Despite the epic feel of the Grizzlies overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’m actually going to keep this post-gamer fairly brief. But I’m going to follow-up tomorrow afternoon with a more well-rested consideration of what this game means in the big picture of this season and where the franchise is. But for now:
1. Best Game in Four Years: I crowned the Grizzlies win over the Dallas Mavericks Friday night the “win of the year,” and that was true at the time. So what to say about this one? It was simply the best, most enjoyable, and most meaningful Grizzlies home game in at least four years. There have been good and exciting games in recent years: Rudy Gay game-winners against Orlando (last season) and San Antonio (two seasons ago) are both memorable. But those were games were early blips during mostly terrible seasons.
Tonight, the Grizzlies beat one of the league’s best teams with one of the league’s best players in a tightly contested game in the middle of an 8-4 stretch that seems to be establishing the team at a level of respectability and competitiveness Grizzlies fans haven’t seen in years.
In this game, the Grizzlies took some punches — a thunderous beginning from Lebron James, a double-digit first-half deficit, significant frontcourt foul trouble — and stood their ground, coming out in the third quarter with a gritty, chippy demeanor to get back into the game.
