Why The Grizzlies Could Win It All

The Memphis Grizzlies are only the fourth 8 seed to win a playoff series, and only the second team to win a 1st round best-of-7 match up. They defeated the Spurs in 6 games and have gotten out to a 1-0 lead over the Thunder. (Keep in mind the title of this post is Why The Grizzlies Could Win It All and not Why The Grizzlies Will Win It All, if I wanted more shock value I would have said that, but I don’t believe it.) Regardless, the Grizzlies, even without Rudy Gay, are a team that is feared by their opponents.

Coming into this post season the Grizzlies had a 0-12 franchise record in the playoffs. They never sniffed the second season while in Vancouver, but got there three straight years in Memphis (2003-2006) only to be swept each time. After four years of no playoffs, the Grizz went 46-36 this year (same record as the 7 seed Hornets) and were awarded with the last seed in the West.

Their young star Rudy Gay (20 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts this season) only played in 54 games as a shoulder injury cost him the rest of the year. The idea that Memphis could be a pesky 1st round opponent seemingly went out the window with Gay’s injury. However, when the regular season came to an end and the match up of #1 Spurs vs. #8 Grizzlies was official, some, like TNT’s Charles Barkley, thought that Memphis would beat the aging and banged up Spurs. But can they keep going?

Memphis is 5-2 in the playoffs. They proved they can win on the road (victories in both San Antonio and Oklahoma City) and they are a perfect 3-0 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. They have a combination of young guys and veterans. It’s clear that they feel like they belong. Obviously the notion that they would be satisfied with one upset is false thanks to their Game 1 performance in OKC.

How do they do it? It starts with Zach Randolph. A guy who put up 20-10s throughout his career on bad teams. He was labeled a clubhouse cancer, waste of money, etc. Whether it was Portland, New York, or his brief stay with the Clippers, it seemed like no buddy wanted his production because of his attitude. Well it’s working in Memphis; after they won their 1st playoff game (Game 1 vs. San Antonio) the team announced they had inked Z-Bo to a multi-year extension. And how about this for a complement, All-Star and 2-time NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant said that Randolph is the best power forward in the league today.

Whether that is true or not (Dirk & Pau are pretty good) it is incredibly high praise and it’s not an outlandish statement anymore. The combo of Randolph and Marc Gasol has been absolutely devastating. Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins will have to slow those guys down if the Thunder are going to win this series. If not, Randolph-Gasol vs. Gasol-Bynum-Odom in the next round would be worth the price of admission.

So the 8 seed Grizzlies, have an advantage in most series at the 4-5 spot, they get great rebounding and scoring from those positions. Point guard Mike Conley has gotten better in each of his 4 years in the NBA. He’s no Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, or Russell Westbrook, but he knows his game, plays smart and doesn’t turn it over. He’s more of a pure point guard compared to the guy he is matched up with in this series, Westbrook. Conley is also not a liability like a Mike Bibby or Derek Fisher.

Over half of the Grizzlies points in the playoffs come from the trio of Randolph-Gasol-Conley. The lack of Rudy Gay has actually made the roles on the team more defined. Those three are relied on for the majority of the shots (50.2% of the shots). Fellow starters Tony Allen and Sam Young, score only when they are open (Young can hit the outside shot, I don’t need to tell you about TA). Off the bench, the Grizz bring in O.J. Mayo (who they tried to trade on deadline day), Shane Battier, Darrell Arthur, and a little bit of Greivis Vasquez to spell Conley.

With Rudy Gay out, they are not going to score a lot from the wing spots, however Tony Allen and Shane Battier force the opponent to work their ass of to get theirs. We know the Thunder are Durant & Westbrook. They hope they get a great night from James Harden or Serge Ibaka. Memphis comes at you with more of a team. Game 1 their bench outscored Oklahoma City’s 27-16, and one would think that advantage might be even greater at home.

Despite being an 8 seed, and despite not having Gay, look at how they match up against every team left in the playoffs (not counting the Hawks)…

Vs. Lakers:
Derek Fisher vs. Mike Conley
Kobe Bryant vs. Tony Allen/ O.J. Mayo/ Shane Battier
Ron Artest vs. Sam Young/ Shane Battier
Pau Gasol vs. Zach Randolph
Andrew Bynum vs. Marc Gasol

Lamar Odom vs. Darrell Arthur/ Z-Bo

Vs. Mavericks:
Jason Kidd vs. Mike Conley
DeShawn Stevenson vs. Tony Allen
Shawn Marion vs. Sam Young
Dirk Nowitzki vs. Zach Randolph/ Darrell Arthur
Tyson Chandler vs. Marc Gasol

Jason Terry vs. O.J. Mayo/ TA/ Shane Battier

Vs. Bulls:
Derrick Rose vs. Mike Conley/ TA
Keith Bogans vs. Tony Allen/ O.J. Mayo
Luol Deng vs. Sam Young/ Shane Battier
Carlos Boozer vs. Zach Randolph
Joakim Noah vs. Marc Gasol

Vs. Heat:
Mike Bibby vs. Mike Conley
Dwyane Wade vs. Tony Allen
LeBron James vs. Sam Young/ Shane Battier
Chris Bosh (assuming he doesn’t take himself out because of the pressure that would be associated with the NBA Finals) vs. Zach Randolph
Big Z vs. Marc Gasol

James Jones vs. O.J. Mayo

Vs. Celtics:
Rajon Rondo vs. Mike Conley
Ray Allen vs. Tony Allen
Paul Pierce vs. Sam Young/ Shane Battier
Kevin Garnett vs. Zach Randolph
Jermaine O’Neal vs. Marc Gasol

Delonte West vs. O.J. Mayo
Glen Davis vs. Darrell Arthur
Jeff Green vs. Shane Battier

Is it just me or do they match up extremely well with everybody? I’m not saying they are going to win the title, but the Grizzlies are going to be a very tough out. Between their down low scoring, great rebounding, elite perimeter defenders, and x-factors (Mayo or Young could go for a random 30 one night), toss in a home court advantage, they may not have the best looking dance team, but watch out. Good luck to the Thunder, because they need it.

-Keefe

GSP Wins, Couture KO'd at UFC 129

Georges St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title with a 5-round unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields. The fight stayed on the feet for almost the entire 25 minutes. Shields hit GSP with what looked like a knuckle to his open left eye, St. Pierre said he could not see out of it. Not completely dominate, but there was no doubt when the horn sounded that GSP was the winner. After the fight he was noncommittal about moving up to middleweight and fighting Anderson Silva.

Couture done like that? Randy "The Natural" Couture said prior to the fight with Lyoto Machida, that he would retire. The 47 year old former champion was knocked out in the 1st round by something out of The Karate Kid. Machida landed a devastating kick to the face that sent Captain America to the ground. That was it... or will he be back?

Jose Aldo (boring) Vladimir Matyushenko (20 seconds TKO punches), and Ben Henderson (decision) were all winners on the night's main card.

-Keefe

NFL Draft Radio Show Special

Tune into a special NFL Draft show on 98.5 The Sports Hub tonight from 7pm-midnight. Rich Keefe is joined by NFL veterans Mike Flynn (Center on the Ravens Super Bowl winning team), and Jermaine Wiggins (Tight End on 1st Patriots Super Bowl winning team). The three will be live from the CBS Scene in Foxboro, with Scott Zolak checking in during the coverage that takes place between the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

The Patriots currently own 3 picks in the 2nd round and 2 more in the 3rd.

You can call the show: (617) 779-0985
Text: 69985
Listen online: CBSBostonSports.com

Brian Wilson Does It Again

Youtube celebrity Keenan Cahill has collaborated with a number of famous musicians, but this may be his very best, teaming up with World Series champions Brian Wilson and Cody Ross. No sign of The Machine, but I guess a kid is involved.

Below is the story of the kid, Keenan Cahill, courtesy of his website keenansroom.com

Keenan Cahill
was born in 1995 in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He was born to two parents who would later separate. Keenan was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease at the age of one called MPS Type 6 (see full description below). Keenan underwent a bone marrow transplant in 1997 to slow down the progression of the disease, which required Keenan to live in a isolation for almost one year to prevent infection. Keenan has since had multiple surgeries including a surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Keenan has overcome all of these obstacles to finally achieve two successes. Keenan has entered High School and is currently a freshman, second Keenan has achieved International fame with his YouTube Channel. Keenan initially started his channel as a hobby, but once he performed and recorded “Teenage Dream” and it found its way to Katy Perry, this would no longer be a hobby. Keenan has garnered international recognition for his videos and with his recent appearance on Chelsea Lately it has become a game changer for Keenan. Keenan is living each and every day hoping to show the world that talent no matter how much adversity its presented with will always overcome all obstacles.

-Keefe

Rich Reviews: Scream 4

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Well mine is probably Scream. (The original Halloween and Devil's Rejects are up there.) There is a lot I liked about the first installment, particularly the way it revitalized the horror genre. The characters in Scream were self aware, they watched movies and openly discussed them. The "what if you were in a horror movie" angle. As a bit of a film dork myself, I enjoyed all the tip-of-the-caps to previous movies, specifically legendary horror classics.

Say what you want about the original, but it was very smart. It is easy to make fun of it now, and trust me all of my friends do for liking it so much, however I think it still holds up today, 15 years after it came out. The story is solid, the characters are well developed, and most importantly for a horror movie, it's both scary and entertaining.

What about the sequels? Well at least all of the references to movies were still there. They even made a point to say in Scream 2 that sequels suck, and "by definition alone they are inferior films." I thought 2 had it's moments, some good ideas, I enjoyed it.

Scream 3 did not have the same writer (Kevin Williamson) as the first two, but it acted as the finale of a trilogy. Again, like the second film referencing other sequels, they devoted some time in 3 to describe trilogies, different rules, rare in the horror field, etc. Again, it had it's moments, but clearly the films go, A, B, C (if you're grading at home).

Alright enough about the first 3 films of the franchise, I just wanted to point out that I am a huge fan, it's my favorite franchise of horror films (beating out Halloween and Saw). So needless to say I was pumped when I heard they were making a 4th (with director Wes Craven, writer Kevin Williamson, and stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette).



I was busy opening weekend, if not I would have gone, seriously. Anyway, the girlfriend and I were 2 of I'd say 10-12 people in the audience for a Wednesday night showing at 7:30pm. That's not surprising as it made only 18.7 million in its opening weekend. Not what they were looking for. (Scream 2 made 33 million opening weekend, while Scream 3 drew 33.4.)



Scream 4 takes place 10 years after the end of Scream 3. Gail Weathers (Cox) is now Gail Riley and is married to Sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette) in Woodsboro (the original town). Sidney Prescott (Campbell) comes back to town to promote a book she wrote, and next thing you know people start getting stabbed. They introduce a bunch of new characters, lots of high school kids, some new cops, and you got yourself a cast, where not only can anyone die, but anyone can be the killer.



It's a classic "who done it/ who is doing it." I tried figuring out who did it for probably a full hour, I won't spoil anything here.

But was it good? In a word, eh. I didn't hate it, that might be the big Scream fan in me talking. For a movie that was 10 years in the making, it was a let down. You got to think, if Kevin Williamson spent 10 years on this it was going to be really good. I wonder if he spent 10 hours on it.

The first movie was so different and so smart, this movie tries to hard and comes up short. There was to much of the, "well that was how it worked then, so now it is like this, so we need to expect that, and everything is different while being the same." What? And they should have spent more time developing a true story instead of just upping the kill count and trying to fool you on who the killer(s) is/are.

In the end, it's no where near the as good as the first one, and doesn't even rival the second. I'd have to watch it again before I say for sure it's worse than 3, but I feel like I could do a solid debate on either side of 3 & 4 for which is better. If you happen to be a big fan of the series, it's worth a watch, but go in with low expectations. If you don't like these movie, you didn't read this far anyway.

When To Watch It Scale


The WTWIS is broken down to the following 4 categories...

-Theater
-Netflix
-TV
-Don't Bother

Although I was a bit disappointed, I will go with "Netflix" for Scream 4. (The TV version, unless on HBO will be edited pretty bad I imagine.)

Alright, there you have it. Hope this helps. If you saw it feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you thought or e-mail me at sportsbrief@gmail.com

-Keefe

Thoughts from the Game 1's

I watched as much as I could over the weekend, and this is what I came up with.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Bulls vs. #8 Pacers (104-99 Chicago, 1-0)

Shocking. Well as shocking as it can be without the #1 overall seed actually losing. Indiana was leading from start to almost the very end. Tyler Hansborough? Where did that come from? Looked like he was playing a Tuesday night game against Clemson for a few minutes.

I thought Danny Granger summed it up best by comparing Derrick Rose to a stalker ex-girlfriend, every time you turn around she’s there, at your door wherever. I think this game will wake up the Bulls and they will win in 4 or 5.

#2 Heat vs. #7 76ers (97-89, Miami 1-0)

Give credit to Chris Bosh, ok you don’t have too, but he played well and helped the Heat avoid a loss. For the Celtics sake let’s hope Philly can win a game, or two at home, so LeBron and company have to work rather than coast into the 2nd round. I have faith the 6ers can make them fight after watching on Saturday. Game 2 is tonight.

#3 Celtics vs. #6 Knicks (87-85, Boston 1-0)

Jermaine O'Neal! Watching that game was the first time all season when I actually had a JO in Indiana flashback. The way he narrows his body and gets all skinny when he shoots and it a pretty good shot blocker. Now I don't expect that to keep up the rest of the playoffs, but it was fun nonetheless.

The Celtics were lucky in the fact that Carmelo Anthony played well for 1 quarter, and they still nearly lost the game. Melo is going to be better, however if Billups misses a game or two or just isn't effective, it may not matter.

#4 Magic vs. #5 Hawks (103-93, Atlanta 1-0)

The Hawks don’t seem to like playing with each other and they certainly don’t enjoy coaching in general, but they stole home court from Orlando. Dwight Howard 46 points 19 rebounds… in a loss. Let the big man get his and take everyone else out. It worked once, will it work again? I’m going to stick with my pick of the Magic winning this series, the Hawks self hate will overcome.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Spurs vs. #8 Grizzlies (101-98, Memphis 1-0)

How about this one? Tony Allen starting for a contender? Ok contender is a bit aggressive, but they do present some tough match ups even without Rudy Gay. Memphis get its first playoff win in franchise history (0-12 coming in), and they follow that up by giving Zach Randolph a 4-year contract extension. And you know what? I like it. Sure he seems like the obvious, pay for play guy, 1-year, incentive deals, but go for it Memphis!

It’s the same team Chris Wallace led front office that dealt Pau Gasol for nothing (although Marc Gasol has turned out pretty nice) and drafted Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall, only to pair him with another 1st rounder to get Shane Battier… back.

Manu’s elbow could be the key to this series, however I still think San Antonio advances, but they sure seem ripe for the picking.

#2 Lakers vs. #7 Hornets (109-100, New Orleans 1-0)

I thought New Orleans was the worst Western Conference Playoff team, and the only one not capable of winning a series. Winning a game I figured would be a stretch, let alone at the Staples Center. Hats off to Chris Paul. Maybe he hasn’t been as explosive as we’ve seen earlier in his career, but can we ease up on Derrick Rose is waaaaaay better than CP3, and so is Deron Williams, maybe even Russell Westbrook. Chris Paul is still here folks.

#3 Mavericks vs. #6 Trail Blazers (89-81, Dallas 1-0)

This could be a classic case of everyone picks the “underdog,” making them not the underdog any longer, and they end up losing to the original favorite. Teams 5-8 in the West were hoping to get Dallas. Well Portland did, what can they do with them? As Bill Simmons pointed out in his recent podcast, the Mavs have the best player in this series (Dirk) but Portland might have the next 4 (Aldridge, Wallace, Miller, Camby?) It’s debatable.

Wes Mathews is a good player who had a poor Game 1. Brandon Roy is a total wild card. His injuries knocked him down from a potential Top 10 player, to the team’s 7th man.

As poor as Dirk’s supporting cast is, I believe in this series, he can win 3 games while his supporting cast can take 1. Hey J. Kidd had 24 points in Game 1. Jason Terry is capable of 30 one night, and I’m probably the only person in the country that thinks Shawn Marion could slap up a 20-12 in one of these games.

#4 Thunder vs. #5 Nuggets (107-103, OKC 1-0)

This is the series (outside of Boston-New York obviously) that I am the most interested in watching, and will find ways to be in front of the TV for every minute.

Funny how the 4 playoff teams that really changed at the deadline are involved in 2 series. The Nuggets made a franchise altering deal with the Knicks, and the Celtics shocked their own fans… and players, by trading with the Thunder. A couple months later and you get Celtics-Knicks and Thunder-Nuggets.

I like watching Perkins play. I never, ever, thought I would say that. I yelled at every moving offensive screen, every time he put it on the floor near the basket and did his infuriating “gather move.” But now that he’s gone, I’m like, “Wow look at that screen! Did you see that board? There’s the scowl!” The question remains with OKC, how far can Durant-Westbrook carry them as their only offensive options?

As for Denver, it’s amazing how they don’t have a single star player but can still go a legit 11 deep with each guy bringing their own flavor. George Karl has them meshing well, but you got to wonder if it’s just a fun regular season team that surprised, only to bow out in the playoffs.

If the first weekend is any indication of how the rest of the 2011 post season is going to be, we are in store for one of the all time greatest. I’ll be back throughout the playoffs with scattered thoughts.

NBA Awards

It’s time to hand out the regular season awards here on The Sports Brief. Everything from All-Rookie 2nd Team to the MVP is listed below. If you agree, disagree, or just want to interact, hit up the comments section below.

2nd Team All-Rookie:

Greg Monroe, Pistons
Wesley Johnson, Timberwolves
Eric Bledsoe, Clippers
Evan Turner, 76ers
Paul George, Pacers

1st Team All-Rookie:

Blake Griffin, Clippers
John Wall, Wizards
DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Landry Fields, Knicks
Gary Neal, Spurs

Rookie of the Year:

Blake Griffin, Clippers (22.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 62 double-doubles with 1 game left to play)
Among rookies, Griffin ranks 1st in points, 1st in rebounds, 2nd in assists, and 9th in steals.

Most Improved Player:

Kevin Love, Timberwolves
14 points/ 11 rebounds in ’09-10 – 20.2/ 15.2 in ’10-11

Coach of the Year:

Tom Thibodeau, Bulls (#1 in Eastern Conference)

6th Man of the Year:

Lamar Odom, Lakers (14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Yes Odom did start 34 games because of Bynum’s injury, but he is truly a 6th man this season.

2nd Team All-Defense:

Andre Iguodala, 76ers
Serge Ibaka, Thunder
Tyson Chandler, Mavericks
Chris Paul, Hornets
Rajon Rondo, Celtics

1st Team All-Defense:

Kevin Garnett, Celtics
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Dwight Howard, Magic
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Josh Smith, Hawks

Defensive Player of the Year:

Dwight Howard, Magic (14.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.3 steals)

3rd Team All-NBA:

Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Russell Westbrook, Thunder
Pau Gasol, Lakers
Paul Pierce, Celtics
Blake Griffin, Clippers

2nd Team All-NBA:

Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Chris Paul, Hornets
Amare Stoudemire, Knicks
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks

1st Team All-NBA:

Derrick Rose, Bulls
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Dwight Howard, Magic
LeBron James, Heat
Kevin Durant, Thunder

MVP:

Derrick Rose, Bulls (24.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists)


Can't wait for the playoffs!

-Keefe