The AP reports: The Grizzlies’ youth movement is starting to show results. Memphis won its fourth straight game Sunday, beating the Miami Heat 102-86. Rookie O.J. Mayo had 28 points, and Rudy Gay added 18… Memphis’ winning streak is its longest since the five games of the 2005-06 season. Darko Milicic matched his season high with 13 points, and reserve Mike Conley had 12 for the Grizzlies, who at times have started three rookies—Mayo, Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur. Eight of Memphis’ 14 players are 23 or younger… Memphis has scored at least 100 points in all four wins during the run and has turned up the defensive pressure. On Sunday, the Miami star Dwyane Wade was 5-of-16 from the field and the Heat shot 36 percent… Michael Beasley led Miami with 20 points, and Joel Anthony had 12 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Category: Memphis Grizzlies Blog
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Grizzlies sign Darius Miles
The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that they have signed free agent forward Darius Miles. Terms of the deal were not disclosed per team policy.
“Darius has been an active, productive player in the past,” said Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace. “He did a good job with the Celtics in preseason and we look forward to working with him.”
The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Miles played six NBA seasons (2000-06) with Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers. The 6-9, 235-pound forward averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.7 minutes in 412 career games (190 starts).
Miles, 27, missed all of 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons while recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee, but recently attempted a comeback with the Boston Celtics. After signing a free-agent contract with Boston on Aug. 22, 2008, he appeared in six preseason contests, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes. He was waived by the Celtics on Oct. 20.
The Bellville, Illinois native became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he averaged 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks per game for the Clippers in 2000-01. In his last NBA season in 2005-06, Miles posted career highs in points (14.0) and minutes played (32.2) per game with the Trail Blazers.
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Dec 12: Grizzlies 103, Bulls 96
The AP reports: In a game featuring the NBA’s top scoring rookies, it was a couple of Memphis veterans who carried the offensive load. Rudy Gay scored 29 points and Hakim Warrick added 21, both matching their season highs, as the Grizzlies won their third straight with a 103-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Warrick’s 12 points in the fourth quarter kept the Bulls at bay, snapping Chicago’s two-game winning streak. The win marked the first time the Grizzlies won three straight under Marc Iavaroni, in his second season as their coach… Darko Milicic had a season-high 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Marc Gasol scored 11 for Memphis. Conley had nine points, a career-high 10 rebounds and seven assists. Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 26 points, while Luol Deng had 19. Drew Gooden had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Dec 11: Grizzlies 108, Thunder 102
The AP reports: Rudy Gay had 22 points, and Mike Conley scored 14 of his season-high 16 points in fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-102 on Wednesday night for their first winning streak of the season… Mayo added 18 points in the first three quarters to pass Magic Johnson for the third longest streak of double-figure scoring games to start a career at 22. Only Dan Issel (27) and Bobby Jones (24), who played for the Denver Nuggets in the franchise’s first season in the NBA in 1976, had longer streaks. Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook added 15 and Jeff Green had 13 for Oklahoma City, which got one of its league-low two wins at Memphis on Nov. 29. Desmond Mason, Nick Collison and Joe Smith also scored 10 apiece.
3-team trade: Hornets get Antonio Daniels, Wizards get Javaris Crittenton, Mike James
The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have acquired guard Antonio Daniels and a future second round pick in a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards. As part of the trade, the Hornets send guard Mike James to the Wizards. The Hornets acquired a future second round pick from the Grizzlies and Daniels from the Wizards. Memphis sends guard Javaris Crittenton to Washington, while Washington sends Memphis a future first round pick that Washington originally acquired in the deal that gave Memphis Juan Carlos Navarro.
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“We are excited to get a player of Antonio’s caliber,” said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower. “He is a guard with excellent size, versatility and toughness. Daniels is also a proven veteran who has won a championship and we look forward to all of those attributes strengthening our bench.”
Daniels has averaged 5.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 22.2 minutes of play in 13 games (five starts) with the Wizards. He has scored in double figures twice and has had seven games of four or more assists.
“AD has always been a steady, proven guard in this league.” said Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott. “He has won at the highest level and is a clutch player; he also gives us a different look in the backcourt with his size.”
Daniels, the fourth overall pick out of Bowling Green University in the 1997 draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies, has spent time with five NBA teams – Grizzlies (1997-98), San Antonio Spurs (1998-2002), Portland Trail Blazers (2002-03), Seattle Sonics (2003-05) and the Wizards (2005-08).
He won an NBA Championship as a member of the Spurs during the 1998-99 season where he averaged 4.7 points, 2.3 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game during his second season in the NBA. Daniels best season in the league came during the 2004-05 season while a member of the Sonics where he averaged a career-best in points (11.2) and rebounds (2.3), while adding 4.1 assists in 27.0 minutes.
Daniels has ranked in the top seven in the NBA in assist per turnover three times in his career, including leading the league during the 2003-04 season.
Dec 8: Grizzlies 109, Rockets 97
The AP reports: O.J. Mayo and the Memphis Grizzlies used a quick start to put away the injury-depleted Houston Rockets. Rudy Gay scored 20 points, Mayo and Hakim Warrick had 18 points apiece, and The Grizzlies scored the first 10 points Monday night in a 109-97 win over the Rockets, who were without two of their top three scorers as Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest sat out with injuries… Kyle Lowry had 11 points and five assists, while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each had 10 points. Gasol and Warrick had eight rebounds apiece for Memphis. Luis Scola had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Rafer Alston had 16 points and eight assists for the Rockets. Von Wafer added 15 points, and Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks finished with 14 apiece. Carl Landry had 12 points.
Dec 3: Hawks 105, Grizzlies 95
The AP reports: Josh Smith wasted no time asserting himself after missing the past 12 games with an ankle sprain. The Atlanta Hawks’ fourth-year forward stole a pass from Memphis rookie O.J. Mayo a few seconds after tip-off, passing to Joe Johnson for an easy layup. “I knew I had to do something early just to get myself established in the game,” Smith said. “I definitely wanted to start on the defensive end, and being able to come up with that steal off the tip was key.” Johnson scored 26 points, and Mike Bibby had 20 points and 10 assists in the Atlanta Hawks’ 105-95 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The Hawks, who have won three of four and five of seven, benefited from Smith’s 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, four turnovers and one blocked shot in 28 minutes… Rudy Gay finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Memphis dropped its season-worst seventh straight.
Rookies of Month: Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo
The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Memphis Grizzlies’ O.J. Mayo today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played from the start of the season (Oct. 28) through November.
Rose is ranked first among all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring average (18.4), assists per game (6.0) and minutes per game (38.0). He has scored in double-figures in all but one game and has led his team in scoring six times and in assists 13 times. He became the first Bulls rookie since Michael Jordan, in 1984-85, to score 10 or more points in the first 10 games of his rookie season. His nine assists in his NBA debut tied for the second-most by a No. 1 pick in his pro debut since the common draft began in 1966.
Mayo leads all rookies in scoring with 21.9 ppg, the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Allen Iverson (23.4 ppg) in 1996-97. He ranks in the Top 10 among rookies in seven major categories, including scoring average, minutes, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and is the first rookie to have four 30-plus point games within his first 17 career games since Allen Iverson (five) in 1996-97. In addition, Mayo is on pace to become just the fifth rookie since the 1996-97 season to average over 39.0 minutes, joining LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Shane Battier.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, Milwaukee’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, New Jersey’s Brook Lopez, Portland’s Rudy Fernandez, Sacramento’s Jason Thompson and San Antonio’s George Hill.
Mike Miller still adjusting to Wolves
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Phil Miller) reports: Mike Miller’s 19-foot jumper to beat the Thunder on Friday was a feel-good moment for the first-year Timberwolf and his victory-starved team. But the 16 shots Miller took before that game-winner might have been even more significant. Miller hit eight of 17 shots in Oklahoma, and was noticeably more willing to assert himself at the offensive end. Along with a 10-for-19 night against the Spurs three weeks ago, it was just the second time since coming to Minnesota on a draft-night trade that Miller resembled the perimeter gunner he had been in Memphis. “He got into a nice rhythm and took some good shots,” said forward Craig Smith. “He can make them.” He can if he takes them, but that’s been the catch for Miller in Minnesota. The 6-foot-8 swingman is a career 46 percent shooter, and 40 percent from three-point range. But Miller has tried to work his way into the Wolves’ offense slowly this year, and has passed up shots he didn’t hesitate to try in his previous nine NBA seasons.
Nov 29: Thunder 111, Grizzlies 103
The AP reports: Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped their long losing streak with a timely game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Durant scored 30 points, and Jeff Green added 22 to help the Thunder end the losing streak at 14 with a 111-103 victory over Memphis on Saturday night… Russell Westbrook had 12 points for the Thunder, and Damien Wilkins and Desmond Mason finished with 11 each. O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 30 points, while Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol had 16 each… The Thunder had come close to ending the winning streak in a couple of games recently, losing on a last-second shot against Minnesota on Friday night and dropping a 99-98 game against Phoenix last Tuesday night. This time, they were able to stop the skid by closing out the game.