Recap: Grizzlies vs Trailblazers: That Old Bear Magic
Shakespeare Bear, because why not?
There is the sweet smell of victory in the air today in the 901, and not a moral victory either. After suffering grueling four straight losses, your Memphis Grizzlies delivered some good old-fashioned revenge against the Portland Trail Blazers, and they delivered it looking more like the team we’ve all been waiting to see, with a healthy dose of grit and grind.
It was pretty, then it was gritty, then we were in the MUD. But when the clock ran out, it was Grizzlies- 101, Trail Blazers 100.
It does seems fitting to end a losing streak against the team that started it. Put simply, dishing out a little bit of poetic justice.
Which brings us to the overall theme for the night in so many ways, poetic justice. Oh let us count the ways in which it was administered, shall we?
Big Spain is Back!
Still looking soft to you?
Marc Gasol was the visible team leader tonight, and that is very much reflected in the box score. Gasol ended the night with a season high 31 points on 11 of 18 shooting. Including a marvelously clutch 3 point basket midway through the 3rd quarter. It’s no secret that Marc Gasol has looked in less than top form since the start of the season, leaving some Grizzlies fans frustrated, feeling as though he’s not putting in the effort now that he got paid. I can’t argue against Gasol not being himself, at times even looking lost on the court, but I expected to see him shake the slump he was in. I am cautiously optimistic that what we saw against Portland is All-Star Marc Gasol re-emerging.
Jeff Green Haters, what’s good?
I’d like for this to henceforth be known as the “Jeff Green Revenge Game”, and I need y’all just need to let this man be great even if you can’t appreciate his greatness. He made key plays in several clutch moments of this game, without which we probably would not have won. Scratch that, without which we definitely would not have won. He’s the reason we went into the half up by one, and whatever defensive blunders he made, his clutch two point make near the end of the 4th propelled us towards the win.
Jeff Green came to do work and he did, and as one of the few remaining Jeff Green fans in Grizzlies fandom, I have no shame in celebrating the hell out of it. Uncle Jeff lead the Grizzlies bench with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
In fact, I have prepared a little ditty in honor of this occasion, let’s call it “Ode to the Jeff Green Revenge Game”:
A little preview on my recap Made with #Ditty https://t.co/e6gzIpZSdw pic.twitter.com/KEsXYpkfwo
— Aimee (@MamaHellCat) November 14, 2015
Zach Randolph Can (Still) Ball
You gon’ learn today, son.
Zach Randolph, grown ass man, doing grown man business. Once again, Randolph puts in serious work, including the game winning put-back with .6 seconds remaining on the game clock. Say what you want about the man’s age or physique, but Number Fiddy For Da City continues to put this team and this town on his back. I’m not buying into the over-hyped narrative that ZBo isn’t capable of helping lead the team to a championship, and from the looks of it, neither is he. ZBo closed out the night with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
I’m just going to leave this right here:
1 question for the haters: Is Zbo still old, slow, out of shape, and needs to be traded? Zbo took that idea & stuffed that bitch in yo face
— #1Team1Goal #Grizz (@brandondevin) November 14, 2015
Grizzlies Trivia Factoid: It was exactly one year ago that the Grizzlies got a big win off the unlikeliest of plays, Vince Carter inbound lob to Courtney Lee with .3 seconds left in regulation, and Lee catch and shoot to bank it in.
Mario Chalmers: Not the backup point guard that Memphis wanted, but the one that it needs right now.
Hear that? That’s the sound of the salt of thousands of Memphis basketball fans melting away.
Mario Chalmers makes his debut for the Grizzlies, playing 20 minutes as backup point guard. It should be noted that Chalmers certainly made the most of those minutes and then some, coming in and having an immediate impact on the pace of the game. And I do mean immediate, Chalmers checked in at the start of the 2nd quarter and within 15 seconds had knocked down a clutch three point basket. It was one of many good things Chalmers would do in his first game for this Grizzlies team. He ended the night with an impressive 11 points, 2 assists, and 4 steals, over 20 minutes of playing time.
The decision by the front office to deal fan favorite Beno Udrih and hometown boy Jarnell Stokes to the Miami Heat in exchange for guard Mario Chalmers and forward James Ennis was not popular with a sizable portion of Memphis basketball fans, both Grizzlies and U of M Tiger Basketball fans alike. Tiger Basketball has been a BIG DEAL in Memphis forever, or certainly for my whole life, even if the present incarnation leaves something to be desired. But Tiger fans have not forgotten the role Chalmers played in crushing their 2008 championship dreams.
For all those reasons, it’s nice to see this move appearing to pay dividends from the outset. The crowd inside FedEx Forum last night seemed to embrace Chalmers as one of our own as he took the floor for the first time. Hitting the 3 ball grants absolution for a multitude of sins in the Bluff City. Grind forth in good faith, Rio. Welcome to Memphis!
Post-game quotes from Grizzlies Head Coach Dave Joerger:
“It was good for us to get a win. There were stretches where we were much better defensively and got a couple shots to fall down tonight. Marc Gasol was tremendous. Jeff Green was fantastic and aggressive. Those things are very positive. They (Portland) have some guys that can really score. I thought Marc really was an anchor for us defensively. He held everything down covering people and helping people.”
“I was thinking we had a chance to win by 10 or 12. It feels good. It felt terrible that (Al-Farouq) Aminu hit a three right there. He (Zach Randolph) made a great play. Zach doesn’t quit. Every time he comes into a huddle, he’s like, ‘Man, I should have had that offensive rebound. I can’t believe I didn’t get that one.’ You know what? He got the biggest one for us tonight.”
Overall, this was a good win that should inspire a glimmer of hope for weary Grizzlies fans, warts and all.
The Grizzlies will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road tomorrow in an early game. Tip-off is at 2:30 CST
Doesn't bluff, stays grinding.
Bluff City Born and Memphis Made
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Aimee…. YOU DID THAT!!! Better copyright that Jeff Green ditty, it will catch on faster than a Patti LaBelle pie!!!!