Grizzlies Battle Division Rival

The Grizzlies (47-21) will face the Mavericks (44-25) tonight in Dallas. The Grizzlies currently hold a 2-1 lead over the Mavericks in the season series. Dallas look to even the series and gain ground in the Southwest Division. The Mavericks are 3.5 games back of the Grizzlies in the division. The Grizzlies are 8-7 since the All Star break, with some tough losses to non playoffs bound team.

The team is frustrated and so is the fan base. The Grizzlies schedule doesn’t get any better after this meeting with Dallas. Their next 7 games are against the Blazers, Knicks, Cavs, Warriors, Spurs, Kings & the Thunder. They could very well lose most of those games. It’s a brutal schedule! Are they up for the challenge to beat the Mavericks and move forward in the right direction.

Key Game Thoughts

1) Zbo should show Tyson Chandler he’s the man like he did on January 27, 2015 in the teams last meeting in Dallas. Zbo abused a good defensive player in Chandler. No one could contain him.

Zach Randolph Full Highlights at Mavericks (2015.01.27) – 22 Pts, 10 Rebs

2) Jeff Green & Courtney Lee should be capable of putting up solid numbers to help this team win tonight.

3) Turnovers have been an issue for the Grizzlies in the past 5 games. They have to take care of the ball better in this game. Dallas will make them pay dearly if they don’t keep control of the ball.

4) Tony Allen & Nick Calathes should do what they do best; create chaos. There will be some thieving going on tonight.

5) The bench should step up offensively. At least two bench players should be in double figures. One of those players has to be Vince Carter.

6) This can’t be said enough… Marc Gasol need to be aggressive again. He has the ability to take over a game. He’s in a funk and the Grizzlies desperately need him to get out of it. He’s the best center in the NBA and he should act as such.

Analysis

Which Grizzlies team will show up? Will it be the aggressive team who found ways to win earlier in the season or the team who gave up a 18 point lead and a 17 point lead to teams who won’t make the playoffs this season? One of the teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention. Will the real Memphis Grizzlies please stand UP? They need to become the team again, that no one wants to face in the playoffs.

Fans want to see the Smash Brothers back in action and dominating teams down low. GrizzNation wants to see Big Spain & Zbo score at least 50 or more points and grab 20 or more rebounds in games again.

Courtney Lee needs to become the offensive assassin he once was at the beginning of the season. Now is not the time for him to disappear.

When Mike Conley ankle gets better, he should be the floor general and take over close games. He should shine like the All Star fans wanted him to be.

The Grizzlies struggles lies with those four players. They all need to have that cohesiveness and be engaged for 48 minutes. Lately, it’s been the tale of two teams. One team shows up in the first half and a different team shows up in the second half. They’re looking towards June when they should be worried about March and April! If they don’t get it together, the Grind to Greatness could very well end in May!

Most Grizzlies fans still believe in this team. But do they believe in themselves?

Tip Off

When: 7:30 PM, CST

Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas

TV/Radio Broadcast: Fox SportSouth/92.9 FM ESPN