Game Thread: Bucks/Grizzlies

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Bucks (4-5) @ Grizzlies (3-6)

Gametime: 7:00 p.m. central time (FSN-W)

Lineups:

Bucks: Luke Ridnour / Charlie Bell / Richard Jefferson / Luc Richard Mbah a Moute / Andrew Bogut

Grizzlies: Mike Conley / O.J. Mayo / Rudy Gay / Darrell Arthur / Marc Gasol

Injuries:

Bucks: Michael Redd (ankle) has missed five straight games and is day-to-day.  Charlie Villanueva pulled his hamstring on Wednesday and is also listed as day-to-day.

Grizzlies: None.

07/08 Series:

Nov. 14: @Bucks 102 Grizzlies 99

Feb. 5: Bucks 102 @Grizzlies 97

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Bucks: Offense: 24th (102.1 points/100 possessions) Defense: 11th (103.6) Pace: 17th (91.0)

Grizzlies: Offense: 28th (97.9/100 possessions) Defense: 13th (104.1)  Pace: 5th (94.4)

Three points:

• Passing (to) the Bucks. The Bucks have received a lot of positive press for their assist numbers, ranking sixth in the NBA with 21.3 per game. Like the Bucks, the Grizzlies have a two-headed point guard attack, with Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry. Unlike the Bucks, the Grizzlies rank last in the NBA in assists, averaging 15.8. They are the only team in the league with more turnovers than assists, resulting in a last-place, epically bad 0.95 assist/turnover ratio as a team. That's not the fault of the point guards however, as Conley (2.43) and Lowry (2.00) take care of the ball pretty well. The worst offenders are Marc Gasol (0.36) and Rudy Gay (0.48).
• Mayo-days. O.J. Mayo leads the Grizzlies in points (20.6), steals (1.3), and three-point percentage (.426). Those specific numbers are actually pretty similar to Richard Jefferson's (18.4 points, 0.9 steals, and .452 three-pointers) in the early going. Not bad for a rookie who just became old enough to drink alcohol a week and a half ago.
  
• Grizzly cubs. Mayo is just one three rookies who see major court time. In fact, 3/5 of their starting lineup (Mayo, Gasol, Arthur) are rooks. Check out the ages of the team's top seven players in minutes per game: Mayo (21), Gay (22), Gasol (23), Warrick (26), Conley (21), Lowry (22), Arthur (20).
  

Coverage:

Bucks.com Gameday / 3 Shades of Blue / Beyond The Arc