoppable in the second half.

Game against Sac-Town coming tonight!

[kibaxx7]

MEM @ SAC :: Kings caught in a Bear Trap game
Grizzlies.com | November 2, 2009

Sigh. Both teams shooting 41% percent, below 25% from beyond the arc, not the typical 100+ points match (but new alternate J's!). This is one of those games where you forget that 45 minutes of basketball occurred and just start ranting about the final few plays and their implications, but there was a lot more to this game than that. The Grizzlies played a tough, physical, nearly chippy game against the Kings, and matched their physicality through it. The first half was not really nice for the Grizz, especially on offense. The big story was how good of a job the Kings did freeing up Tyreke Evans off the ball. 5 of Tyreke's 8 field goals in the first half came off of assists, and most of those were lay-up finishes or opportunities right at the basket. Sacramento tallied 16 of their 24 assists in the first half because of this, for a 48-44 halftime advantage. The third quarter did not go quite so well: when the first bucket of a quarter is Spencer Hawes banging in a three, it’s a bad sign. Down the stretch, Memphis got more than a little bit predictable, as Rudy Gay ended up scoring 12 of the team’s final 20 points; something has to happen to get more offensive balance, either with different guys initiating plays or guys focusing on getting open and hitting their shots rather than standing around and watching him go to the basket. The defense was the standout point, because Sac-Town's last 15 points of the fourth quarter came far away from the paint. In the last two plays of the contest, Darrell Arthur hit a 7-footer for a 80-80 tie, and Zach Randolph hit two free throws for the 82-80 score; coach Lionel Hollins attacked Jason Thompson on his last two possessions as he couldn't hit from the charity stripe.

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Now, Memphis as a team had 15 assists to also 15 turnovers. That’s not going to get it done on the long haul. Also bad night from the floor for O.J. Mayo (7/20, 0/4 from 3-point territory), but his defense over Francisco Garcia and in some passages of the game Donte Greene kept him off the court for most of it. When O.J. couldn't hit the jumpers, Ronnie Brewer was there on the next possession to "save" him: season-high 18 points from the former Jazz, to go with 2 boards and 2 steals. Before you say that 15 shots is too many for Ronnie, consider that Mayo was in defense mode tonight; when O.J. was 1/8 by the second quarter, didn't shoot anymore until 5:40 left in the third; Mayo won’t shoot 35% from the field again this season, you can bet on that. I don’t mind too many shots from bench players, so long as they’re decent looks and the situation calls for it. Z-Bo came back to Earth tonight, with only 7 points (after 17/3/3 against Denver), but a season-high 7 boards.

The bad news: the struggles from beyond the arc. After netting 5-of-8 against the Nuggets, this time it was an abysmal 3-of-14; the good news is Brewer did hit a clutch three with roughly 25 seconds in the game left that tied it up at 78. I also think that coach Hollins found Marc Gasol's role in this team: Pau's brother shredded the Kings on defense. The same Gasol whose game I was so critical of in past games. Well, he did little but defending (he did scored four points) but he defended a LOT, as he had 6 of his 8 rebounds on the second half and also had all of his 4 blocks on the last period. How did the Grizzlies pull this one off in the end? Following Gasol's example: tough, hard-nosed, never-give-up basketball, that's how. Not forcing the issue on offense, and playing smart defense. I still can't discuss seriously about the team making the postseason, but the team has improved and will continue improving, and upward motion is what we need to see. Way to go Grizzlies! Memphis now has to fly to Oakland, and try to win their third straight contest against Stephen Curry and the yet undefeated Golden State Warriors (2-0!).

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[Justine.]

What a game by Evans but still loss. Nice numbers by Rudy too.

[cavs4872]

You happy now shadowgrin? And Thierry., solid win, but why not get Gasol more involved on the offensive end? With him playing great defense, it seems like he deserves it. I think you saw, but I was able to average 21 PPG with him in my Grizzlies association. He's really underrated in the post, and also has a pretty good mid-range jump shot to go along with that.

[shadowgrin]

4 TO by Ronnie B.

[mp3]

LOL@shadowgrin

Nice win love the alt road jerseys !

Huge game by Tyreke !

[kibaxx7]

MEM @ GSW :: Stephen Curry is better than you.
Grizzlies.com | November 4, 2009

I'm less interested in the particulars of this game than in what it shows overall; this is the kind of game that shows why the Grizzlies aren't a postseason team right now. Oh, they're a good team, but right now they're not going to rise to eighth in the conference. Their vision doesn't extend far enough yet -- nor is it burned in their consciousness and heart -- to realize that this is the kind of game that only makes that task far harder. Precision, execution, physicality, focus, swagger, confidence... you didn't see any of those things oozing from this Memphis team tonight. It was a horrible game for them. Look at Golden State: they were under a severe handicap with both role players Kelenna Azubuike and Brandan Wright out injured. What did they have to fall back on under such duress? Rookie Stephen Curry. Stephen played great from the bench, and was the point of the spear that worsted us, with 18 points, six boards and four assists in only 22 minutes. Darrell Arthur was one of the bigger guys we had to put on Curry to try and slow him down. He did a decent enough job on his own, but we just don't know how to run rotations or shift the defense... it was painful. Ronnie Brewer also found himself facing Curry a few times. At 6'7", with great defense, Ronnie was the best on Curry, it produced fruit for long (Curry ended the game 7/15, but 1/6 against Brewer).

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Warriors coach Don Nelson planned and executed a fantastic defensive system, as they left a single guy on Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo when they were outside, but immediately sent help as soon as any of them made any kind of move and then threw the house at them if Rudy or O.J. made it inside. They forced everybody else to shoot the ball, usually outside (six players of nine used by coach Lionel Hollins had to shoot from 3-point land, even Zach Randolph). Mayo shot 9/18 for 19 points, and had his usual 3 boards but only 2 assists coming from 6 against Sacramento and his career-high 13 against Denver. Everything was tough out there for him. Rudy added 17 points and four boards, while Allen Iverson only got 6 shots up and all of the ones I saw were jumpers, and only got 2 free throws; we needed much more from him and it wasn't there. Arthur: 0-4 from the field, 0 points, 2 rebounds, Curry defense. Ugh. Hasheem Thabeet at least put up a fight both figuratively and literally, he's got that reliable, "never-quit" thing going on, seven rebounds and three blocks in 10 minutes. That's nice. Marc Gasol really had a sweet game. His rebounding was strong again (seven) and he shot aggressively from some more range. He's slowly shooting and rebounding more and it's on his way to be very dangerous, very soon. The last good news was the baptism of rookie forward DeMarre Carroll, with 6 points (3/3) and a rebound in 7 mins. Really good, considering Ellis was defending him.

So, final thoughts; as I said, Golden State had defense tonight to fall back on even in inclement situations. What did the Grizz have to fall back on when things started going south? As we saw tonight, mostly a spiral of frustration. Hollins has to make a choice: either guard the primary threat or guard the secondary and tertiary options, because they can't yet manage it all at once. It's not only a lack of individual defense either, because the rotations, the understanding, the hustle, aren't there. Make life tough for Curry, here's Anthony Randolph, Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette draining wide open shots. Stay home on them and Curry will butcher you. When the other team has a complete defense, it's harder for you to have a good night, and that's a 98-83 loss. Despite that, Memphis did a good job on the fast break and also got more free throws. BUT! Turned the ball over more (13-10), were killed on the boards (51-35 for the Warriors, and zero, yes, zero, offensive rebounds for the Grizz), but the difference in the game was primarily Golden State's bench, on fire (47-24). I said going into this 5-game trip that 2-3 was the standard. Still achievable, but Friday's game at the Staples against the Lakers becomes important now. Aw...

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[kibaxx7]

What a game by Evans but still loss. Nice numbers by Rudy too.

Thanks man. Rudy didn't have a nice game this last one.

You happy now shadowgrin? And Thierry., solid win, but why not get Gasol more involved on the offensive end? With him playing great defense, it seems like he deserves it. I think you saw, but I was able to average 21 PPG with him in my Grizzlies association. He's really underrated in the post, and also has a pretty good mid-range jump shot to go along with that.

Thanks man. I saw you averaged a lot of points with Marc, but if I can't get Rudy over 20 ppg, then I can't get Marc! But I'm slowly shooting more FGs with him.

4 TO by Ronnie B.

Yes, not acceptable.

LOL@shadowgrin

Nice win love the alt road jerseys !

Huge game by Tyreke !

Also loving the alternates. Tyreke was unstoppable! Hawes also was good in some stages of the game, but nothing more than that.

[cavs4872]

No worries. Golden State beat me in my Grizzlies association too.

[Martti.]

You have to learn to shoot free throws and grab some offensive boards. Nice job limiting their points in the paint, but 94 points outside the paint is unacceptable.

[Clutch]

Hasheem Thabeet at least put up a fight both figuratively and literally, he's got that reliable, "never-quit" thing going on, seven rebounds and three blocks in 10 minutes. That's nice.

Thabeet ---> MORE... BURN...

despite the L, nice to see Iverson playing efficient and in control

[kibaxx7]

No worries. Golden State beat me in my Grizzlies association too.

Yeah, but they are 3-0! And Curry's a monster.

You have to learn to shoot free throws and grab some offensive boards. Nice job limiting their points in the paint, but 94 points outside the paint is unacceptable.

Yeah, I had some problems with FTs and offensive rebs in past games; but against GSW it was a simulated game (I watched the whole game). 94/98 coming from jumpers, it's a pain.

Thabeet ---> MORE... BURN...

despite the L, nice to see Iverson playing efficient and in control

You want MORE BURN with Hasheem? Wait until you see what he did against Kobe's Lakers. (already played the game)

And yep, Allen is slowly shooting more efficiently. I move Mayo to the point when he's on the court; should I play him at PG more? I only do that when Mayo or Conley are in foul trouble; I don't have another PG backup but Lester Hudson.