2011-2012 Season End, Transactions

So long to the season that almost was epic. When ZBO went down on New Year's Day and we lost by about 40 to the awesome Chicago Bulls, I knew we were in for a rough year. The question of whether Rudy Gay could fit in with the new Playoff Grizzlies remained. But Marc Gasol was an Allstar and they had quite a run. They just came up short in the first round.

Think of all the ways the Grizzlies could have escaped with the win. Rudy had 2 final second shots miss in losses in games 1 and 3. In the overtime period of game 4 they could have continued playing defense and maybe won. In game 7 they could have pulled their heads out of their asses, but alas, it takes two to tango. The Clippers were the better team because they won 4 games out of 7 and 7 out of 11 against us in the entire season. GONE FISHING

CHEERS CHEERS

2011-2012 NBA Transactions

I did this a few years ago and ran it again for this season. I graph the number of games each team was behind from the leader of each division (West and East), on the X-axis, with the number of player transactions each team made during the season, on the Y-axis. I believe it confirms three well-known facts:

1. bad , lottery teams make a lot of desperate roster moves to improve,
2. ELITE, contending teams make a lot of ancillary moves to shore up their roster to compete for a title run,
3. playoff, non-elite, non-contending teams just do enough to get by

This shortened lock-out season was much different from the last time I did this. For one thing, the Bobcats are a total flier. They did nothing to improve hardly and just kind of threw in the towel. Another unexpected trend is that the top-tier teams didn't really modify their roster much. The only exception were the Chicago Bulls, who were really gunning for the title this year… until DRose went down.

This is the raw data. You will notice the standard deviation of number of transactions for the East is much higher than the West. I'd conjecture this is because the West was far more dominant this year

The big panic teams this year were NYK, NJN, and GSW. Golden State was under pressure with first year coach Mark Jackson and their promise to be in the playoffs this year after a 4 or 5 year rebuilding period has resulted in little to nothing. Their largest move came mid-season sending away franchise star, Monta Ellis in an "addition by subtraction" trade where they received nothing back and then flipped it for more nothing (Stephen Jackson flipped to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson). New York Knicks are the usual train wreck and the New Jersey Nets aren't even worth discussing, since they really are just a farm team at this point (a constant rotating door for NBA D-League auditions). Normally the Bobcats would be on this list but they simply rolled over and died, setting the all-time worst win-record in NBA history.

In conclusion, a lot of this season was just a holding pattern for teams in the middle of the pack to see what they had and let their youngsters grow. I see this above with Utah, Minny, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Houston. Next season it's back to business and should see a flurry of activity with the new CBA in place and the amnesties in effect. Last but not least, the Grizzlies prove again to stay right in the middle of the pack here with 8 transactions made. Both years I did this (2009-2010 and 2011-2012) they have been right around the mean on this stat, which corresponds to their "mid-level" status as a half-decent team capable of sneaking into the playoffs.

Go Grizz!

Game 7 Summary ⌛ ⌛ ⌛ = ☠ ☠ ☠

Go Grizz!

In the Grizz Den, Drei

Can't get toooooo overconfident here for this pivotal Game 7, but everyone had expected the Clippers to close out Game 6 at home until the Grizzlies blew them out at their home in Game 5. Now it's still expected to be a win. Yet you have to respect what the Clippers have done and could do again. They too have made miraculous come-backs behind their lethal weaponry.

Drei

This is for the 3^rd straight victory over LA Clippers. The hard part isn't over. But Grizzlies have set the tone now and have the foundation. Today they just have to go out there and ride the emotional wave that coming back down from 3-1 provides. That means riding the plays and the intensity levels that got them here.

Definitely the fans will be doing their part. Let's keep this train rolling #GrizzNation!

Go Grizz!

℧∇℧ Game 6 Summary Ω∆Ω

Go Grizz!

ZBO'D Zwei

May 11, 2012 9:00pm EST

Tonight is the big big big big test. Win Game 6 on the road, or go home. Third Time is the Charm????? I ask, what are the odds of losing three straight in LA? Surely We can overcome them! #BELIEVEMEMPHIS

Who are the top assist leaders in the 2012 playoffs?

Rondo, CP3, and then Mike Conley, Jr.

Who are the top 3pt % shooters in the 2012 playoffs?

Tony Parker (100%) then a tie between Andre Miller, Chris Bosh, and Quincy Pondexter (67%)! (4 games or more played)

“Once we get to Staples Center,” said guard Randy Foye, “we will take care of business.”

Gasol said: “We haven’t done anything yet.”

One quarter at a time. One Game at a time. One Series at a time.

Not how you start (up 27?) but how you finish…

Go Grizz!

◄► Game 5 Summary ◄►

"I think we have to go all out" "And we're just the guys to do it"

Go Grizz!

Elimination Evasion, Einz

Grizzlies are shown to be pretty huge favorites to win tonight's home game 5 against the Clippers. To be sent home tonight in front of your home crowd would be a slam dunk to this franchise's spirit, and a crushing blow to fans of the underdog everywhere. Grizzlies are supposed to be the feel good story of the NBA right now and it surely won't feel good to just get walloped by the Floppers and the Clappers 2 out of 3 games at your home court. I don't think many people would expect it to happen like this, but the way the Clappers have purveyed their Clap, it certainly is possible.

Here are some really awesome stats I saw on ESPN this morning:

Clippers Win Percentage in Close-Out Games	28.6 %
Grizzlies Win Percentage in Close-Out Games	33.3 %

That means when they can close it out. Grizzlies have had only 3 opportunities to close out opponents and only did once obviously last year in game6 against Spurs. The Clippers have the worst close-out percentage in all the NBA. At least we have that going for us!

PDS Believes in the Grizzlies from Presbyterian Day School on Vimeo.

Go Grizz!

Game 4 Summary and Game 5 Preview

JUST Out of Reach…

Game 4 was a mighty defeat. We're beaten but not broken.

Chris Paul is just too savvy.

And the Grizz too clawless. Rudy shoots 8 for 25? O.J. Mayo has another dud. Gasol a major dud. But really ZBO has been dominated by Griffin in the scoring column: 30 to 12. So far the Clippers have just outshone, outhustled, outground the Grizz. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul don't play basketball the way it's meant to be played — but they are winning. Unless the Grizzlies can find a way to slow down their scoring, the flops don't matter !

Game 5 - FedEx Forum, the Grindhouse

ONE MORE TIME TO GRIND.

Go Grizz!

Game 3 Summary ☭ ☭ ☭

After letting up on the gas, Came up a little short. Game4's now a must win.

Go Grizz!

from Jerusalem to Jericho

I been reading about how important home court advantage is. Piffle. They point out how Clappers won all 2 home games against Grizz, and in the one regular season home game at Memphis, the Grizz won. Just look no further than game 1 of this playoff series to see how much that paid off.

You can't just look at the Grizzlies road record anyways. They got slaughtered on those long west coast road trips this year. Here is a friendly reminder of what the Grizzlies are capable of accomplishing on the road:

NOBODY BEATS THE GRIZZ That says "Balanced Grizzlies Snap Heat's 17-Game Home Winning Streak". I believe the odds were 8 to 1 that night against the Grizzlies
Don't sleep on this series!

Go Grizz!

Game 2 Summary ⇶ ⇶ ⇶

⎨ P A Y B A C K ⎬

Go Grizz!

Grizzlies vs Clippers Preview: PF

At least it's censored!

Zach is starting again. This is grizz ball! We need his leadership. We need to keep the big boys honest on the other side. Zach may not play 40 mpg in this series but his presence must be known! His skills definitely will alter the Clippers game-plan. Let's see the man we love and call ZBO!

MEMPHIS ZOO GRIZZLIES - FOR REAL GO GRIZZLIES! ZACH DO IT!

WE NAMED OUR CAT AFTER ZBO ----- ZBO IS THE MAN! Here is Zach the Cat showing his Memphis Pride.

Zach is a lucky guy. His whole life the Grizzlies have been Playoff level. (He's only been around for the 10-11 and 11-12 seasons)...

Zach Randolph

Mensch: He's A BAD MAN!

Blake Griffin

Mensch: FLOPPER - STARE DOWN DUNKER - He won't be staring at no one tonight. Just looking shell-shocked.

---

LET'S PLAY SOME BASKETBALL!

This comparison here really doesn't do the matchup justice. Let's face it. Griffin is an Allstar starter this season; ZBO has been on the sidelines primarily and just getting back into the Grizzlies' starting lineup for his veteran, big-game experience. You can't go by the numbers here because Zach Randolph is going to own Blake Griffin. Else we in deep deep trouble. Griffin starts warming up and things could get out of hand quickly. But in the past Zach has gotten the best of him. Game 1 he did - and let's see it through to the end now boys!

Go Grizz!

Go Grizz!