Memphis Grizzlies Blog – Page 31 – NBA Blog

Mike Conley not mad at Draymond Green

Mike Conley not mad at Draymond Green

Look. In games, players fall. And when that player has the ball, sometimes another player tries to grab it. These things happen. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle reporting on Grizzlies guard Mike Conley and Warriors forward Draymond Green:

In the days following Mike Conley’s Game 2 brush with Warriors’ power forward Draymond Green, the Grizzlies’ point guard has gone from “no comment” to “it is what it is” to forming an opinion.

“At the end of the day, I think Draymond Green is a phenomenal player,” Conley said before Friday’s practice. “He’s a competitor. In the heat of the game, things happen. Guys get hit. Guys bring a lot of passion to the game. I have no opinion other than that. I think it was just basketball.”

Conley was driving through the lane when he got tied up by Green and Klay Thompson midway through the second quarter. He recovered the ball with 4:58 remaining and called a timeout while lying on his back with the ball near his chin. Green reached in to try to grab the ball and bumped Conley in a mask designed to protect surgically repaired facial fractures.

Officials reviewed the play as a potential “hostile act” and didn’t call a foul, but that hasn’t changed the opinion of the Grizzlies’ fans. Green said he’s gotten Twitter hate and warnings about coming to Memphis.

Mike Conley returns, helps Grizzlies beat Warriors in Game 2

Mike Conley returns, helps Grizzlies beat Warriors in Game 2

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who returned to action and helped his squad beat the Warriors in Golden State to tie their second-round playoff series at one win apiece:

After his fearless performance in a Game 2 win over Golden State on Tuesday night, the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley admitted that he was getting pushed and pulled in different directions as to whether he should play so soon after a serious facial injury.

The push was likely coming from some teammates, who sorely missed their point guard’s presence in a decisive Game 1 loss. The pull was coming from his parents, who believed that the 27-year-old should wait a little longer before putting himself at risk again.

A game-high 22-point effort, including nine first-quarter points and a key three-pointer in the closing minutes, and Conley’s parents are probably just fine with their son’s gutsy decision.

“I had to tell my mom and dad, no, I’m playing regardless,” Conley said. “But, I think they’re happy at the end of the day. They support me.”

Warriors take Game 1 vs Grizzlies

Warriors take Game 1 vs Grizzlies

Stephen Curry had 22 points and seven assists, and the Golden State Warriors wore down the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies in a 101-86 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday.

Klay Thompson added 18 points and Draymond Green scored 16 to help the top-seeded Warriors roll to their 21st straight victory at raucous Oracle Arena. They led by nine at the half, 20 late in the third quarter and never let the Grizzlies build any momentum in the fourth.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Oakland.

Marc Gasol had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Zach Randolph finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for a Memphis team missing point guard Mike Conley. He sat on the bench in a suit, his left eye still swollen, as he continues to recover from surgery to repair broken bones in his face.

— AP

Damian Lillard struggles in Blazers Game 1 loss

Damian Lillard struggles in Blazers Game 1 loss to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday to take a 1-0 series lead. Blazers guard Damian Lillard struggled badly, shooting 5-of-21 for 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Here’s the Oregonian reporting:

Damian Lillard was locked in at long last. This was the stingy and smothering laser-like All-Star effort we’d been promised all week by the guard. It was the defensive performance of a lifetime.

Here was Lillard late Sunday night, long after the Blazers Game 1 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, shutting down the scrutiny, one dress sock at a time. He’d already toweled off like a retiree watching a sunset. Now, the Blazers All-Star guard sat on a folding chair, back to the room, checking text messages.

It was so crowded with media in Lillard’s corner of the locker room that when guard Steve Blake emerged from the showers he had to dispatch a locker room attendant through the mob of cameras to retrieve his clothes. Also, during the Lillard filibuster a reporter from TNT asked Chris Kaman if he wouldn’t mind giving the network a quote, as Lillard was about to bleed their deadline out.

Kaman obliged and left. Blake eventually dressed, conducted an interview and left the room. So did the rest of the Blazers teammates. One by one, from Robin Lopez to Nic Batum to Wesley Matthews and back, the Blazers absorbed the disappointment and disappeared out the locker room doors.

Grizzlies beat Knicks, clinch playoff spot

Grizzlies beat Knicks, clinch playoff spot

The Memphis Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season on Monday night. They hope this is only the beginning.

Zach Randolph scored 23 points and Marc Gasol had 21, leading Memphis to a 103-82 win over the lowly New York Knicks.

The Grizzlies (50-21) shot 52 percent from the field in their third consecutive victory. Vince Carter added 14 points, Jeff Green scored 12 and Kosta Koufos had 10.

“This is the NBA,” said Randolph, who also had seven rebounds and five assists. “We have been together a long time and we have to keep playing. We know what we are playing and getting ready for.”

— Associated Press

Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to multi-year contract

Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to multi-year contract

The Memphis Grizzlies signed forward JaMychal Green to a multi-year contract, Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today.

“Before first coming to Memphis, JaMychal was the top prospect in the NBA Development League, and he has impressed us both in games and in practice during his tenure with the Grizzlies,” Wallace said. “JaMychal is not only a gifted athlete with tremendous upside but he is a humble, very hard working individual who has quickly earned the respect of his new teammates.”

Green (6-9, 227) has made four appearances with Memphis this season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 3.8 minutes and scoring eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in his Grizzlies debut on Feb. 6 at Minnesota. Green first signed with Memphis on a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the NBA Development League’s Austin Spurs on Feb. 1 and signed a second 10-day contract on Feb. 19. In his first NBA season, Green has recorded 2.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.0 minutes in eight total games with the Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs.

The 24-year-old averaged 23.0 points on .577 shooting, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.55 blocks in 31.8 minutes in 20 games (all starts) this season with Austin. The NBA D-League Player of the Month for games in December, Green ranked sixth in the D-League in scoring and rebounding per game and tied for seventh in double-doubles (15) before his Call-Up to the Grizzlies (among players with at least 10 games played).

Undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Montgomery, Ala. native averaged 13.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.72 blocks in 123 games over four seasons at the University of Alabama. He played 25 games for Chorale Roanne of the LNB Pro A League in France during the 2013-14 season.

Gasol vs Gasol in All-Star game tonight

Here’s ESPN Chicago with a look at one of the most interesting storylines heading into tonight’s 2015 All-Star game, that Pau Gasol starts for the East while his brother Marc Gasol starts for the West:

The basketball world is caught up in the Gasol vs. Gasol storyline heading into Sunday night’s All-Star Game.

Even the king.

“I think it’s amazing,” Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James said, in regard to the fact that both Pau and Marc Gasol will be starting in Sunday’s game.

“I think it’s so awesome. I think it’s so cool, for the first time in our history, we see two brothers face off against each other in the All-Star Game. They’re great, both of them, Pau and Marc. They’re unbelievable, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

That seems to be the sentiment around the league. As the Gasol brothers continue to answer questions about their accomplishments from journalists all over the world, especially a crush from Spain that has chronicled their every move, it’s been interesting to listen to other All-Stars’ reactions about what the Gasols have accomplished.

Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to 10-day contract

Memphis Grizzlies sign JaMychal Green to 10-day contract

The Memphis Grizzlies signed free agent forward JaMychal Green to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the NBA Development League’s Austin Spurs, Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today.

Green (6-9, 220) has averaged 23.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.55 blocks in 31.8 minutes in 20 games (all starts) with Austin this season, shooting .577 from the field, .364 from three-point range and .843 from the free throw line. The NBA D-League Player of the Month for games in December, Green ranks sixth in the D-League in scoring and rebounding per game among players with at least 10 games played and is tied for seventh in double-doubles (15).

Green owns career D-League averages of 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.07 blocks in 26.8 minutes in 60 games (45 starts) in two seasons (2012-13, 2014-15) with Austin, shooting .532 from the field and .812 from the free throw line.

A 24-year-old NBA rookie, Green was signed by the San Antonio Spurs to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up on Jan. 18 and totaled eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes over four appearances for the Spurs, making four of his seven shot attempts.

Vince Carter out with foot injury

Memphis, Tenn. – Memphis Grizzlies guard/forward Vince Carter underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today, which revealed a left foot tendon injury.

Carter will be re-evaluated within the next week at which time an update will be provided.

Zach Randolph a big key to Grizzlies success

Zach Randolph a big key to Grizzlies success

When you consider how well the Grizzlies have played this season — they started 21-4 — losing three of five to begin the new year was a modest slump. Then came the trade for Jeff Green on Jan. 12, which has helped stabilize the small forward position. Green is averaging 12.9 points in eight games with Memphis, which is 7-1 with the 28-year-old in the lineup. Other positives have coincided with the trade, most notably Zach Randolph averaging 19.6 points (59.2 percent shooting) and 13.1 rebounds in 10 games since returning from a nine-game absence for a right knee injury. The Grizzlies are 8-2 in those games. Overall, the Grizzlies are 29-7 with Randolph in the lineup and 4-5 without him. Memphis improved to 33-12 after a 109-90 win at Dallas on Tuesday, good for second in the West, and hosts Denver tonight (8 p.m. ET) in the first game of a doubleheader on TNT.