Grizzlies Maul Timberwolves in the JaMychal Green Show, Now Heading Full Strength Into Their First Meeting Against the Spurs

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Your Memphis Grizzlies capped off the most successful road trip in franchise history Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in a game that will from here on be referred to as the JaMychal Green Show. One of this team’s often overlooked heroes, Green had a career night, scoring a game high 29 points on 8-11 FG shooting and a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe. On the Grizzlies side, Mike Conley finished with 20 points and 8 assists, James Ennis III had 13 points, and Troy Daniels and Vince Carter closed out the night with 11 points each.

On the Timberwolves side, Karl-Anthony Towns led his team with 27 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Andrew Wiggins with 23 points, and Ricky Rubio finished with 14 points and 6 assists.

It was announced a few hours prior to tip-off that Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, and Chandler Parsons would all be sitting on the sidelines against the Timberwolves as part of a planned rest schedule. Judging from the social media reactions, it wasn’t a popular decision among the fan base, and no doubt many envisioned a repeat performance of the 116-80 beat down the Grizzlies received from this Timberwolves team during their last visit to Target Center earlier this season.

Coach Fizdale had this to say in response to a post-game question about fan displeasure with resting key players:

“That’s above my pay grade there. That’s something the NBA is going to have to deal with and face and figure out. Whether it’s shortening the schedule or something like that. That’s way out of my realm. I’m just more about what helps our team and what wins games for us and what gives us the best chance to play longer. That’s what a lot of teams are doing right now.”

I’m with Coach Fizz on this one, especially after watching the end of last season play out.

Moving right along.

 

This game got off to an ugly start, but it was well worth it to tune into the JaMychal Green Show.

 

The Grizzlies 1st quarter performance was pretty awful, and by pretty awful I mean an absolute dumpster fire on both ends of the floor. It was one of the lowest scoring quarters the Grizzlies have had all season, managing a paltry 15 points to the Timberwolves 31.

During the 2nd quarter, Minnesota got sloppy and Memphis began to turn the tables. Whatever words of wisdom/motivation Coach Fizdale had with the team at the end of that first quarter lit a fire under them, and they finished the first half with the score tied at 48-48.

The Grizzlies took full advantage of the Timberwolves carelessness on both ends of the court and from the free throw line. They were able to capitalize on Minnesota’s six turnovers, to the tune of 12 points.

The 3rd quarter turned out to be the basketball equivalent of a cat toying with a mouse before killing it. That followed directly in the 4th quarter, as the Grizzlies went full on beast mode and devoured the Timberwolves.

 

 

Now on to the next one, back home against the San Antonio Spurs, a notoriously difficult match up for the Grizzlies.

This will be the first meeting between these two teams this season, and one can only hope it ends on a brighter note than the last time the Grizzlies hosted the Spurs in the Grindhouse. At least without the actual tears.

The Spurs are sitting comfortably in the second seed in the Western Conference, and are currently on a three game winning streak. That plus the inconsistency from a Memphis team still trying to find its groove could equal a very ugly game.

 

Memphis should be playing with a full roster tonight. Marc Gasol, Chandler Parsons, and Tony Allen are all scheduled to play as of a few hours before tip-off.

Based on the typical starting lineup for each team, tonight should be a night all about interesting player match-ups. If Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge suit up for the Spurs tonight, expect a showdown of epic proportions between the following:

Mike Conley vs Tony Parker

Tony Allen vs Danny Green

Chandler Parsons vs Kawhi Leonard

JaMychal Green vs LaMarcus Aldridge

Marc Gasol vs Pau Gasol

 

Spurs are gonna Spur, but if this season has taught us anything at all about this Memphis team, it is that Grizzlies are gonna grind. They have already proven they can administer a painful beating to the best teams in the league.

I’m not confidently proclaiming that Memphis will come away with the W tonight, but I certainly think it’s within the realm of possibilities. In just a few hours, we will find out.

 

 

What: Memphis Grizzlies vs San Antonio Spurs

Where: FedEx Forum- 191 Beale Street, Memphis

When: Tip-off @ 8:30 CST

TV: TNT

Radio: 92.9 WMFS

 

Aimee Stiegemeyer
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