Texas Two Step, Part 1: Grizz vs. Mavs Preview

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Carmen Patton

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The Memphis Grizzlies have made their way to Texas for back to back match-ups in the Southwest Division against the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets. Tonight the Grizz will face the Mavs for just the second time this season. The Grizzlies (36-25) were victorious over the Mavericks (24-36) and lead the series 1-0.

For those who can’t quite remember the first game, it’s not a huge surprise. It was a bit of a snooze fest. The final score was 80-64. Deron Williams and JJ Barea didn’t play. Harrison Barnes was the leading Mavs scorer with 15 points. Chandler Parsons was the leading Grizz scorer with 12 points (surprise, surprise, surprise…in my best Gomer Pyle voice). Comparing either team with what they did then to what they’re doing now wouldn’t do much good. Watching paint dry was almost more enjoyable than watching that game. Plus, the Mavs made some mid-season changes. So, let’s see how they look head to head at this point in the season.

Head to Head

Average Points Scored: Grizzlies, 101.2 (106 in the last 5 games); Mavericks, 97.7 (92.4 in the last 5 games)

Average Points Allowed: Grizzlies, 99.8 (102 in the last 5 games); Mavericks, 99.8 (93.4 in the last 5 games)

Bench Points Average: Grizzlies, 38.5; Mavericks, 30.9

Field Goal Percentage: Grizzlies, 43 percent; Mavericks, 44 percent

3 Point Field Goal Percentage: Grizzlies, 35 percent; Mavericks, 36 percent

Rebounds: Grizzlies, 43.4; Mavericks, 38.2

Things to Remember

EVERY game counts at this point. The Grizz are in a tight, tight race for the 4th-7th seed. They’re in 6th (a game ahead of 7th, a half game behind 5th and a game behind 4th).

They’re 14 games away from 50 wins.

They’re 6 games away from a winning season (42 wins).

Keys to a Win

An X-Factor

For the most part, the Grizz have three players that are pretty consistent: Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph. Tonight they need someone else to come in and shake the table. It doesn’t matter who it is. It can be Brandan Wright continuing to find his way into the rotation playing quality minutes off the bench. The REAL Chandler Parsons can show up ANY day now and change the game. JaMychal Green can get more actively involved in the offense. It’s got to be someone; no one cares who.

Quality Bench Play

It’s the first night of a back to back. While the team can’t look ahead to tomorrow night’s game, I can. Getting a win against Houston tomorrow and not allowing them to tie the season series would be awesome. In order to do that though, the Grizz have to have quality minutes from its bench tonight and tomorrow too and the rest of our lives for that matter…but I digress.

Stop Overthinking the Offense and Stay Awake on the Defense

The Grizz have gotten caught since the break overthinking plays. There hasn’t been a real flow. While they’re 2-1 coming out of the break, offensively they’ve seen some breakdowns. Defensively, they’ve seen some collapses. Tonight they need to get into an offensive rhythm and set the defensive tone, early.

Ultimately, tonight the Grizzlies need to get a win. While the Mavericks don’t look like that team that the Grizzlies played in November, the Grizzlies are still a better overall team than the Mavericks. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that.

Tonight’s officials are Sean Corbin, Bennie Adams, and Mark Ayotte. Tune in tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST to cheer on your Grizz as they face the Dallas Mavericks. Don’t miss any of the action. Go Grizz!