By Matt Moore

The Memphis Grizzlies traded point guard Greivis Vasquez to the New Orleans Hornets Saturday for guard-forward Quincy Pondexter, via Yahoo Sports. 

Vasquez, entering his second season out of Maryland, was a prominent role player for the Grizzlies' playoff run last year, surprising many with his play-making ability. But head coach Lionel Hollins has said in preseason press conferences that he was impressed with the point guard work of Jeremy Pargo, and Vasquez lacks NBA athleticism and distributing ability. 

For the Hornets, it's a fine move, as Vasquez helps back up Jarrett Jack at point guard following the departure of Chris Paul to the Clippers. Pondexter got very few minutes last season, averaging just 11 per game. The Grizzlies are in desperate need of frontcourt help following the injury to Darrell Arthur, but Pondexter's 6-6 frame isn't exactly going to help in that area.

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

New York Knicks forward Renaldo Balkman, representing Puerto Rico, headbutted Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez, representing Venezuela, during a Monday game at the FIBA Americas tournament in Argentina.

The act was retaliation for a hard foul and led to an extended skirmish, requiring Puerto Rico's coach Flor Melendez to intervene and calm down Balkman, before the player was ejected. The foul occurred with 5:37 remaining and Puerto Rico leading, 85-62.

The exchange began with Balkman driving the ball towards the rim with Vasquez defending him from behind. Balkman turned the corner and there was no help defense on teh weakside, so Vasquez slapped down across Balkman's arm to prevent the lay-up. Balkman reacted immediately, turning to confront Vasquez, who had raised his arm to signal that the foul was his, and then lowered his head -- headband, dreadlocks and all -- into Vasquez's cheek, making clear contact. The action did not provoke a response from Vasquez but did lead his teammates to shove Balkman to the ground, and referees and coaching staff members entered the fray to separate the combatants. 

Balkman's act was not the first bit of on-court violence from an NBA player this summer. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley pushed a fan in the face during an exhibition game in New York City and Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes punched an opponent during a pro-am game in the Bay Area.

Puerto Rico held on to beat Venezuela, 94-82, and is scheduled to face Canada on Tuesday. Because of the headbutt, Balkman has been suspended for that game according to FIBAAmericas.com.

Here's the video of Renaldo Balkman headbutting Greivis Vasquez during a FIBA Americas game in Argentina courtesy of YouTube user dewel2011. 



Top image via the video.

Hat tip: SportingNews.com.

Grading an epic series between the Thunder and Grizzlies.

Posted by Matt Moore



Here are grades for the grueling seven-game series between the Thunder and Grizzlies that brought us the hero James Harden, a grueling triple-overtime, and the continuing legends of Zach Randolph and Kevin Durant.


Oklahoma City Thunder


Kevin Durant: An up-and-down series for the scoring champ. When he was good, he was superb. When he was bad, his team was sunk. Durant had a few bad games in this series and that went a long way in driving the series to seven games despite the Thunder matchup advantages. He was superb in Game 7 though, as expected, working off-ball to get his game back on track after a rough start. Durant's ability to draw fouls went a long way in this series, as the Grizzlies could seemingly do nothing defensively without collecting fouls. Throw in his leadership and you have a good series, obviously, with the win, but also one that brought questions about his ability to create space and get the ball. If Russell Westbrook caught flak for being too aggressive, Durant quietly started establishing questions about not being enough so. But again, a win is a win and Durant was a huge part of it.


Grade: B+


Russell Westbrook:  Our own Royce Young will be happy to tell you about how Westbrook wasn't any different in this series than he ever has been, and that too much of the blame was put on Westbrook for his play. But the issue with Westbrook isn't that he's not getting the ball to Durant. That's on Durant. The problem is that too often Westbrook goes to his own playbook, his own aggressivness. He forces drives that end in charges, he elects for the jumper with slashers going to the rim, he lacks the patience to reset the offense. But all of those negative things don't change the fact that the biggest reason the Thunder won this series was Russell Westbrook and his undaunted assault on the rim. Westbrook knew the Grizzlies had no option to contain him on the perimeter, and attacked relentelessly. If that was sometimes to a fault, it shouldn't outweigh how good he was in finishing and piling up easy points at the rim. Westbrook closed with a triple-double on a bad shooting night, but amassing tons of rebounds on both sides of the floor and getting teammates involved. Did Westbrook cost the Thunder two games? Probably. But they wouldn't have won the four they did without him.

Grade: A-


James Harden: James Harden had the series of his life. He's been en fuego since the trade deadline, and stepped it up in this series. If the Thunder couldn't have won without Westbrook, Harden was a close second. Knocking down 3s, driving, collecting fouls, stealing the ball, and being a distributor, which is huge, especialy when Westbrook is in hero mode. The Grizzlies had no cover for Harden. When he started to insert himself in the series, that was when it changed. 

Grade: A+


Nick Collison: They kept talking about how he's Mr. Intangibles, but Collison's production was pretty tangible. Rebounds, blocks, and missed field goals for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Collison did the job Ibaka could not, taking the Grizzlies' dominance inside away. Again, as the series progressed, he took over. The Grizzlies' biggest advantage was inside, and Collison negated it. Huge minutes from the former Jayhawk. If he can keep that up against Dirk... yeah, just kidding. But seriously, good series. 


Grade: A


Scott Brooks: Failed to get final possessions set up well. Failed to get Westbrook in line. Failed to create an offense with cohesion outside of "run fast at the rim and either score or get fouled." Failed to give Harden significant minutes over Thabo until the end. Got the win. Scott Brooks is an incredible developmental coach and defensive mind. But this series may have begun the question about whether he can be the guy, should the Thunder not win the title. But hey, win and no one will care.

Grade: C


Thunder Crowd: Phenomenal, as always. Many people questioned whether OKC's crowd would be any good when they moved from the vaunted Seattle fanbase. Instead, the Thunder crowd are showing the greatness of small market crowds who are rabid, early, and loud, every game, every minute. Standing ovation for their standing ovation.

Grade: A+


Memphis Grizzlies


Zach Randolph: Randolph had two huge games, Game 1 and Game 6, where he won the game nearly by himself. He was a monster in those games. In the others? He struggled. His inability to adjust to the officiating or create space, or find Marc Gasol when the double came hurt the Grizzlies. Randolph was the focal point of the defense and still produced, but you still walk away feeling like if he could have been a little more efficient, it would have been enough for Memphis to advance in the West. Shouldn't take away what has been an incredible postseason from him. 

Grade: B-


Mike Conley: Conley is in a rough spot with Memphis. He's relied upon to hit shots from the perimeter when no one else can, but not take too many shots. He needs to distribute, but if others aren't hitting, he has to score. He gets killed for being a defensive liability but has to guard the second best player on each team. Conley needed to be flawless for this series. He wasn't. He was average. Which isn't bad, it just wasn't enough for Memphis to overcome the mismatches.

Grade: C+


Marc Gasol: Where did the beast go? OKC was able to hammer Gasol time and time again and without getting the calls, Gasol couldn't respond. Perkins and Ibaka contributing on offense reflects badly, but more importantly the work done on the offensive glass really takes the wind out of what was his coming out party.

Grade: C


O.J. Mayo: Step on up trade partners! Mayo had a phenomenal playoff series, and was the biggest reason the Grizzlies forced this to seven games. He did fantastic work, and actually won the matchup with Harden until Game 4. If Mayo's still on the market, he's going to elicit some big offers this summer. A great comeback story for Memphis, and parallels the city and team's resilience.

Grade: A-


Lionel Hollins: Hollins had no advantages outside of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol and that was slim. He faced an uphill battle these entire playoffs and took the 8th seed to a seventh game against a star studded young team after a grueling first round series against the best team in the West record-wise. He had the Grizzlies respond to a Game 5 beatdown to force Game 7 despite every reason to quit. Hollins made mistakes trusting Sam Young too much and not reigning in Tony Allen's offense. But he did a phenomenal job getting the team this far. 

Grade: A-


Game 4: A triple-overtime thriller between two great small-market teams with young rosters, giving everything they got. We had ten great moments from it. There could have been 20 more. Arguably the best game of the playoffs. 

Grade: A+

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies face off in the first Game 7 of the 2010-2011 NBA Playoffs. Posted by Ben Golliver.



One Big Thing: More than any other series, the Thunder-Grizzlies one has been about giant swings in momentum, emotion and energy. After an exhausting triple overtime in Game 4, the Thunder ran the Grizzlies out of the building in Game 5. In Game 6, the Thunder collapsed after halftime, looking out-of-sync and lethargic as the Grizzlies put the hammer down. Game 7, then, is simply about who has more left in the tank. With home-court advantage and an edge in overall talent, that should be the Thunder. 

The X-Factor: Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the league's best and most consistent scorer, sure picked a bad night to have his worst performance of the season. His season-low 11 points in Game 6 was troubling because he appeared openly frustrated -- both by the aggressive Memphis defense he's been facing and with teammate Russell Westbrook's decision-making.

Durant was sensational in closing out the Denver Nuggets in the first round, and an approximation of that performance should be enough to send the Thunder through to the Western Conference finals. If he no-shows again, though, Oklahoma City will find itself in a situation where Westbrook feels like he has to carry the entire burden. That's never a good thing. There are no excuses in a Game 7. Coexisting with Westbrook, the harassing defense and fatigue must become non-factors. Durant is staring at a legacy-impacting game and he needs to step up. 

The Adjustment: Before Game 6, I noted that Memphis needed to get back to what it does best: force-feeding Zach Randolph. It was better for the Grizzlies to go down doing what they do well than to go down doing what they do poorly. The flip is now true for Oklahoma City. If they're going to get eliminated from these playoffs, they need to force someone (anyone!) besides Randolph to send them packing.

Oklahoma City must double Zach Randolph early and often. It doesn't have to occur on every touch but it needs to happen a lot more than it did in Game 6, when Randolph went off for 30 points and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes. Yes, Nick Collison and company have done an excellent job handling Randolph in this series and they've gone above and beyond in doing their best to neutralize him on the glass. But Memphis simply lacks the floor-spacers to make the Thunder pay for over-committing to Randolph. If nothing else, daring Mike Conley to shoot at every turn would be a significantly better strategy than letting Randolph work one-on-one. Conley has shot just 9-for-40 in the last three games combined, including just 3-12 from downtown. 

The Sticking Point: Westbrook has become a lightning rod for criticism in this series thanks to his shot-jacking (17.8 field goal attempts per game), his turnovers (3.7 per game) and the Thunder's stagnation during critical late-game stretches that has produced a lot of one-on-one play from Westbrook and a lot of standing around from Durant. In the big picture, that Westbrook has already accomplished so much so early in his career is remarkable.

But this is not the time for Westbrook's supporters to be preaching patience, lest an opportunity be lost. Despite their youth, Oklahoma City is just five wins away from the NBA Finals and, when they're clicking on offense, they have the potential to be a legit title contender right now. Game 7 should be a good window into whether Westbrook and company are happy with what they've accomplished or are motivated enough to make some adjustments (better ball movement late in games, better shot selection, a bit more care with the ball when things break down in the halfcourt) so that they can move on to the next step.

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Kevin Durant goes ice cold in a Game 6 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Posted by Ben Golliver.

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Kevin Durant is the NBA's most prolific scorer and its most consistent. Nobody fills it up like Durant, who averaged 29.7 points on the season, and, we demonstrated earlier this season, nobody does it on a night in and night out basis quite like K.D. 

Like any elite scorer, Durant's overall impact on a game and his ability to get the ball in the hole are intertwined. When he's feeling it, things open up for his teammates and he plays defense with an extra kick in his step. When he's off, he's more likely to stand around as a passive observer of the game and to force his shots from outside. 

What we've seen from Durant in Games 5 and 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies is something he hasn't done all season: Have two "bad" scoring nights in a row.

In Game 5, Durant scored just 19 points (was still the team's leading scorer) in a Thunder blowout win, playing just 31 points. In Game 6, Durant had arguably his worst all-around offensive performance of the season, scoring a season-low 11 points and shooting 3-for-14 from the field. That tied season-lows in field goals and field goal percentage, and he attempted zero shots coming from in the paint. All in all, just terrible and very anti-Durant. 

During the 2010-2011 season (including playoffs), Durant scored less than twenty points just seven times. His ability to bounce back from those games was remarkable: In the seven games following his less than 20 point performances, Durant averaged 28.4 points and scored at least 26 points in five of them. In other words, the 30 combined points in Games 5 and 6 are by far his lowest two-game point totals of the year.

Here's a chart to emphasize the back-to-back scoring cliff Durant has fallen off. The season progresses through time from left to right.


On Friday night, Durant obviously battled foul troubles, picking up two quick ones in the first quarter which led to an extended rest that appeared to affect his rhythm. It wasn't just the fouls, though. Durant was standing around and watching, strugging to get open and rushing his shots once he did get touches. He wasn't totally disintersted but he certainly wasn't engaged, especially as Oklahoma City crashed and burned down the stretch, scoring just 29 points as a team in the second half.

That Durant struggled for the second game in a row at the worst possible time should absolutely be concerning to Thunder fans. His excellent ability to bounce back from poor scoring performances will be badly needed during Sunday night's Game 7. Two games in a row under 20 points was, to this point, unprecedented. Three games in a row under 20 points is almost unfathomable, and it would very likely mean an early end to the Thunder's dream season.

Key adjustment from Lionel Hollins helps Grizzlies force Game 7. 

Posted by Matt Moore





 Lionel Hollins has been stingy with his rotations. Despite what seems apparent from anecdotal or empirical evidence, Hollins has stuck with his guys through thick and thin. That's why Sam Young is a starter in the National Basketball Association. And it's worked forthe Grizzlies. But faced with a must-win Game 6, in the actual "must-win" sense, Hollins finally made an adjustment. He started O.J. Mayo in Young's stead. The result? 16 points and 4 steals for OJAM as the Grizzlies force a Game 7. 

Mayo's had the worst year of his career. Yanked from the starting lineup for the first time in his career, knocked out on a team flight, busted for PEDs, and was almost traded. He had every reason to dive into a bench-riding funk and bury himself on the pine. Instead, he embraced the team in the face of their post-deadline surge, working to play smarter and harder. His contributions have been considerable, but more importantly, timely in the playoffs, but his Game 6 performance was biggest. 

The Thunder were suffocating the Grizzlies slowly as this series went on. They were focused on packing the paint, bringing help, and allowing anyone but Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to get theirs. Without any Grizzlies capable of spreading the floor on the starting unit the Thunder could force misses, get out in transition, and attack the rim with Russell Westbrook. Mayo's perimeter range served two functions in Game 6. It gave the Grizzlies a legitimate perimeter shooter who gets more active and involved the more he scored, which they are severely lacking when Mayo's not zoned in, and it spread the floor which forced the Thunder to cover Zach Randolph one-on-one. 

Yeah, that didn't work out great for the Oklahoma kiddos. 

If Hollins getting out of his comfort zone and switching up his rotation was stunning, then the return to normalcy was Scott Brooks' decision not to insert James Harden into the unit starting the second half. That helped spark the Memphis comeback as it prevented a mismatch at multiple positions. The Grizzlies could live with Wetbrook attacking O.J. Mayo on the perimeter as long as it was Thabo Sefolosha being guarded by Mike Conley and not James Harden. With Harden in, there were crisp passes, competent distribution and good team play. Scott Brooks keeps adding elements to why he, like his Coach of the Year award winners before him, might have trouble down the line. The Thunder are one win away from the Conference Finals, but you still have to feel like they squandered an opportunity with a double digit lead that had the Memphis crowd out of it. 

If Game 5 proved that the Thunder simply have the talent to win this series, Game 6 proved the Grizzlies simply have the will. If this series finishes by coming down to coaching, the Thunder have to get nervous. Lionel Hollins continues to get this ragtag group to play up to and above their potential. 

Down and out, nearly traded? Just another Memphis savior as the Grizzlies force one more. 

Game 7 is Sunday. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder look to eliminate the Memphis Grizzlies from the Western Conference semifinals. Posted by Ben Golliver.



One Big Thing: Short term memory loss. That's the key for Game 6, after the Oklahoma City Thunder wiped the court with the Memphis Grizzlies, running up the score and celebrating to their heart's desire in a 99-72 blowout win in Game 5. If the Grizzlies can't move past the debacle, the young and hungry Thunder will gladly send them packing for the summer. Kevin Durant, in particular, will be looking to repeat his close-out heroics from the first round, when he dropped in 41 points -- including 16 in the fourth quarter -- to eliminate the Denver Nuggets. Similarly, the Thunder need to put their Game 5 win out of sight and out of mind. Closing out the Nuggets at home was one thing; closing out the Grizzlies, in front of a rejuvenated FedEx Forum, is an entirely different challenge.

The X-Factor: I've been waiting and waiting for Mike Conley Jr. to collapse under the weight of the playoffs and it finally happened in Games 4 and 5. In Game 4, he shot 2-12, but was able to compensate by getting to the free throw line 12 times. In Game 5, there were no free throw attempts, nor any sort of compensation for his awful shooting. He went 4-16 from the field and committed three turnovers to finish -22 on the night. Just brutal. While he's played above his head in the playoffs against some elite competition, those performances in pivotal swing games can be a killer for the confidence. Can he pull it together or has the damage been done?

The Adjustment: Memphis's shot distribution was out of wack in Game 5. You don't want to read too deeply into the numbers when a game is out of hand that early, but consider that starting guards Conley and Tony Allen jacked up 29 combined shots while Zach Randolph had just nine attempts. That was the first time since March 7 that Randolph has played 32 minutes and not had at least 10 field goal attempts. It was also the first time since February 7 that he failed to score in double figures. While Nick Collison has done a superb job on Randolph in this series, the Grizzlies, with their total lack of three-point shooting ability, need to get back to pounding Randolph. It's better to go down doing what you do well. Randolph, for his part, needs to rise to the moment and bounce back like he did in Games 3 and 4 after similar struggles in Game 2. It's now or never for one of this year's best playoff performers.

The Sticking Point: The biggest factor that could hold Memphis back from extending this series could very well be playing time. Thunder stars Durant and Russell Westbrook played just 31 and 25 minutes respectively in Game 5, the perfect follow-up to the Game 4 triple-overtime marathon which saw both players log more than 50 minutes. At times in this series, Durant's ability to get open and Westbrook's decision-making have taken a hit late in games. They should be nice and fresh for crunch time on Friday night.

Posted by Royce Young



One Big Thing: Forget the teams and actual players, how do us spectators bounce back from Game 4? The game lasted somewhere around four hours in real time, 63 minutes in game time and saw players in each starting five play 55 or more minutes. It was a complete drain, and with only a day off in between, the question is all about energy. Who's got it?

And this is the pivotal game in the series. With it tied 2-2, the winner here is in complete position to take the series. The game is more important for the Thunder because they've won back homecourt advantage and, with a loss, would go back to Memphis facing elimination in a Game 6. The Grizzlies can survive a loss and play to get to a Game 7. The Thunder have to have this one.

The X-Factor: The Thunderdome. In a game where both teams are likely to be battling some fatigue, the fact the game is in Oklahoma City is a huge lift for the Thunder. Just that extra little jolt from their raucous home crowd might be the difference in fading in the second half and driving hard to the finish line.

The Grizzlies have proven they can win in OKC already, though, so they aren't out of it by any means. But up against some tired legs and heavy eyes, the Thunder's sea of blue may be the pick-me-up OKC needs.

The Adjustment: For as much criticism as there has been around Russell Westbrook, the reality is that Memphis has no one to guard him. They have two defenders to throw at Kevin Durant, but between Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Greivis Vasquez, the Grizzlies don't have an ideal defender there.

Where they succeed is packing the paint and sealing off Westbrook's drive, forcing him to shoot jumpshots. He's not bad from midrange, but not nearly as good as he is finishing in the paint.

The Sticking Point: I'm hung on wondering who has the momentum here. Of course it seems like the Thunder should because they were the victors of the triple-overtime game, but the Grizzlies have to feel pretty good about hanging in that game that long. After Conley and Mayo fouled out, they seemed doomed. But they made it through two more overtimes before finally running out of gas.

The Thunder had to have one of the two games in Memphis and got it. Now they have to have this one at home. The Grizzlies are the ones playing with not a lot to lose here. The pressure is on the Thunder. Can they execute just enough again to finally take charge of this series? I have a feeling we might be in for another classic here.