It was interesting (and sort of encouraging, hope I'm not sounding like Bob McNair) to read this quote from Lionel Hollins, Memphis head coach: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301217010 [rquoter] "It's the same thing every time we play them," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "They out-quicked us, they outworked us, they out-toughed us. They made a statement to tell us that we couldn't play against them." "We came in here to try to make a statement that we could play with them, but they showed us that we haven't matured enough and gotten on the level that they're on with their group." ... "There are just some teams you just can't match up against, and they're one of them," Hollins said. [/rquoter] Memphis has some pretty good players. A good young PG in Mike Conley, an athletic, runs like a deer, wing in Rudy Gay, a rebounder/post-scorer in Randolph, and a skilled big in Marc Gasol with plus-size. So, when Hollins says that they can't match up with us, what does that mean? What do we do well that the Grizzlies have a tough time contending with? Whatever it is, let's try to retain it as we reshape the team post-Yao.
Then why did he make a statement similar to this when we beat them in Memphis? Everyone knows, Memphis has aweful strippers, so your logic is flawwed.
who do they match up well with? you can count them on your hand probably. they are a bad team / organization and have been so for years. classic example of the sum of the parts not equaling the whole. all of their key players have that same offensive/individual minded mentality.
...but Memphis has a better record than us. So both teams are crappy ...yet we've beat them like 8 times in a row and utterly crushed them in embarissing style that last two times. So what is it about this matchup that when two crappy teams (and we are crappier than them by record) play each other, we look like contenders against a high school team. It is kinda odd.
why would I even wanna suit up for a coach that makes such remarks about his player/team efforts after the game. I understand you have to be gracious loser in the news, but do you have to throw your guys under the bus like that. Based on the coach's statement, he is the one that needs to mature, cos Rudy, Mayo, Gasol, Conley and Randolph all look mature to me
i guess. I just think we have done a better job of taking advantage of winnable games that in years past where we would take the opposition lightly. Memphis is one of those teams. You take them lightly and they will come out and surprise you and steal a victory like the one earlier against the lakers. You come out knowing every game is critical, then you expose memphis for what they are. I guess thats my theory.
He's trying to motivate his team. He's telling them to work harder and grow up. He wants them to respond with "oh yeah? I'll show him".
This. I do think he was trying to be complementary of the Rox but his true intention was motivating his squad after a turd performance. They had won like 4 straight, IIRC, and looked pretty impressive so they were probably getting a big head from their streak
“They’re a better team,” Griz reserve guard O.J. Mayo said. “A better team defensively. A better team offensively. They’re a better team. They might not have better players, but as a team, they’re better.” The Griz just have a mental block against the Rockets. They come into the game ready to lose, so they do. Oh, and Kyle Lowry playing like a man possessed every time we face them doesn't hurt either.
It really comes down to Lowry. If he's not playing with so much pride the games arent blowouts. He's disrupting their anchor, while anchoring our own defense and offense.
I think the Grizzlies are underachievers, don't know how much coaching is the problem, but it is a problem there, that, and with respects to Mayo, they have one of the worst benches in the NBA.
Grizzlies aren't that good, we will finish with a better record than them. Grizzlies are a bunch of one on one players, they don't share the ball. Most of the guys they have are black holes on offense besides maybe Gasol. Mayo, Gay, Randolph are ball stoppers.
This is exactly why we should not and WILL NOT tank this season or anyother season. The hardest thing to recover after tanking is a winner's mindset !
wouldn't be shocked if zach randolph never misses harlem nights whenever he's in houston. and yes the grizzlies bench do suck. tony allen and darrel arthur like the best options off the bench in memphis and thats not good. sam young a good player too, but his shooting is even worst than terrence williams.
he showed nothing... in one game against the rockets. if that is all you have seen of him, i would remind you that you cannot make up your mind from such a small sample size.
