WELCOME TO M.E.M.P.H.I.S.
Depending on where you are Memphis is known for different things. Tell someone you’re from Memphis and their reaction will range from ” ya’ll sure do got some good barbecue in Memphis” or “Ya’ll was on the First 48” or “I came to Memphis for (insert event here).” If you talk to someone from Memphis they might tell you that “If you can make it in Memphis you can make it anywhere”, or “Memphis: where the love so fake and hate so real”.
I must say, believe all of these are true statements. This city has some die hard, fair weather, and band wagon fans. Memphis: where the fans love to hate you, just to love you again. Matt Bares for example. Barnes had been atop the Grizzlies most hated list, until he became a Grizzly. Now, all of the passion and emotion he played with against the Grizzlies will now be to our advantage. Then came Mario Chalmers. Memphians have hated Chalmers more for making a three pointer than they have hated Derrick rose for missing those free throws. Now that Chalmers is putting numbers on the board for the Grizzlies, Memphis embraces him. With every point he scores in Grizzlies uniform, it pushes his time in a Jayhawks uniform that much further out of our memories.
So let’s talk about Memphis Grizzlies. At the beginning of the season when 20+points blowouts were happening way to often. Whispers of what the front office should do became louder and louder until they became tweets in all caps followed by exclamation points. Fans were calling for the trade of our beloved veterans alleging that they no longer had what it takes to get the job done.
There have been several questions about the roster the majority of the season. Will the work that Jordan Adams, JaMychael Green, and Russ Smith put in during NBA Summer League? Will and when will Jarrell Martin be ready for action? Do the core four still have what it takes to finish the unfinished business of last season?
This has definitely been a roller coaster of a season. Before any of us get to pointing fingers and playing the could’ve would’ve should’ve game let’s take a look at every thing that has happened to get us to this point….
- Jun 18 Jeff Green exercises player option
- Jun 24 Grizzlies acquire Luke Ridnour from Orlando magic
- Jun 25 Grizzlies acquire Matt Barnes.
- Jun 25 Grizzlies drat Jarrell Martin
- Jun 25 Grizzlies acquire Draft Rights to Andrew harrison
- July 9 Sign Brandon Wright
- Jul 10 Grizzlies sign Jarrell Martin
- Jul 13 Grizzlies re-sign Marc Gasol
- Sept 2 Jarrell Martin fractures foot
- Oc 26 Grizzlies waive Ryan Hollins
- Oct 27 Grizzlies exercise player option on Joran Adams
- Nov 10 Grizzlies trade Beno Udrih and Jarnell Stokes to Miami for James Ennis and Mario Chalmers
- Dec 4 Grizzlies send James ennis to Iowa Energy
- Dec 6 Grizzlies recall Ennis from Iowa Energy
- Dec 8 Grizzlies re assign James Ennis to Iowa Energy
- Dec 11 Grizzlies re-assign James Ennis to Iowa Energy
- Dec 13 Grizzlies recall James ennis from Iowa Energy
- Dec 17 Grizzlies assign
- Dec 16 Brandon Wright out 6-8 weeks with knee injury
- Dec 29 Grizzlies Sign Ryan Hollins
- Dec 29 Grizzlies waive Russ Smith
- Jan 8 Grizzlies sign former Tiger Elliott Williams to 10-day contract
- Jan 21 Grizzlies sign Ryan Hollins to 10 day contract
- Feb 01 Grizzlies sign Ryan Hollins to second 10 day contract
- Feb 8 Marc Gasol leaves game with broken foot
- Feb 16 Grizzlies trde Courtney Lee and Jeff Green for Chris Andersen, P J Harriston and four draft picks
- Feb 18 Grizzlies acquire Lance Stephenson from Clippers
- Feb 27 Brandon Wright Sprain MCL in right knee
- Feb 29 Grizzlies recall Jarell Martin
- Mar 2 Grizzlies waive James Ennis
- Mar 2 Grizzlies re-sign Ryan Hollins
- Mar 6 Chris Andersen suffers left shoulder subuluxation
- Mar 9 Mario Chalmers ruptures achilles
- Mar 11 Grizzlies sign Briante Webber to 10 day contract
- Mar 11 Vince Carter suffers lower leg injury
- Mar 12 Grizzlies sign Ray McCallum and Alex Stephenson to 10-Day Contracts
…. and at this point we are still in position to make the playoffs.
When Marc Gasol broke his foot, fans and naysayers alike pronounced the season over for the Memphis Grizzlies. On paper and to someone outside of the city, that thought is somewhat understandable. What the doubters and non believers didn’t factor into the equation is that THIS IS MEMPHIS & WE GRIND HERE. In a city whose citizens are all to familiar with being down & out, but still grinding back to the top. The Memphis Grizzlies are no different than the citizens of the city they represent.
The battle tested and injury plagued Grizzlies have proved that Grit-N-Grind is not dead and they are not bluffing, in fact they are a force to be reconed with. Just ask the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. On Monday March 7th the depleted, eight player, Grizzlies roster defeated the Cavaliers 106-103. I neglected to mention that Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Matt Barnes, and Chris Anderson sat this one out. Tony Allen finished with a personal season high and a team game high 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting. The Grindfather also reached the 1,000 steal mark against the Cavaliers. Captain Clutch Conley was not in action but Vince Cater came up clutch for the Grizzlies by making four free throws in the final seconds of the game.
The Memphis Grizzlies were not as successful at catching the Boston Celtics off guard with the last minute changes to the line up. The Celtics showed up ready and sent the Grizzlies back to Memphis with a 116-96 loss to think about. Two days after loosing in Boston the Grizzlies were back in Memphis to battle the Pelicans. After loosing Mario Chalmers in Boston, the Grizzlies sign Briante Webber to a 10 day contract. Webber is thrown into the starting line up and finished his first NBA game with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Lance Stevenson finishes with a career high 33 points. Batt Barnes registers his first triple double with 26 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds. The combined efforts was enough for the goon squad to get the 121-114 OT victory over the Pelicans. To be continued…..
Stay tuned for the latest on the Memphis Grizzlies.