My Team - Grizzlies at Utah

After Friday night's loss at Denver, the Grizzlies get back to work Saturday night against the Jazz.

(Flashback/digression) As a kid in the early 70s, I was a big fan of the American Basketball Association. I remember fondly listening to the local AM radio station as Memphis teams playing in Salt Lake City. The Utah Stars had great players like Zelmo Beaty, Willie Wise and Ron Boone. More often than not, Memphis would lose at Utah. But for me, just the fact that they were in Salt Lake City was captivating. It was so far away, and dare I say "exotic". For a kid who thought he'd probably never leave Memphis, Salt Lake City may have well been a different planet.

In the present day, the Jazz are scuffling as they try to hold on to a playoff berth. They are presently in 9th place in the Western Conference, a full game behind the surging Los Angeles Lakers. They've lost 8 of their last 10 games. They need a win. Utah haven't played since 13 March, a 23-point loss at Oklahoma City.

Al Jefferson is the focal point of the team, a strong two-way post player. Guys like Paul Milsap, Gordon Hayward, Randy Foye and Derrick Favors are among the players that make this team strong. One would expect this team to have a much better record. The roster is healthy, at least regarding major injuries.

Their style of play is quite similar to Memphis' - inside-out on offense, and swarming team defense in the half-court. Each team will run a fast break on occasion, but would rather cycle through their offensive sets most possessions. When Utah has the ball, Jefferson gets the most touches and takes the most shots. He and Randolph are nearly mirror images of one another on the floor. Milsap can put the ball on the floor to get to the basket or shoot an effective mid-range jump shot. Both players are hungry, willing rebounders on both ends of the floor. Memphis must box out both players.

Guys like Hayward, Foye and Alec Burks are active on the perimeter. Any one of them could go off for 17-20 points in a particular game.

Utah works hard on defense, but the only real shotblocker they have is Favors. Like Memphis, Utah will have periods where they struggle to close down the lane.

Expect hand-to-hand combat in the post and continual harassment on the perimeter. This won't be the kind of game high-flyers enjoy. My guess - Memphis 94, Utah 91. As always, these guesses aren't for gaming purposes, but for me to keep my brain active.

After the Game: Utah 90, Memphis 84. Overall, a 2-2 road trip under the circumstances isn't that bad. If one watched this game, one could tell the moment when the road trip caught up with Memphis.

24-9 - Utah outscored the Grizzlies by that margin in the 3rd quarter. Sums it up for me. Memphis had 33 field goals, 14 assists and 11 turnovers. Conley went 6-18 FG/A. Bayless came off the bench to score 24, Randolph added 19 and 9 rebs.

Utah had 31 field goals, 18 assists and only 5 turnovers. They out-Memphis'd the Grizzlies. Utah took the "grindhouse" template and used it on Memphis. No one Jazz player dominated the game, but they got contributions from Hayward (17 and 8), Jefferson (14 and 5 rebs), Milsap (13 and 8 rebs),  Favors (10 and 8 rebs), and Mo Williams (13, 4 rebs, 6 assists). Team defense was evident as they harassed Memphis into bad shots, especially in the 3rd quarter.

Even with all that, Memphis was down 3 with 30 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. Not a bad effort, but a winnable game that slipped out of the grasp of the Memphis team.

Oh, well. The Grizzlies host Minnesota on Monday night. They need to win that game - next opponent is a Wednesday night home match against Oklahoma City.