Grizzlies v. Pelicans: The battle of the big men

After playing one of the worst NBA games ever witnessed by the human eye on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets, the Grizzlies escaped with a win by the score of 71-69. That game was painful to watch but a win is a win and the Grizz are 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.

The Grizzlies will tip off at 7pm tonight at the Grindhouse against the New Orleans Pelicans, formerly the New Orleans Hornets. This will be their second home game of the season. Pelicans won the series last year 3-1. This will be a tough match up as the Grizzlies will take on Anthony Davis and his brow!

The battle of the big men will be in full effect. Who will prevail?

Grizzlies big men

Marc Gasol has started the season out hot. Over 3 games this season, he has averaged 24.7 points and 7.7 rebounds. His best game of the season was when he scored a career high of 32 points and 9 rebounds against the Timberwolves.

Zach Randolph has continued to be dominant. He has averaged in 3 games 19.7 points  and 12.7 rebounds. He has a double double in each game he has played. Zbo scored 25 points and had 13 rebounds in his first game of the season against the Timberwolves.

Pelicans big men

Anthony Davis and his brow has been beasting out this season. He’s playing at an All Star level. He has averaged 28.5 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks in the first two games of the season. In the first game of the season he had 9 blocks and was one block away from a triple double. He ended up with 26 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists and those 9 blocks against the Orlando Magic.

Omer Asik has been putting up good numbers as well. He has averaged 13.5 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the first 2 games of the season. His best game was against the Orlando Magic where he had 14 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks.

The battle of the big men will be enjoyable to watch. Zbo may have a tough time against Anthony Davis offensively and defensively. I predict that Coach Joerger will have different guys trying to guard Anthony Davis.

Omer Asik may have a tough task ahead of him guarding Marc Gasol. Marc Gasol will win this match up. I predict Marc will have 20 or more points this game. One of the keys to winning the game for the Pelicans is to try to limit scoring from the other Grizzlies starters.

I anticipate that Anthony Davis will have a huge game. One of the keys to winning the game for the Grizzlies is try to slow everyone else down.

Benches

Neither bench has been doing so well earlier in the season. Bench production may be the difference in winning the game for both teams. With the exception of Ryan Anderson, Pelicans bench play has been sub par at best. Over the last 2 games Anderson has averaged 16.5 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. The Grizzlies bench has been a little bit better than the Pelican bench over the last 2 games but not by much. The Grizzlies’ bench has had more players to have decent scoring than the Pelicans’ bench minus Ryan Anderson. This game more than likely comes down to the tale of two benches. Which bench will outshine to other one?

 

All in all this will be a fun game. Will the Grizzlies end up being undefeated at 4-0 or will the Pelicans give them their first lost?