A few notes in advance of tonight’s Game 4 between the Grizzlies and Spurs. The game tips-off at 7 p.m., with a national broadcast on TNT. I’ll be joining the Chris Vernon Show from 5-6 p.m. before heading back to the arena to get settled in. Follow night’s action on Twitter with me at the FlyerGrizBlog feed. And check back here later tonight — much later, probably — for a full report from the game.
Atmosphere: As of this morning, Game 4 is a sellout, but there are a few questions: Even though this game is now even more important than Game 3, can the atmosphere possibly duplicate what we saw Saturday night? Even though tickets are sold, will today’s stormy weather provoke some no-shows? How much will we miss The Giant Head of Eva Longoria — who I’m told will not be making an appearance tonight?
Randolph from Long-Range: Zach Randolph’s three-pointer was the shot of the night Saturday, and I wrote about it plenty in my post-game report. But let’s take a moment to put Randolph’s penchant for long-range shooting into some context, lest celebration become encouragement.
Randolph is a career 28% three-point shooter on an outrageously over-sized 391 attempts. This season, Randolph hit 18% from three on 43 shots, which might not seem like many attempts, but for a frontcourt player who is not a good three-point shooter, it sort of is. The only player in the NBA this season who took as many three-point attempts while shooting a lower percentage was Toronto swingman DeMar DeRozan, who shot 10% on 52 attempts. And the other players with attempt/percentage numbers similar to Randolph’s were guards — Andre Miller (37/11), Acie Law (36/17), Gerald Henderson (36/19).
Frontcourt players who don’t shoot the three well simply don’t shoot it as frequently as Randolph, and while he’s done a good job reducing his attempts since joining the Grizzlies, he still launches them too frequently and still clings to that facet of his game too stubbornly. Late in the clock, desperation attempts are fine — and perhaps that game-sealer on Saturday night qualifies — but the Grizzlies need to make sure Randolph doesn’t drift out toward the arc too often.
Avoiding Duncan’s Defense: Randolph’s generally poor three-point shooting wasn’t the only troubling fact obscured by Saturday night’s big shot. That high-arcing heave was the only attempt Randolph connected on in a rough fourth quarter.
