In heat of a tough playoff race, Memphis Grizzlies show plenty of toughness

[tlongII]

http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index....high-5_14.html


Zach Randolph had 23 points and 11 rebounds against San Antonio for his 50th double-double of the season.


1. Over the hump: How about Memphis? In the heat of a playoff race and during a tough stretch of games, the Grizzlies have won four of five, capping the run with a 111-104 home win over San Antonio on Sunday.

Instead of slumping after they learned forward Rudy Gay would not be back this season because of a shoulder injury, the Grizzlies (41-33) have showed impressive mettle even as ninth-place Houston was winning five in a row before losing at Miami on Sunday.

"To be a playoff team, you have to be tough. That's requisite number one," veteran forward Shane Battier said. "I think we showed we are a tough team. I would like to play a little smarter. That's the next step. But you have to have toughness, and there's no doubt in this team's toughness."

Zach Randolph continued his strong season with 23 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 8 for 14 from the field. The double-double was Randolph's 50th of the season, which ranks No. 4 in the NBA.

Now, it's true that the Spurs were missing Tim Duncan and lost Manu Ginobili to a thigh bruise during the game. But the game also served as a potential preview of a first-round playoff matchup, something the Grizzlies were keenly aware of.

"For us to handle them the way we did and come back in the fourth quarter and make some big plays and big stops says a lot," point guard Mike Conley said. "That's a good team, and it says they are not going to have an easy run if we do play them in the playoffs."

Conley's steady hand has been a big key for the Grizzlies, the Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery writes. It isn't just about statistics, but running the offense, setting up teammates and playing strong defense, as he did against the Spurs' Tony Parker. Parker had 20 points last night, but Conley made him work hard to get them as Parker shot 8 for 20 from the field and committed five turnovers.

"This second half of the season, he has been superb both offensively and defensively," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of Conley. "He's been aggressive and kept attacking. He has just been controlling the game. He is just more aware and more in tune to what's going on for everybody."

It appears Memphis has gotten over the hump as its schedule eases considerably. Five of the Grizzlies' remaining eight games are at home, and five are against losing teams. Their first playoff berth since 2005-06 is right there for the taking.

[FromWayDowntown]

Memphis could pretty easily find its way into the 6th or 7th seed by the end of the season.

At the moment, MEM is 1 back in the loss column from 7th (NOH) and 2 back in the loss column from 6th (PRT). From here out, the Grizz have 5 at home and 3 on the road. 5 of the Grizz's last 9 are against teams that are under .500; the other 3 are the games against NOH and PRT:

GST H
NO A
MIN H
LAC H
SAC H
NO H
PRT A
LAC A

By comparison, the Hornets have 6 of their last 8 at home, but have 7 of 8 against teams that are above .500 for the year:

PRT H
MEM H
IND H
HOU H
PNX H
MEM A
UTH H
DAL A

And the Blazers have 4 of their last 9 on the road (the most of any of the 3) and 7 of their last 9 against teams that are above .500:

SA A
NO A
OKC H
DAL H
GST H
UTH A
LAL H
MEM H
GST A

Just by opponents' records, Portland easily has the toughest closing schedule of those three (PRT's remaining opponents have an aggregate winning percentage of .595; NO's have a winning percentage of .542; MEM's have a winning percentage of .430). Memphis, by contrast, has (in that metric) the easiest closing schedule in the West.