This is the first post here since I previewed Game 7 of the Thunder series Sunday morning. I didn’t go into seclusion in the face of that defeat. Instead, I started writing what ended up being a very long cover story on the playoff run. I knew I was going to be doing a long piece for print before hand, but didn’t know what it would be — a look back at the surprising playoff run or a look ahead to the Western Conference finals — until late Sunday afternoon. So I’ve been busy with that.
The paper hit the streets this morning, so if you’re an in-town reader you can pick it up all over the place. The story will be online tomorrow morning.
As for Game 7: No real mystery to it. The entire series had been about the Grizzlies trying to overcome the Thunder’s shot-making advantage and that element went haywire for the Grizzlies in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Looking back: If you set that Game 1 anomaly aside, the subsequent three games in Oklahoma City were convincing Thunder wins. All three games in Memphis were wars. Amazingly, the Grizzlies were a triple-overtime home loss away from potentially winning that series in six games. But, in the end, it’s hard to deny that the best team ended up taking it.
Zach Randolph: “Behind the Music”: GQ.com’s NBA blog, “Balls Out!” published a “through the years” style piece on Zach Randolph this morning, featuring contributions from multiple writers on different phases of Randolph’s career. I weighed in with a few thoughts on Randolph’s tenure, so far, in Memphis. Thanks to David Roth and Bethlehem Shoals for inviting me to take part.
Grading Myself on Preseason Predictions:
With the season now over, it’s time for that annual ritual wherein I unearth my preseason predictions and see how they panned out. These are all from a sidebar in my season preview piece back in October:
