On the Grizzlies: Memphis Commercial Appeal / Straight Outta Vancouver / Three Shades of Blue
Milwaukee travels to Memphis before coming back to the Bradley Center for a four-game homestand. The Grizzlies are 7-3 since winning 94-81 in Milwaukee on Jan. 22. The Bucks are 4-6 since that loss.
Game Two for Woodland Creatures. Last month, the Grizzlies cruised past the Bucks at the Bradley Center thanks to a dominant effort by the starting frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, who combined for 40 points (on 24 shots) and 27 rebounds. The Bucks forced 19 turnovers, but did very little with the extra chances. Milwaukee attempted 18 more field goals (90-72) than Memphis but still managed to make three fewer (37-34).
Tony Toni Tone. Tony Allen played six minutes in the first matchup in Milwaukee. But he played 40 minutes filling in for Rudy Gay on Tuesday, and Allen scored 29 points and by all accounts played fantastic defense in their win over the Thunder. Gay has a sprained right big toe and is listed as questionable.
Least Coast, Best Coast. The Bucks (20-31) are third in the Central and on the outside (10th) looking in at the playoffs. The Grizzlies (28-26) are in fourth place in the West (though not very far west) and on the outside (9th) looking in at the playoffs. Yes. The year the East was supposed to even it out. The Grizz play in the NBA's best division (with the Spurs, Mavs, Hornets, Rockets) while the Bucks play in the NBA's worst (Bulls, Pacers, Pistons, Cavaliers).
Smoky Mountain High. Memphis won in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago, but they are much better at home than on the road overall -- not quite to Washington's extent, but the Grizzlies are 16-8 at home compared to 12-18 away. And they have knocked off the Heat, Lakers, Blazers, Thunder, Jazz, Mavericks, and Magic among others at FedEx Forum this season.
Inside Stuffed. The Grizz are blocked on 7.77 % of their shots, second most often in the NBA according to HoopData. Sam Young (12.1 %) and Marc Gasol (9.3 %) are their most blockable. The Bucks are the 10th most blocked team overall (6.39 %). Chris Douglas-Roberts (11.5 %) and Luc Mbah a Moute (7.8 %) are the Bucks most likely to get blocked.
...And the 3 Bears. The Grizzlies are last in the NBA making just 3.8 threes per game, and they are second worst to Toronto in three-point percentage (.332). But they only needed to make 2-8 from outside to beat the Bucks the first time.
Everybody Hates Loves Chris. Especially in Memphis, where CD-R (almost) led the Memphis Tigers to the national championship along with Derrick Rose. But CD-R tweeted about feeling sick yesterday, so this might not be his night.