Grizzlies vs. Mavericks Preview
Tonight the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Dallas Mavericks at the FedEx Forum. Both Southwest Division teams will be looking to get a win tonight. Both teams had their longest winning streaks of the season broken this past weekend. The Grizzlies lost to their archenemies, the San Antonio Spurs, on Saturday after a 4 game win streak. The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday after a 6 game win streak.
Current standings in the Western Conference have the Mavericks in 3rd place with a 9-5 record (2nd in the Southwest Division). The Grizzlies, after starting off pretty rocky, find themselves in 6th place in the Western Conference at 0.500 with a 7-7 record (3rd in the Southwest Division). Ironically, the Mavericks are doing much better than most expected them to. The drama that surrounded their unrequited fascination with Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has turned out to be a distant memory. It looks like their squad is just fine without him. It also looks like the other changes that they made to their starting line-up are working in their favor as well. The Mavericks have a different starting line-up, but they’re still led by their consistent PF Dirk Nowitzki, who knows how to make things happen for this Mavericks squad. Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews make up the Mavericks backcourt; Chandler Parsons is the returning SF and Zaza Pachulia is C.
The Core Four of the Grizzlies (Conley, Allen, Randolph & Gasol) are no strangers to defeating the Mavericks. Since the 2010-11 season, this group has defeated the Mavericks in 12 of the 19 games played. Ten of those 19 games occurred in Memphis, and the Grizzlies were victorious in 7 of those 10. Hopefully, the Grizzlies will be able to make that 13 of 20 and 8 of 11 after tonight.
Keys to a Grizzlies Victory:
1. Marc Gasol has to be “Aggressive Marc.” The Grizzlies can’t have a passive game from Marc Gasol. Gasol is known to share the ball, and he is arguably one of the best big men passers in the league. Assists are nice; shots from Gasol are better though. Gasol only attempted 9 shots in almost 40 minutes against the Spurs. He had 8 points in that game. The night before against the Houston Rockets he had a triple double. That’s the kind of game the Grizzlies need from Gasol tonight.
2. The Bigs need a healing. Zach Randolph has been out of the Grizzlies line-up for the last two games due to knee soreness. Say what you will or may about Zach Randolph’s “old man game”…the Grizzlies depend on it. They depend on Randolph making plays on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. Randolph is a game time decision. Additionally, Brandan Wright hasn’t played in the last 7 games due to a knee injury as well. In the 7 games played, he averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds coming off the bench. Wright probably won’t get any action tonight. If the Grizzlies don’t have the services of Randolph tonight, JaMychal Green, whose confidence is surging as the season progresses, will start his 3rd game this season in Randolph’s place and will likely see big minutes.
3. Courtney Lee has to take shots, consistently. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Courtney Lee has to take shots. He’s struggled some offensively this season, but when he makes his shots, he makes them. Lee had a pretty good game offensively and defensively in San Antonio on Saturday. His 3 point shot still isn’t falling yet, but he did hit the Grizzlies sole 3 point shot late in the game Saturday against San Antonio, so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come from Lee. Hearing “C Lee for 3” would be nice a few times tonight.
4. Mike Conley has to continue to live up to the moniker, Clutch Conley. The Grizzlies depend on their Floor General. Although it didn’t look like it Saturday, Conley’s three point shooting has improved over the last few games. This is good news for the Grizzlies. Hopefully the Grizzlies won’t need to use a lot of Conley’s “clutch” superpowers tonight, but just in case, they need him ready.
5. The Bench Mob has to continue to play with energy. Since acquiring Mario Chalmers in a trade with Miami that sent Beno Udrih and Jarnell Stokes to Miami in exchange for Chalmers and James Ennis, the Grizzlies offense has seen a boost. The second unit is playing with a lot more energy and confidence, and it’s been contagious for the starting unit. Additionally, being able to play Chalmers and Conley together gives the Grizzlies more offensive fire power in the backcourt. Matt Barnes continues to do damage to the Grizzlies’ opponents on the defensive end, and he seems to be settling more into his role offensively as well. Jeff Green has been the starting SF in recent games, but Coach Dave Joerger said after the 1st game that line-ups would change throughout the year based on match-ups. So, whether he starts tonight or comes off the bench, the Grizzlies need Jeff Green doing Jeff Green things. His athleticism is a must. Vince Carter has found his way back into the rotation the last two games, and while at times he seems like a liability, he has had impact offensively and defensively.
Eric Hasseltine and Rob Fischer sat down with JaMychal Green this morning, and he summed up what the Grizzlies need to do tonight against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks: “focus on our defense; get back aggressive; stop the 3 point shots; take pride in guarding our own man.” You get no arguments here JMyke…none at all. Don’t miss the Memphis Grizzlies in action tonight against the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. Let’s go Grizz!!
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