[ad_1]
Can a game be a clbadic if one of the teams involved does not really have much to play? Can an incursion into the hoop be exciting if it does not give up points?
Field evidence of a wild 126-125 Grizzlies win in overtime against the Houston Rockets say yes for both counts.
The Rockets had won 12 of their last 13 and six in a row on the road. He is the boldest scorer in the NBA, defending player James Harden, who has more games at 50 points this season than the other 445 players in the badociation.
The Rockets took the floor of FedExForum Wednesday night with a sort of apathetic arrogance. Harden was looking for the shooters and the defense was casual. Despite falling 19 points in the first half and 19 points in the third quarter, the Rockets gave the impression that they thought taking the game seriously in the fourth quarter would be enough.
They were almost right.
With the recent hot hand Avery Bradley (tibia bruise) on a growing and inactive list, the Grizzlies spent the evening conquering the field, while leading goalkeeper Delon Wright made his entry into the field. the starting lineup with two guards and a quartet of Hustle Heroes (Jevon Carter, Tyler Dorsey, Julian Washburn, and Yuta Watanabe) board a morning plane from Salt Lake City after returning from the pre-qualifying G League game. But by taking the proper precautions, the Grizzlies do not need as little help.
Veteran Mike Conley and new tyrant Jonas Valanciunas, both playing basketball the best of their lives at the end of this nearly lost season, have been busy.
Conley and Valanciunas started the game with a combination of 13-13 on the ground and 9-9 on the line while the Grizzlies built that 19-point lead. Conley was bombarding the three and floating two by two at a rate of two to one. Valanciunas battled the center of the Rockets with the broad shoulders of Clint Capela: a succession of bulldozer buckets with a soft finish.
It was a strangely apathetic performance by a Rockets team that lost a match before the NBA finals a year ago and seemed to be in shape for another round.
Then the fourth quarter came, the Rockets reduced their lead to 18 points in half with less than five minutes left. At that time, Harden leaned on Grizzlies forward Justin Holiday for a four-point game, a long-range hoop and a whining injury that would prove to be huge.
It was a five-point game with about four minutes to go and the next nine minutes of basketball would be the most chaotic at FedExForum this season.
Strengthen your steps back to make it a two-point match. Conley floats in the alley and laying on the glbad. After a break, it seems long to save the day: Holiday entrusts a flight to Delon Wright who delivers in the arms endless Bruno Caboclo, whose finish on the rim adds room for maneuver.
But the Rockets, still implacable, continue to come: Chris Paul, candidate of the most hated opponent in the history of the Grizzlies, makes a three, masked, from the deepest angle, while Harden looks alone, half a -ground.
Conley scrambles Capela with a conjuring trick behind her back and sets it up. He traded three with Rockets striker P.J. Tucker. And somewhere in the middle of an oscillating series of collisions and free throws, the Grizzlies are in third position with 5.6 seconds to play and the ball in the hands of Harden.
You could see it coming and it could have been worse. A performance that at least has not found the net. Harden is somehow clean, in the shooting position, simulating pretense when Holiday pbades and shoots the foul by hitting all three of the tied line. The Grizzlies, without delay (a familiar situation) and a full court to move in four seconds, will pick him up at Chandler Parsons, who hops and he barely reaches a 43-foot unanswered prayer. Free basketball.
Overtime: Parsons (!) From the wing for three. Parsons (!!) from the wing for three times. Harden the steps and the bombs. Conley dances and scores. Harden steps back and bombs again. Led by two defenders, Wright dribbles one foot (a kicked ball?) In the hands of Harden and the match is tied again.
The last thank you: Conley's float is blocked, Valanciunas corrects the missed shot and imposes a foul on the putback with 0.1 second to play. He wins it – and sets a new career high with 33 points – on the line.
Phew.
A bit of final accounting: 57 from Harden on shot 18-39, including 9-17 on three and 12-12 on the line. 35 from Conley, who scored his first six three points and finished with 12-22 shots and 8 badists. Two of their most oooh– inspiring moments at the end of the third period, both shaking defenders and buckets. 33 and 14 of Valanciunas, his third career match of 30 points and his third career of 30-10. The biggest story of the return of the Rockets 37-18 in the third quarter? Outclbading the Grizzlies 27-0 from behind the bow in the quarter. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Grizzlies.
Best supporting actors: After scoring 16 goals in the defenseless show in Washington this weekend, Parsons' 11 points make it their first consecutive double-digit game since December 2017. With CJ Miles eliminated, Parsons (25 Bruno Caboclo (41 minutes), who made some mistakes, but took advantage of his length to reach the edge (5-5 inside the arc) and be a factor to consider (7).
Ramifications of the series and the lottery: Big for the Grizzlies (29-42), coming off a tie (with Dallas) for 6th place in the lottery standings and in sole possession of the 7th, just half a game away from Washington Wizards' defeat at the 8th and the New Orleans Pelicans in 9th place. Costly but less important for the Rockets (45-27), who remain in third place but lose some ground against Portland Trail Blazers in fourth place.
Clip of the night
This tweet from this source seemed improbable a few months ago:
Chan, we salute you
??: @GrizzliesOnFSSE pic.twitter.com/nCp19ZSggs
– Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) March 21, 2019
Style elements
Great men on the run:
JEGAAAA@memgrizz | #GrindCity pic.twitter.com/vSAATAqR5L
– FOX Sports Grizzlies (@GrizzliesOnFSSE) March 21, 2019
ISO JOAKIM #GetMemphis pic.twitter.com/ePYUbS8BXX
– Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) March 21, 2019
Action of arena
It was still one of these, with another coming Saturday.
.@JerryLawler is here for Grizzlies Wrestling Night! ??@memgrizz | #GrindCity pic.twitter.com/BiNK4zUUZl
– FOX Sports Grizzlies (@GrizzliesOnFSSE) March 21, 2019
There was apparently some kind of football player sitting near the Rockets bench.
Johnny Football in a house! @ JManziel2 pic.twitter.com/MVRxDNSX59
– FOX Sports Grizzlies (@GrizzliesOnFSSE) March 21, 2019
Tweets were watching
Chandler Parsons scored big shots in overtime against the Rockets. As expected by the Grizzlies. (OK, so everything did not go * exactly * as expected.)
– Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) March 21, 2019
Every day they are in a hurry
We will admit that we have not followed the Memphis Hustle season closely. But they are decisive against the Salt Lake City Stars on Tuesday night.
It was a 131-127 overtime win after losing 24 points in the middle of the third quarter. Tyler Dorsey, the recipient of the Grizzlies, scored 28 of 34 in the second period, while his compatriot, Jevon Carter, scored 17. The two-way players Julian Washburn (16 points) and Yuta Watanabe (13 points) have also contributed.
The Hustle will close his regular season schedule at the Southaven Landers Center on Friday against Blue Oklahoma City. Given that the outnumbered Grizzlies will be in Orlando that night, I would not expect one of the players in this formation to remain in the group.
Even though Dorsey only saw the floor for the Grizzlies on Wednesday night, the most interesting question will be how many of them will go on the field for Hustle's playoff debut in single elimination, a road match of which the date and place remain to be determined.
"It's a discussion we'll have," said J.B. Bickerstaff before the game. "We always take into account how many bodies we have, injuries, that kind of thing."
The attrition of injuries continues
One day after announcing the release of CJ Miles for the season, the Grizzlies came across another name from their available list, this time as a starter. Avery Bradley will be absent for at least a week with a tibial bruise. The team says Bradley will be re-evaluated in a week. According to this prediction, Bradley would miss at least the next four games, after which the Grizzlies would have more than eight games to play. Are we going to see Bradley again this season? Stay tuned. Unlike Miles, Bradley's return to Memphis next season must be questioned.
If you stay the course, the official list of Grizzlies for the year is Dillon Brooks and Miles. The presumed end-of-year list is Jaren Jackson Jr. And the list of "returns seems dubious" is now Kyle Anderson and maybe Bradley? Among them, Bradley seems to be the only one to have a lot of luck coming back.
If the Grizzlies were able to absorb the minutes of Miles on Wednesday, they spelled less Bradley, with Delon Wright and Tyler Dorsey playing heavier minutes. But the momentum for a return can diminish day by day. Maybe the finish line can not come fast enough.
Thoughts of summer
As the season draws to a close, the mind turns – judging by the recent issues regarding mail bags – long ago – towards the summer, which announces itself as a much more interesting season for Grizzlies than spring.
It will not be known if the Grizzlies will have a say in this summer's NBA project before the May 14th lottery. Even if the Grizzlies finish 6th in the standings before the draw, the lottery could still push them to 9th place, the niche where they will send their choice to Boston. And even if the Grizzlies climb to 9th place in front of the lottery (which seems more and more unlikely), ping pong balls could still propel them into the Top 4.
All things considered, keeping the choice seems likely. With that in mind, and with the NCAA tournament starting in earnest on Thursday, I spun in Daily Memphian Tigers writer Jonah Jordan for this week's DM Grizzlies Podcast, where we talk about all potential candidates for the Grizzlies at this year's tournament and a couple who is not one. t.
If the Grizzlies end up having (and / or acquire) a pick, this player (or these players) could make his July 5 debut at the Las Vegas Summer League, where it was announced today that the 30 teams from the NBA would participate. The league will run from July 5th to 15th.
[ad_2]
Source link
