Thunder rolls the Grizz, but only after 3-OT's

Wow. An epic game if there ever was one. For only the 6th time in NBA Playoff history, we had a game go to 3 overtimes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder evened up their series with the Memphis Grizzlies by beating the 133-123 in Triple Overtime.

The game, which started around 10 p.m Monday, ended around 1:30 a.m on Tuesday. Kevin Durant dropped in 6 of his 35 points in the last O.T, Russell Westbrook also dropped a 40 spot against the Grizzlies. This after being down by 18 at one point in the second quarter.

The win gets home court back for the Thunder, the winner of this series which has all the makings of a 7-game thriller gets to play the soon-to-be rested Dallas Mavericks, sometime next week.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

What's Up With The Memphis Grizzles...???

And the HQ means this in a good way for once...

They knocked off the top-seed in the western conference and now they've gotten home court advantage after their Game 1 114-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Zach Randolph is a beast at present...
Here's your coverage from our friends at MyFoxMemphis...

Grizzlies Power Past Thunder 114-101: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

And if you're looking for a spare ticket for games 3 and 4 in the series...
There are no spares... good for Memphis...

Oh, in other playoffs news... the Three Kings knocked off Boston in game 1, too...

Spurs On The Brink Of Going Away, Search For Fountain Of Youth

Remember when a well past his prime Muhammad Ali was pummelled by Larry Holmes? I think that is what we are witnessing in the NBA Playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs have gone from a well oiled championship machine to looking old and slow.

The Spurs finished the NBA's regular season as the number one seed out of the Western Conference. Now they are a game away from elimination from the Memphis Grizzlies who look fresh and are pushing the Spurs as if to say "out of our way old man."

Monday night Memphis defeated San Antonio 104-86 to take a 3-1 advantage in their first round series. The third quarter was a killer for the Spurs, the Grizz outscored them 30-15 in the third and the old, tired Spurs could not recover.

So now this proud team has a steep hill to climb.

"We put ourselves in this position," Spurs center Tim Duncan said. "If we want to stay alive, we've got to win one game at a time. There's no other way to say it."

It was Duncan's 35th birthday Monday and his stat line for game four, six points and seven rebounds, one of Duncan's lowest scoring efforts in 174 NBA playoff games. Not exactly a happy birthday to me moment.

The Spurs were the leagues best three point shooting team during the regular season at 39.7 percent. During the playoffs San Antonio is well off target from three point range shooting going 5 for 18.

Perhaps the grind of the regular season has taken a toll on the old Spurs. I've been to the Riverwalk in San Antonio before but I don't think the fountain of youth resides there.

As the Spurs are finding out it's hell getting old.

(Thanks NBA.com)

What Is This Western Conference You Speak Of...???

To quote Lawrence Welk... a one anna two...

Both go down...
What in the wide world of sports happened there...???

Chris Paul showed why the Atlanta Hawks made a mistake in not taking him in the draft as he and his New Orleans Hornets in Los Angeles...
((HT: NBA/ESPN/nba.com))


And, to go even one better, who are these Memphis Grizzlies...??? Being all pesky and knocking off San Antonio like that in Game 1 of their series...???
((HT: NBA/TNT/nba.com))


If you just wanna see the Battier three, here it is...
((HT: Yahoo!Sports))

He also became a father Sunday...
Here's local coverage from our friends at MyFoxMemphis...

Grizzlies Stun Spurs in 1st Playoff Win: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

Oh, there was SOME normalcy as the Thunder held off Denver...
Durant and Westbrook combined for 72 in the win...
((HT: NBA/ESPN/nba.com))

Cavs Tie Loss Record At 23

((HT: WOIO-TV Cleveland))

The Cavaliers have now lost 23 straight games. Memphis handed them a 112-105 loss.

Memphis...? Really...?

Cleveland lead by as many as 12 at one point but were outscored 60-46 in the second half.

Zach Randolph lead the Grizzlies with 29 points, Rudy Gay poured in 26.
J.J. Hickson lead the Cavs with 31 points and 15 rebounds.

The Cavs host Portland on Saturday night. A 24th straight loss would set the single-season record.

Here's Mark Schwab with the painful details...

An Energy Drink...??? You're Kidding, Right...???

Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo believes an "energy drink" he bought at a gas station led to his 10-game suspension.

Mayo spoke about his suspension for the first time Saturday before the Grizzlies' game against the Washington Wizards, saying he didn't know the drink "had any bad substances in it."

The NBA suspended Mayo on Thursday for testing positive for DHEA- which is on the league's list of banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The shooting guard said it wasn't as if he "ordered some supplement off the Internet."

No, but the HQ would believe someone could have done that for Mayo...
Allegedly...

"An energy drink..."

DEVELOPING: OJ Mayo Gets 10-Game Suspension

((HT: NBA))

From the NBA their own selves...

O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies has been suspended without pay for 10 games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. His violation of the program
involved a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).

Mayo’s suspension will begin with tomorrow night’s game between the
Grizzlies and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mayo said in a statement quote:
"I'm extremely disappointed that I'm going to miss the next 10 games, particularly as our team is making a push for the playoffs. I had no idea that the over-the-counter supplement that I took was a substance banned by the NBA. It was an honest mistake, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I apologize to my fans, teammates and the Grizzlies organization for regrettably not doing the necessary research about what supplements I can put in my body."

More when we know more...

In the meantime, here's a story ESPN's E;60 unit did on him before all his stardom...
((HT: ESPN/youtube))

Grizzlies Fight On Plane...???

Memphis Grizzlies guards O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen got into a fight on the team's charter flight Monday after a card game.

Mayo, apparently, owed Allen money (($1,000 to $1,500- depending on who you ask)) following the game and became increasingly angry toward Allen when asked to settle up. Several players had to break them up at 25,000 feet.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace said in an e-mail: "On the teams charter flight home to Memphis on Monday, Jan. 3, one day after the Grizzlies 104-85 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers, there was a brief altercation between Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo. The club considers the matter closed and will not comment further.”

Of course you do...

Here's Chris McKendry and Chris Broussard discussing...
((HT: ESPN))

Is Charlotte In NBA Contraction Crosshairs...???

((HT: FoxCharlotte.com))

Late last week, you remember NBA commissioner David Stern mentioning the possibility of contracting teams to make up for the US$800-million he wants to trim from his losses...???

As a result, the Boston Globe reports three teams- Charlotte, Memphis, and New Orleans Hornets- could be the first three off the books... one of those "anonymous sources" agreed on the three teams mentioned above...

The Bobcats ranked 22nd in attendance last season, the Hornets ranked 23rd, and the Grizzlies 28th.

Charlotte could be oh-for-two if this happens...

Fox Charlotte Steve Lyerly has some immediate feedback...


The idea behind Stern's "$800M number" is, realistically, more like him wanting to cut $500M or so. Trimming two of the three franchises could do that.

According to Forbes Magazine's franchise evaluations from 2009, the Bobcats, the Griz, and the Hornets were 25th, 29th, and 28th in value, respectively.

Charlotte ((US$278M)) had US$15M less in operating revenue than the year before. The Griz ((US$257M)) value dropped 13-percent, and the Hornets ((US$267M)) dropped 6-percent in value.

Short of the Nets before the Prokhorov sale, each had the three highest debt rankings in the league. Stern would be cutting dead weight, and the HQ thinks the Griz Michael Heisley would mind the least.

More when we know more...

Poor Grizzlies Fan

We are filing this just because we can. And it's funny. Though it may not be so funny to the guy that it happened to.

To set the stage. During a timeout in the Memphis/Portland game the other night, a fan gets picked out of the stands to run and jump off a trampoline and dunk like the mascots do. He...ummm...well he wasn't so successful.

Thanks Sports Hernia and the Trailblazers for the video.

Not A Game, Not A Game...Iverson Leaves Griz

((HT: CBSSports))

Memphis Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson has indefinitely left the team.
He's not quite happy with the idea of coming off the bench...

We figured this would be just a matter of time, AI being AI and all...

"That's probably why it's at this point right now," Iverson said. "It's probably going to always be hard for me and him ((Coach Lionel Hollins)) to see eye-to-eye, because we've never even talked to each other. Obviously that's what you do if you're trying to accomplish the same goal."

When asked before Saturday's game to respond, Hollins bluntly: "If Allen wants to talk to me, my door is open. I talk to him during the game before the game and after the game.

"I understand star power, and that's to be expected," Hollins added. "I wouldn't mind even talking about Allen's star power if it was about the game and his performance during the game, versus what Allen has said and what he will or won't do."

Honestly, he's been out of place since he left Philadelphia...
He didn't fit in with Detroit, and he didn't fit in passing the ball to Carmelo Anthony in Denver.
As far back as we can remember here at OSG HQ, Iverson has never liked being second-fiddle...

Just ask him about his momma...
Allen Iverson sound bites<'>Just ask him about his momma... thanks to Entertonement.com

That would include pouty superstar, we guess...


Asked if he had any timetable as to when Iverson might start for the Grizzlies, Hollins said: "I have no comment about that."

Which means, AI is done... unless Hollins wants everyone to question his authority on the bench from this moment on...

All the above story does is give us an excuse to post DJ Steve Porter's brilliance...

Girizzlies Release ENTIRE Scouting Staff

But Geoff Calkins puts the appropriate spin on the act..

((HT: Memphis Commercial Appeal/Calkins))

The Grizzlies really should get rid of their ushers.

The seat numbers are right there on the tickets, aren't they? Can't people find their own seats?

Then they should cut back on dancers. So many dancers. Wouldn't one really good dancer be enough? Especially if it were Linea?

One ball boy should be plenty, too. Let the kid run back and forth between the two hoops.

And one combination radio/TV guy. Why should the Grizzlies pay for Pete Pranica and Eric Haseltine to call the same game?

I bring this up because the Grizzlies recently decided to let go of their scouts. Yes, all of their scouts.

"I prefer a smaller group," said Chris Wallace, the Grizzlies GM.

You have to love Wallace, don't you? He could have put a positive spin on the yellow fever epidemic.

"I prefer a smaller city," he'd have said.

Last season, the Grizzlies had five full-time amateur scouts. David Booth, Ryan West, Ed Manning, Ray Jones and Marin Sedlacek.

This season, the Grizzlies will have no full-time college scouts. Booth, West, Manning, Jones and Selacek are all gone.

A couple of them fled the building; a few more were let go. The Grizzlies will use a part-time scout to help them keep on eye on players in Europe. They do not plan to make any hires.

"We had a restructuring," said Wallace, and I guess you could call it that.

The Grizzlies restructured their scouting department the way the city restructured the old Baptist Hospital. With well-placed dynamite.

To be sure, it's highly possible that a vacant scouting department could do just as well as the former scouting department. Wonder where Troy Bell is today?

Wallace makes the point -- a fair one -- that scouting in the NBA is not like scouting in the NFL. A team makes a couple of picks a year. Any moron can identify the top few players. Wallace, Tony Barone, Tony Barone Jr. and Kenny Williamson -- all still with the franchise -- can get out there and see those players themselves.

But it's hard not to look at this move as additional evidence that the Grizzlies care less about basketball than the bottom line. No scouts? For a team that has said it is committed to building through the draft?

Of course, who needs basketball people around when the owner doesn't pay attention to what they say? If he did, Hakim Warrick ((pictured, thanks Lance Murphey MCA file)) would still be on the team. Nobody on the basketball side endorsed Heisley's decision to let Warrick walk.

Heading into the offseason, Wallace described Warrick as "one of the most potent bench scorers in the league." At the press conference introducing Hasheem Thabeet, head coach Lionel Hollins said he'd be mixing up the names "Hasheem" and "Hakim" all year long.

Or, not, as it turns out. The Grizzlies pulled their offer to Warrick because they didn't want to give him $3 million a year, or exactly as much as the Milwaukee Bucks then agreed to pay the guy.

Never mind that the Grizzlies said they needed more scoring off the bench. Never mind that they said they needed more veteran leadership.

The Grizzlies' second unit now consists of three rookies (Thabeet, Sam Young and DeMarre Carroll), one second-year player (Darrell Arthur) and one free agent (Marcus Williams, though the signing isn't official yet) who wasn't able to stick with the Nets or the Warriors.

So how do you put a positive spin on that? If you're not Wallace, I mean?

How do you resist the conclusion that Heisley has settled on a strategy that values dollars over wins?

He can't sell the franchise so he'll run it as cheaply as possible. He'll use the Grizzlies' cap space to facilitate trades for other teams. The Grizzlies will be rewarded with "cash considerations." They'll be the Memphis Grizzlies & Money Launderers.

If Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo develop into stars and the fans come back, great. If not, Heisley can hang on, keeping his losses down, and sell the team to an out-of-town owner when the penalty for breaking the lease is less prohibitive.

It's not a bad strategy for running a business, actually. Just a demoralizing way to build a basketball team.

No scouts. No Warrick. No scorers off the bench.

Someone better call Linea.

Grizz Fire Iavaroni...

In a move that shocks no one... the Memphis Grizzlies continue to suck while they're also very young. And since the ownership group continues to have very little patience for such things as experience and on-the-job training, the team decided to fire Head Coach Marc Iavaroni.

Which, of course, makes perfect sense...in the Griz universe...
Here's the report from ABC 24/CW 30 in Memphis, and if you're not careful you may end up watching their entire newscast from Thursday night.
That may have been their plan all along, anyway...

Griz Tell Blazers To Perch And Rotate

Obviously, there is no honor among some General Managers in the NBA...

The Memphis Grizzlies are re-signing Darius Miles ((pictured/thanks Sam Forencich, NBAE)), whose injury is now no-longer career-threatening, to another 10-day contract.

If Miles plays in two more games this season, the Blazers will have to pay out the remaining two years-and-$18-million of his old deal. This would then, by NBA rules, force Portland owner Paul Allen to pay out a dollar-for-dollar penalty for violating the luxury tax guidelines.

Gee, thanks... Now Allen will be forced to sell a few more versions of Vista that people aren't fans of these days.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports looks at it from another owner's standpoint- Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. And Gilbert is none too pleased with the Blazers tone of e-mail...

Gilbert admits in an e-mailed response that while the Cavs have no interest in signing Miles, "there has got to be a better tactic than this one."

OSG HQ would suggest that any Blazer who works in their Portland front office not try to get a loan through Quicken any time in the near future.

Hawks Match Josh Smith Offer Sheet

In a move that surprises no one... and something they truly had to do to avoid complete laughing-stock status, the Atlanta Hawks took no less than 8 hours to match the 5-year, $58-million offer sheet the Memphis Grizzlies gave to Josh Smith ((pictured, thanks nba.com)).

After losing Josh Childress to Olympiakos of Greece, the Atlanta Spirit LLC ownership group was actually forced to spend some money on players... for a change- and we're talking a collective spending where the Hawks and Thrashers are concerned...

Ahem...quote...

HAWKS RETAIN FORWARD JOSH SMITH
Atlanta matches offer sheet from Memphis Grizzlies

ATLANTA, GA ----- Atlanta Hawks General Manager Rick Sund announced tonight that the club has retained forward Josh Smith and matched the offer sheet of the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Tonight, the Hawks organization received an offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies for Josh Smith,” said Sund. “We are happy to announce that we will match their offer sheet. Ownership, management and the team are happy to have Josh return as a member of the Hawks. We look forward to training camp in October and we will continue to look at additional opportunities to improve our roster.”

Smith, whom the Hawks drafted with the 17th pick overall in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft, has finished second in the NBA in blocks per game in each of the past two years and averaged team-highs in blocks per game (2.80) and steals per game (1.57), while also ranking second on the Hawks in points per game (17.2), rebounds per game (8.2) and assists per game (3.4) in 81 appearances last season.

The 22-year-old forward from Oak Hill Academy (VA) and College Park (GA) has averaged 13.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks in 307 career games with the Hawks, and during last May’s first round series, Smith recorded 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.86 blocks in helping the eighth-seeded Hawks to a decisive seventh game in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the eventual NBA world champion Boston Celtics.

We imagine the first words out of J-Smoove's mouth upon hearing this news was...

DAMN!