Wednesday, February 27, 2013

My Team - Grizzlies versus Mavericks

Wednesday night, Memphis will look to extend its' winning streak - seven in a row at this point. Miami is the only other team with a streak at least that long (the Heat have won 12 in a row).

Here come the Dallas Mavericks. Tuesday night at home, they lost to Milwaukee. Dirk Nowitzki went for 21 pts, 20 rebs in the loss. O.J. Mayo added 18, but also had 5 turnovers. Vince Carter came off the bench and went 0-8 and had 3 turnovers in 26 minutes. The team turned the ball over 20 times in the loss. That plays right into Memphis' defensive strengths.

On 21 December, the Mavericks lost at Memphis, 82-92.

Tonight, who covers Nowitzki? Also, how does his body hold up on the back side of this back-to-back? Mayo has a green light to shoot from deep, but isn't as dynamic an athlete as most 2-guards. Maybe Tony Allen checks Mayo & harasses him into a sub-par night. Center Chris Kaman scored 14 in his last game against Memphis, but didn't play Tuesday against the Bucks.

Nowitzki would have a distinct matchup advantage against most Memphis bigs. Darrell Arthur's athleticism may be enough to bother Nowtizki for stretches. Mike Conley and Darren Collison will be a fun battle of quick, smallish point guards. Tayshaun Prince and Shawn Marion will chase each other around screens & down the baselines. Memphis' bench must play well tonight, and the rest of the season.

My guess, Memphis 92, Dallas 89. As always, these guesses aren't for gaming purposes. They're for self-grading, self-professed "expertise" and bragging rights in my living room.

After the Game: Memphis 90, Dallas 84.

Thirty-three to two, including twenty-four straight. That was a Memphis run between the second and third quarters. After being down 25 at home, the Grizz turned up the defensive pressure. Dallas missed numerous field goal attempts in the 3rd quarter, and turned the ball over 21 times for the game. It was the biggest comeback win in Grizzlies history.

Randolph (22 and 10) and Gasol (21 and 12) led the way. Pondexter scored 12 off the bench, and Daye added another 10. Randolph was surprisingly active chasing Nowitzki (4/11 FG/A). The other three starters (Conley, Allen and Prince) combined for 6-28 from the floor, though. The team shot 37.7 percent from the floor and had 16 turnovers. On the bright side, they had 21 assists on 29 baskets.

Overall, there were some rough spots (down 19-38 at the end of the first quarter) and some good times (the comeback). The team didn't give up, which is a tribute to the coaches and the effort of the players.

They play like that in the first quarter in Miami, they're gonna get their feelings hurt.

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