Kevin Lipe reports on the Grizzlies’ impressive wire-to-wire victory over Portland, Tuesday night.
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Month: January 2014
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Tuesday night in Portland, the Grizzlies looked like the team Dave Joerger told us they’d be.
Last night’s road win over the Portland Trail Blazers is the signature win of the season so far. The Grizzlies put on a clinic on both sides of the ball in Portland on Monday night, and the Blazers—the third place team in the West, looking to bounce back against a poor showing on the road at Golden State—were helpless to do anything but stand in and take the body blows the Grizzlies were dishing out.
Portland has the highest-ranked offense in the league, in both points per game and offensive efficiency. Last night, the Grizzlies held them below 90 points at home for the first time all year. It was only the 10th time the Blazers had even been held below 100, and the second time below 90 (the first being that aforementioned Golden State loss).
But last night wasn’t just about the Grizzlies’ defense clamping down in a way that it hasn’t often done this season—it was also about the offense, coming close to 100 points for the second time in two games after spending the first five games after Gasol’s return hovering around 90. The Grizzlies’ offensive efficiency last night was 107.4. The Grizzlies shot 51.8% from the floor and 46.2% from beyond the arc. Zach Randolph had 23 points (and 10 rebounds, which topped Pau Gasol’s Grizzlies franchise record for most double doubles with 190).
And everyone who played (sorry Jamaal Franklin and Jon Leuer) contributed to the cause (except Ed Davis, who did an OK job on defense but overall struggled mightily on both ends against the much bigger and supremely gifted LaMarcus Aldridge). Nick Calathes played 13:24 and while he only made one bucket, he had 4 rebounds and 4 assists to go along with it. Mike Miller was 3-3 from long range. Tayshaun Prince took too many midrange jumpers. James Johnson’s numbers don’t reflect his defensive contributions (or how quickly he racked up those 4 fouls).
This is what we were promised when the Joerger Era began, though, isn’t it? The same suffocating defense, augmented by an offense with the ability to go on big scoring runs when the conditions were right, bolstered by outside shooting and driven by ball movement run through Mike Conley and Marc Gasol?
(Speaking of Marc Gasol ball movement, he’s got to stop hitting the wide open Tayshaun Prince with the ball instead of going to someone else. It’s the same thing he did hitting Tony Allen in the corner for a wide open three. Yes, Marc, they’re wide open. Let’s consider why that might be the case before we pass, hmm?)
At any rate, the Grizzlies are now 6-1 since the return of Marc Gasol, and he’s not even all the way healthy yet—or even particularly close. I’d say he’s playing at about 70%-80%. Four of those wins have come over Oklahoma City, Houston, and Portland, teams the Spurs haven’t been able to beat yet. The Griz are now 1½ games back of Dallas for the 8th playoff spot, but it doesn’t stop there—now they’re 2½ games out of the 6th and 7th spots. Only 5 games out of the 5th spot. The Western Conference playoff race is starting to tighten up at the bottom, and it’s only going to get tighter as the season races toward its conclusion.
For comparison, the Grizzlies, currently 9th in the West, are closer to the top-seeded Thunder (11.5 games back) than the 3rd-seeded Raptors are to the Pacers in the East (12 games back). If they keep winning games like this one over the West’s best opponents, the Grizzlies are going to make some noise, both in the regular season, and potentially in a first-round playoff matchup. They’ve beaten all of the top teams in the West except for San Antonio now. The only two teams above them in the standings whom the Grizzlies have yet to beat are the Spurs and the Mavericks, and they still have to play both teams at least one more time.
The Grizzlies appear to be starting to round into shape, coming together to make a serious run at the right time. Between now and the All Star break, the Griz have an excellent chance to stockpile wins and move up the standings and then take a week off to rest. Last night’s win over Portland is further proof that this Griz squad can hang with the West’s elite, and that the Grizzlies’ opponents should all be wary of running into this particularly burly, non-bluffing buzzsaw.
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R.I.P. Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger has passed away. He cast a huge shadow over the last century with his tremendous banjo, his bad-ass sweaters, and his deep passion for social justice. He makes most musicians look like narcissistic brats. He respected the musical traditions and he heralded the greater good of mankind. Here he is singing about the Big Muddy:
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R.I.P. Pete Seeger
R.I.P. Pete Seeger (2)
I’m so caught up in 38 Special that this wild-eyed Southern boy can only hang on loosely. 38 Special blows the freaking doors off Horseshoe Tunica on Friday, January 31st. If you go on Saturday, there will not be doors. Just shards of doors everywhere.
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Sound Advice Friday: 38 Special, son.
“I started the kind of fashion blog that wasn’t out there yet and the blog I wanted women like me to have.” — Bekah McDuffie
When Memphis blogger Bekah McDuffie gave her style tips and forecasts in the New Year post, she keyed in on patterns and experimentation, so her outfit for this Style Session is quite fitting.
Readers of her style blog Matters of Merrymaking know she has no fear of color or bold patterns. They may not be able to tell, though, that in person she stands a good 6 feet tall, yet has a very soft and well, merry, exuberance.
“When I walk into a room, I stand out already so why not stand out in a good way?” she says.
As a self-confessed “blogging rarity,” she understands how to be fashionable on a budget and how to dress a full figure with confidence. Posting at least twice a week, Bekah affectionately refers to her readers as her little chickens, and lets them in on her life as an aspiring stylist and as a single young woman living in a city she loves. Peer in and see her day-to-day outfits, style finds, and fashion giveaways. You’ll be charmed.
Outfit Details
Dress, ASOS. Tights, We Love Colors. Shoes, Barefoot Tess. Clutch, Navoh. Necklace, Dots. Rings, Silpada. Bracelet, gift.
Shoot locations
Bar Louie and Overton Square.
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“Wicked” at The Orpheum
The hit musical, Wicked, returns to The Orpheum stage Wednesday.
Law enforcement agencies across Tennessee may soon participate in a “Guns For Guns” program, whereby citizens can turn in guns and receive different guns.
“This initiative accomplishes two things,” said Tennessee State Representative Melvin Plunck (R) of East Tennessee. “We get potentially dangerous guns off the streets, while not depriving citizens of their Second Amendment rights. It’s what they call a ‘win-win’.”
Details need to be worked out for the plan, but Plunck hopes that local law enforcement keep the trade-in simple.
“Look, we can get into all kinds of arguments as to whether or not I should be able to take one type of handgun if I trade in another,” Plunck said. “But if we’re serious about getting the worst weapons off the street does it really matter if I grab a .45 after dropping off a .38?”
Plunck then hurriedly pointed out that he does not own a .38, which he described as being a “silly little gun.”
Ultimately, Plunck believes organizers will simply toss a bunch of guns on a table and let God sort it out.
Joey Hack is a regular contributor to Fly on the Wall, and is a member of The Wiseguys improv troupe.
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Preauxx’s New EP
Preauxx Listening Party 022 from Memphidelity on Vimeo.
Preauxx’s New EP
Preauxx’s Die Willing EP will be available for download today on his website. Last Thursday, the New Orleans-born Memphis rapper held a listening party at Ardent Studios in Midtown for Die Willing. The event gave many in the Memphis music community an opportunity to hear what Preauxx has been working on and was also something of a pep rally for his Pledge Music campaign to fund the scheduled spring release of his debut album “Forever. I Will.” The larger room with a DJ was a festive party room, while the engineer’s booth was where Preauxx curated his new music for critical listening. The new songs sound great, and the whole event was a lot of fun. www.preauxx.com
Trolley Stop Market owners, Keith and Jill Forrester, are working on a new restaurant in Tyronza, Arkansas, that will bring the flavors from their farm to the restaurant’s tables just four miles away.
Work on the restaurant, called Tyboogie’s Cafe, began in November 2012, according to its Facebook page. Progress has continued since then to remodel the former grocery store at 101 North Main Street.
“We are making tracks to get the restaurant open,” read a Monday post. “We all hope you like country cookin’ at its best!”
“A considerable” amount of the produce used in the dishes at Tyboogie’s will be grown at Whitton Farms, the Forrester’s farm, the post said. The same farm-to-table philosophy is the backbone of the Forrester’s Trolley Stop Market in Memphis on Madison.
In addition to opening the restaurant, the Forresters plan to open their farm for public sales six days a week.
Fly on the Wall loves WMC-TV 5 news reporter Jason Miles.
It’s true.
We love his over-the-top tweets, the fact that he chest bumped a Memphis cop because the officer asked him to move the news van, and most of all we love the Twitter profile photo that once depicted the dogged newsman crawling under a car to get his story. More than any of that even, we love a blog post from I Heart Memphis featuring a birthday cake that memorializes Miles’ courageous car-crawl in delicious icing.
Lucky birthday girl Kate Midgley relates this story: “When my husband went to pick up the cake, the bakery lady asked ‘is that the cake with the movie star on it?” Yes, Kroger bakery lady, yes it is.
A link notes Miles’ arrest for chest-bumping the above-mentioned cop. All charges were subsequently dropped.