Our first game of the season is a disappointing 115-107 loss to the Clippers. Blake Griffin is electric with 26 points and 12 rebounds while Charles Canady puts up 21 points of his own. Brandon Rush gets the start at SG with only 3 points as Joe Johnson has 20 points off the bench. I think he is a bench player now, giving quick points but not being able to sustain it for a whole game. Damian Lillard has 21 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds for us which is a great showing.
Memphis Grizzlies 0-1
With Joe Johnson, Hassan Benton and now Brandon Rush ahead of him I send Joe Abney to the D-League. It’s not a demotion, I just want him to get as much court time as possible and he won’t get it here in the pros this season. I still have high hopes for him in the future.
Ouch, that wasn’t pretty. We shoot 34% from the field in our 108-77 loss to Golden State. Again it is Marc Gasol doing the damage with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Steph Curry was close to the terrible triple double with 8 points, 10 assists and 9 turnovers. Travis Ross was our “best” with 13 points and 12 rebounds but turned the ball over six times.
Memphis Grizzlies 0-2
Our first home game is our first win, a 97-89 come from behind victory over Indiana. The last quarter was in our favour 31-17 which was a relief. Damian Lillard is earning his contract with 26 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds while Joe Johnson was again great off the bench with 20 points in 29 minutes. Paul George was the Pacers’ best with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 1-2
**TRADE**
Cleveland trade:
PF Amir Johnson
2017 2nd round pick
Philadelphia trade:
PG Changa Hendricks
Winner – Cleveland. Not because Hendricks is better than Johnson it’s just that Philly lose because they are admitting that Hendricks was a terrible pick at #2.
Another loss, this time a 119-103 downing to Washington. Bradley Beal has no sympathy for us with 27 points while John Wall doubles up. Travis Ross had 24 points but only 5 rebounds and 5 turnovers.
Memphis Grizzlies 1-3
Yes we are 1-3 at the moment but I’m not going to get angry because all of our starting five are new and they need time to work things out.
I’m ok, I’m ok. We lose 113-70 to Charlotte but I’m ok. Klay Thompson has made me eat crow as he is fantastic now, showing it with 28 points in this game. Damian Lillard was our best with 19 points but we shoot 29% from the field. Twenty nine percent!
Memphis Grizzlies 1-4
Orlando has started 4-1 but we make it 4-2 with a 115-90 confidence win. Damian Lillard was again our best with 25 points and 9 assists while Kawhi Leonard also stood up with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Gabe White was held to only 12 points after averaging over 25 in the last five games.
Memphis Grizzlies 2-4
That’s more like it, even if it is Sacramento. Damian Lillard has 32 points and 12 assists while Kawhi Leonard has 28 points and 6 steals in our 128-100 win over the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins has 24 points and 18 rebounds for the losers but shoots 12/19 from the foul line.
Memphis Grizzlies 3-4
Lebron James and his Jazz come to town and we smoke them 115-89. Our key free agency signing has 21 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds as we have six players in double figures. Lebron has a game to forget (by his standards) with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Derrick Favors didn’t do anything either with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Great message game here.
Memphis Grizzlies 4-4
It’s the Kawhi and Damian show in our 112-80 win over Dallas. It seemed every play was Lillard (17 assists) passed to Leonard (30 points) who then scored, not that I’m complaining. Joe Johnson did his thing as well with 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Brandon Jennings had 21 points in the loss but they shot 35% from the field.
Memphis Grizzlies 5-4
After the game Gerald Wallace has a go at Brandon Rush and teammates had to break it up before it escalated. I sit Gerald down in my office and tell him straight, if you do that again you’re gone. I see him gulp before telling me he will try and do better in the future.
That’s five wins in a row as we beat the disappointing Lakers 113-105. Damian Lillard was our best again with 19 points and 14 assists but Brook Lopez was more important with 20 points and 9 rebounds as well as fouling out Ernest Jameson in only 18 minutes.
Memphis Grizzlies 6-4
The game against the Nuggets was a hair remover. We got out to a 18 point lead going into the fourth, then Denver roar back with a 39-24 last quarter to take the lead by two but luckily we had Joe Johnson on the court to hit the dagger three to win the game and break Denver’s heart. We escape Colorado with a 112-111 win. Damian Lillard had 18 points and 12 assists with five other Grizzlies in double figures. Kenneth Faried was amazing with 37 points and 11 rebounds but fouled out in the last five minutes so could not help his team in the clutch.
Memphis Grizzlies 7-4
The Nuggets get their revenge at Memphis with a vengeance, going up by 45 points to cruise to a 124-96 win. Kenneth Faried was again their best with 33 points and 7 rebounds but ex-Grizz Perry Jones III showed his skill with 34 points and 10 rebounds. Brook Lopez was our best with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 7-5
In our 110-102 win over Phoenix it was again the Kawhi and Damian show. Leonard (32 points) and Lillard (15 assists) pretty much took over this game but it was fantastic to see Chris Bosh play 20 minutes off the bench with 10 points as he is slowly getting his legs back. Josh Smith is the best for the Suns with 23 points but they have Nate Roberts as C which just isn’t his position.
Memphis Grizzlies 8-5
Our last game for the month is a 114-96 loss to Minnesota and they are an elite team so I’m not that disappointed. Kevin Love had 37 points and 8 rebounds while Travis Ross was our best with 14 points before fouling out guarding Love.
Memphis Grizzlies 8-6
At 8-6 I’m not that disappointed because it’s such a new team and we had some tough games. We’re still fifth in the conference so once we click watch out! New Orleans has bolted out of the gate with a 13-1 record with Minnesota and Houston three games back. The Lakers are down the bottom again with a 3-14 record.
In the East Detroit have a slim lead at 11-3, only a game ahead of New York. In fact, Boston who are in eighth place are only 3.5 games behind Detroit, talk about a tight race so far. Miami are down the bottom to be expected with a 3-13 record.
Memphis Top Points
Damian Lillard – 19.2
Kawhi Leonard – 17.4
Travis Ross – 14.4
Memphis Top Assists
Damian Lillard – 10.2
Kawhi Leonard – 2.6
Hassan Benton – 2.0
Memphis Top Rebounds
Kawhi Leonard – 6.8
Travis Ross – 6.1
Brook Lopez – 5.2
League Top Efficiency
Kenneth Faried (DEN) – 32.6 (27.2 points, 1.9 assists, 11.7 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 2.3 blocks)
Kevin Love (MIN) – 30.3 (29.2 points, 1.7 assists, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks)
Anthony Davis (NOH) – 27.0 (18.8 points, 2.3 assists, 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 4.4 blocks)
Rookie Top Efficiency
Travis Ross (MEM) – 13.1 (14.4 points, 1.0 assist, 6.1 rebounds, 0.5 steals, 1.1 blocks)
Christopher de Castro (LAC) – 12.7 (13.5 points, 1.4 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.0 block)
Mark Hill (ATL) – 12.5 (12.7 points, 0.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 steal, 0.3 blocks)