Somewhere hidden within last night’s 19-point rout (which wasn’t even that close) was a Memphis Grizzlies team that could actually challenge the L.A. Lakers. Like, in a playoff series. I’m serious.

You can learn a lot from a blowout, but if I’m Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, I’m focusing today’s film session on the third quarter, when the Grizzlies outscored L.A. 30-24. That was when the Grizzlies used their athleticism, rebounding, defense and a nothing-to-lose attitude while looking a lot like the Oklahoma City Thunder squad that pushed Kobe Bryant‘s team to six games in the first round of the 2010 postseason. Read More »

Before the Memphis Grizzlies confirmed it by locking up Rudy Gay with a five-year, $82 million contract on the first day of free agency, Gay was seen as the future of the franchise. Memphis gave up Shane Battier to acquire Gay in a Draft-day trade with Houston back in ’06, and he’s repaid them by averaging 17.4 points and 5.5 boards over the first four years of his career.

In Dime #57, Rudy talked to us in a “10 Sense” article about playing in a contract year and leading the Grizzlies’ return to respectability: Read More »

Rick Pitino is buggin’. Still firmly in the eye of the storm surrounding his sex/extortion scandal (with all sorts of salacious terms like “FBI” and “adultery” and “psychological evaluation” and “blackmail” being thrown around daily), Pitino called a press conference at Louisville yesterday to wag his finger at the media Rafael Palmeiro-style for covering this story. “[What] I don’t understand is why you keep fostering this behavior. On a day where Ted Kennedy died, the news here in Louisville broke in with Karen Syper’s (the woman in question) audio and the tapes and detectives. That’s a pretty sad commentary on us.” Read More »

Are the Hawks just ultra-confident that they’ll win any Game Seven in their own gym? Because with a chance to eliminate D-Wade and the Heat last night, ATL came out, as Mark Jackson put it, like they had some kind of cushion. True, the Hawks were essentially missing two starters (Al Horford out; Marvin Williams played five minutes), and generally they were not a good road team this year. But execution and effort are two different things … Read More »