The 6′ 5″ 190 lb. combo player can play the 2-5 positions on the court and has been a dominant force on the Vanderbilt rec league courts since the fall of 2008. While there was talk of his declaring for the draft after his Sophomore year, the then wiry player decided against hiring an agent in order to continue his education and gain some weight. Without the promise of a first round pick and having not been invited to any pre-draft workouts, Montague realized that spending more time on his education could be a valuable investment for his future.

Following disappointing losses early in the playoffs for both of Jumpstop’s teams and serious questions on whether or not he would be granted a fifth year of eligibility, declaring and hiring an agent seemed like a real possibility this year.

However, due to injury concerns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBgTDUIumZo) and his current lack of physical conditioning, Montague decided on Sunday to return to Vanderbilt for a fifth and final year.

The press conference was held in a common room of Carmichael Towers 4 in front of one member of the press, myself. Speaking from a somewhat battered and suspect-smelling couch, Jumpstop declared, “I just don’t have an NBA ready body at this point, and I’d also like to improve my handles and get back to playing point guard as I did for the national champion Blackhawks team that I was on in 4th grade.”

Added Montague 30 seconds later, “Has someone talked to Rachel? Are we still dating? Are my nurses hot?”

After the meeting, however, I checked the score, just so I could see the stats and who was responsible for such a poor performance. I literally yelled at two Memphians who were with me when I saw the score. I assumed it was wrong, and checked out another source just to make sure. Phenomenal comeback.  I believe this was the largest 4th quarter comeback since the ’09-’10 season.

But this win was so much more than just a win.  The game was a microcosm of the season as a whole.  We started off pretty slow.  The beginning of the season was not encouraging.  Michael Wilbon called us the most disappointing team of the season. More disappointing than the 0-3 defending champions.  That’s insulting.  But we kept playing, fighting, and earned some W’s.  And then tragedy struck.  ZBo, our top scorer and rebounder, was injured, and was determined to be out for 6-8 weeks.  Grizz fans knew that the outlook was pretty bleak.  Without Darrell Arthur as  backup either, we were in trouble, and the assurance of Dante Cunningham wasn’t quite cutting it for me.  Rudy seemed unable to bear the load of being the star of a team.  Critics were down on the team, hoping we could just hang on till Zach returned.

But the Grizz clawed back, as they seem to be getting so adept at.  Rudy stepped up, magnificently.  In the last seven games- all wins- Rudy has been the leading scorer in five.  He has attacked the basket hard, hit that silky jumper, and grabbed boards.  But what I loved to see was his determination to get the ball in the clutch minutes of the game.  In the waning seconds of the fourth last night, up 86-85 with about 30 seconds left, Rudy took the ball on an iso, and nailed a tough shot at the elbow.  And that’s so important for a team.  We need someone to rely on down the road (look at the Heat).  And it looks like we are starting to find that in Rudy.  I give full credit to Geoff Calkins for the twitter-fueled rage he had been directing at Rudy; haters gon’ hate.

Second, and probably less important at this point in the season, we won, while in first place.  I was worried that the moment we gained the lead of the division, we would fall apart, unable to handle the expectations.  After all, we played as underdogs all last year, and this year, when people believed we would contend, we lost to open the year till all expectations evaporated.  If we expect to make a run in the postseason, we will need to learn how to deal with pressure.

Tonight is a huge game.  Portland is really good, so this would be a quality win.  Let’s go get it.

Also, if you want some good articles to read about the Grizz’s run, check out

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/14966/the-shootaround-nba-news-notes-and-the-unbreakable-memphis-grizzlies

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/01/24/memphis-grizzlies-nbas-best-kept-secret/

MEdwards

And that just about sums up my day yesterday. The gift giving (and receiving) were just about overshadowed by the thrill of the long-awaited opening day. The combination of these two was almost just too much for me to handle. So much joy, hope, and excitement for the new year. Just to give you an idea of how my priorities lay, I sent one Merry Christmas text, but analyzed the day’s games with 12 different people over the phone. Gifts are great, but after the disappointing beginning to Vandy’s basketball season, I need some Grizz. So here are my thoughts on opening day.

First, props to the Holcombs for their song, “Live Forever,” being used in the TNT promo clip.  That was pretty cool.  A little confusing, theme wise (yes, I get the whole “forever” aspect of it) but a pretty awesome video nonetheless.

As for the Celtics-Knicks game, what a way to start the year.  Fourth quarter dramatics between two huge-market teams make for a great opening game.  While the Knicks did win the game, and Kevin Garnett made sure to reinforce my hatred for the Celtics with his post-game chokehold, I am not sure the Knicks are the better team. Aside from the pretty tough call that got ‘Melo to the line to hit the game winning free throws, the Knicks offense was terrible.  It just so happens that they can rely on Carmelo and a little Amare to get them through a game.  But the ball movement (outassisted by 11), spacing, rebounding (outrebounded 41-31) looked terrible.  Tyson Chandler, whom everyone thinks is a perfect fit for the Knicks, had a pillowy soft 7 and 3, with 5 of his 7 from the stripe.  Not a great night.  Unfortunately, Rondo looked great with 31-5-13.  He also looked like an alien, but that’s just hearsay.  I think the Celtics, if they can outlast their age, will finish ahead of the Knicks this year unless significant improvements are made.  Still, the Bulls and the Heat are the elite of the East.  The Celtics are the top of the next tier.

Next came the Heat-Mavericks game.  In a game in which the Mavs presented their trophy to the city, they looked like they had lost motivation for this year.  The first half was all Heat.  I am not the biggest Heat fan in the world, but I also don’t hate them like so many do.  But regardless of one’s feelings for the team, they looked amazing.  Their ball movement was remarkable.  The defense was unrelenting.  At one point in the second quarter, they were up 51-27.  On the defending champions.  It was never a game after the first quarter.  Whenever the Mavs would make a great play, the Heat would score in the next seven seconds.  After a big three by the Mavs, Lebron took the ball in, and four seconds later scored a lay-up plus a foul.   A healthy Udonis Haslam and Shane are really going to help the Heat this year. Plus if King James can put up 37-10-6 every night, and only play for 36 minutes, the Heat are in pretty good shape.  Sure, the final score didn’t look so bad, but if you watched the game, you know how scary good the Heat looked.

On a related note, Jeff Van Gundy is still my favorite announcer in the NBA.  His cynical honesty, plus his supreme knowledge of the game make him fantastic to listen to.  Also, he made a great point about NBA league pass: they are still charging full price for the package this year despite the decrease in games and season length.  That’s ridiculous.

Now the next three games I wasn’t able to watch as closely.  So here are some very brief thoughts from the games:

Derek Rose is the coolest player in the NBA.  If his 3-pointer stays this much improved (4-6 last night), then he could be the best player in the NBA too.

Black Mamba should have either pulled up for the jumper or passed.  No way he was hitting that shot.  But a great end to the game.

I’m sorry, maybe I am missing something, but I just don’t get the love for Russell Westbrook.  I’m just not that impressed.  35% shooting and 6 assists?  Not very good for a point guard.  Also, he still looks kinda like a frog.

Kendrick Perkins makes the Thunder even more hatable.

Kevin Durant is a boss.

Lob City just wasn’t very exciting.  Chris Paul is awesome, and they have the sweetest jerseys, but that game was not fun to watch.  And David Lee outplayed Blake Griffin.  Whatever.

All that to say, let’s get rowdy for the Grizz tonight.  Take down the Spurs and get ready for the home opener against the Thunder.  Get Loud.

Medwards

I’m really down on Lob City. The only thing that makes me want to watch them in their season opener is that I get to listen to the unbelievably honest Jeff Van Gundy and Chris Mullin, who I still want to be like when I grow up. I just don’t get all the hype over “Lob City.” People like Griesbeck are picking them to go to the Western Conference Finals, some are even calling them Championship contenders. What’s worse is that everybody is picking them ahead of our Grizzlies, who were one game from those Western Conference finals just last year, without Rudy Gay.

To all in Grizz nation who are enamored with Lob City, I hope to protect you. Why I’ll take our Bluff City Bears over the Lob City Clippers any day of the week:

1)   I love Griesbeck’s “We’re still the Grizzlies” (WSTG) theory. And I get it. Last year our Dresden Theory had a perfect 15-0 record. Teams just could not win in a “Dresden after the war” FedEx forum on a second game of a back-to-back. But if WSTG has any validity to it (which I think it does), Grizz nation should pause before anointing the Clippers as the champs. Let’s not forget: THEY’RE STILL THE CLIPPERS. In a classic Clipper move just last year, the team dealt Baron Davis and their first round pick to the Cavs for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. That first round pick ended up being…of course… the #1 pick.  If there is any team in the NBA who makes the Grizzlies franchise history look respectable, or even mildly fortunate, it’s the Clippers. The Clippers are arguably the worst franchise in pro sports with arguably (it shouldn’t even be an argument) the worst owner in the history of sports in Donald Sterling.

2)   What makes this fascination even more absurd is the fact that the Clippers won 32 games last year. They were fourteen games behind the Grizz and didn’t even sniff the playoffs. It takes at least a playoff appearance for a franchise to get over the hump. The Clippers haven’t been in the playoffs since Elton Brand and the last four years they have been a near laughingstock. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “they have “the Blake Show” and CP3 now though!

3)   Blake Griffin is a great player. I get it. He can jump over a car (or at least the hood of a car). But Grizz fans, let’s not forget who we have on our roster. I’m not sure Zach Randolph can jump over a toy car, but that does not matter. I watched Zach Randolph take Blake Griffin behind the woodshed last year on March 14.

He put up 30 and 12 against Griffin and held Griffin to just 8 points. Z-Bo looked like an all-star and Griffin didn’t. I love Griffin, but I’d rather have a four who has a post game.

4)   Chris Paul is also a great player. He’s one of the elite point guards in the game, and one of only a few all-time to average 18 and 9 assists for his career. But do we really think that one player is going to transform this team from cellar dwellers to a championship contender? Paul’s got bad knees and is working with a young Clippers team who is still a Clippers team.

5)   I disagree that the Clippers have the best player in the league at 2 positions like I keep hearing. But even if they did, that’s not going to get them farther than the Grizzlies this year. What happened last year and this offseason in Memphis is important and I think is being over-looked. The Grizzlies are a team. The players know their roles and their coach.  Even OJ Mayo has bought into his role as a 6^th man. Continuity is important in the NBA, and I’d take a team over 2 players any day.

I’m down on Lob City but I’m high on this team. The season starts tonight and Memphis Light Grizz and Water powers back on Thursday night. I’m ready. Are you?

I live the GrizzLife and love it,

Paul

With the recent injury to Darrell Arthur, we don’t have much (maybe the depth of the YMCA deep end?) more when it comes to a bench. But it’s Grizzmas–a time of the year wonderful enough to make even Big Shot Bob see a glass of egg nog half-full.

Without further poetry or pretension, my 2011-2012 predictions and odds:

5:1 Grizzlies make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

12:1 Grizzlies win a first-round playoff series, again.

25:1 Grizzlies reach Western Conference Finals

28:1 Grizzlies reach NBA Finals

40:1 Grizzlies have championship parade on Beale Street

(If that happens, 1:1 chance I die and Rev. Billings carries me to my grave.)

5:1 At some point in the season, off-the-court controversy involving Zach Randolph’s “drug circle”

7:1 Memphis still finds a way to trade for Josh MacRoberts

1:1 One “We’re still the Grizzlies moment”–an inexplicable front office or coaching decision (i.e. signing Stromile Swift or Jason Williams, trading Mayo for a bag of dump, playing Xavier Henry over Tony Allen, or never signing a back-up center in order to stay below the tax line)

2:1 Two “WSTG” moments

Predictions:

Starters:

Mike Conley: 13.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, 39 3PG%

Tony Allen: irrelevant. He will do what he do.

Rudy Gay: 18.5 PPG, 2.5 APG, 5.0 RPG

Zach Randolph 19.7 PPG, 1.5 APG, 12.1 RPG

Marc Gasol 13.1 PPG, 3.0 APG, 7.0 RPG

Bench:

O.J. Mayo 12.5 PPG, 38 3PG%

Sam Young 6 PPG

Xavier Henry 6 PPG

Jeremy Pargo 5 PPG, 2 APG

Josh Selby + Greivis Vasquez = 10 PPG, 4 APG

(All of the above are off the top of my head. I honestly have no idea.)

Western Conference:

1. Dallas Mavericks

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

3. Denver Nuggets

4. Portland Trail Blazers

5. Los Angeles Clippers

6. Memphis Grizzlies

7. San Antonio Spurs

8. Los Angeles Lakers

Conference Finals: Thunder over Clippers

Eastern Conference:

1. Chicago Bulls

2. Miami Heat

3. New York Knicks

4. Indiana Pacers

5. Orlando Magic (assuming Howard stays)

6. Boston Celtics

7. Philadelphia Sixers

8. Atlanta Hawks

Conference Finals: Heat over Bulls

FINALS: Heat over Thunder (in 5)

This season, NBA contenders can easily be divided into teams and all-star teams (or the shells of them).

All-star teams: Heat, Clippers, Knicks, Celtics (shell), Lakers (shell).

Teams: Mavericks, Thunder, Grizzlies, Bulls, Nuggets.

I prefer a team over an all-star team any day of the week. That is why the Clippers will have a good season but won’t be able to really get it together in time to win a championship. That is why the Knicks will have a huge run of 10-plus wins during the regular season–during which every media outlet on the Eastern seaboard has Amare-induced euphoria and writes/says things like “MOVE OVER PATRICK EWING!!!!!%&(*^%^$&%^”–but still falter in the end. And it is why the Thunder will make the NBA finals, as much as Grizzlies fan don’t want to see that happen (RIVALRYYYYY!!!!).

But this year, I think one all-star team becomes a team-team–and that team is Miami. They are narcissistic, arrogant, and more than a little annoying, but haven’t they been quiet amidst all this lockout madness? They’ve had a year to play together and hear about how The Experiment (capitals added; it’s like Bron Bron’s The Decision; also like Alabama’s “The Drive” and “Bama Block Party”; and hold on while I go throw up Christmas cookies that people keep bringing over to my house because I live in middle-class-and-white Germantown!!!!) might turn out a failure, and this off-season, they picked up Shane Battier. I have 100% confidence that that alone is enough to give them an edge. Or The Edge. During this, The Season.They will win. Prepare your sanity and your trash cans and your pocketbooks accordingly.

As for all things Grizzlies, something just doesn’t seem right. There should be more good vibes coming from a team that did what they did last season–and they just aren’t there. Part of that is outside their control. Losing Arthur is enough to give any team a two-week hangover. But again, something doesn’t feel right. So much had to go right last year, and everything–from Allen going from a meh signing to a cultural phenomenon, to Randolph playing all-NBA basketball and staying out of trouble, to Conley improving, to having a competent bench, to having a competent front office, to having the players buy in to Hollins, to Gasol staying healthy, to having the Angels win the pennant and the stars align and cows that previously have a ZBO-like vertical jumping over the moon–did.

Does that happen again this year? I hope so, but I just don’t know it it does–or even can. Let’s be real here: the front office success has been smoke and mirrors since the Randolph signing. As many others have documented, every Grizzlies transaction has turned out surprisingly wonderful. But I believe in the law of averages and at some point things have to level out. Unless… you are a team of destiny.

Along with law of averages and we’re still the grizzlies, there is one other sports law I believe in: team of destiny.

Sometime during a regular season, especially in college football but also in the NBA (see: Dirk, first round of playoffs, last year), something happens where you get this feeling–more than gnawing–that “well, we know who’s going to win it all now”. This year, it happened the night of the Iowa State- Oklahoma State game. Was there anyone watching that game, that knew the stakes, and didn’t afterwards think, “Everything that Bama needed to happen just happened.” I know I thought it. And I also thought: Alabama WILL win the national championship this year. (NOTE: yes, I mentioned Alabama football twice in this article. Yes, I know that “all they do is win” and “haters gonna hate” and I am supremely jealous of them.) And they will. Watch. If I had a consistent paycheck I would double it.

Are the Grizzlies a team of destiny? They could be. I would say, to a smaller degree, they were one last year. (You knew they were going to win the Spurs series after Battier’s shot.) Only “team of destiny” can defy odds and cancel out the law of averages. The Grizzlies rode a high last season, and are bound to come down.

Or are they?

Perhaps they are destined not to.

Here’s to the Hollinsdays.

–Grizzbeck

The most important question, however, is: was last season a fluke? Fans want to know, above all else, that the team they fell in love with last year wasn’t a one hit wonder. The answer, Griz fans: NO. I fully expect this year’s team to pick up where last year’s left off and charge into the playoffs again.

First, various “surprises” for the team last year will carry into this season. Point guard Mike Conley finally had a season that lived up to his 4th-overall pick promise. Year 3 or 4 is when point guards typically make their “leap” and Conley certainly did last season, averaging 13.7 and 6.5 assists per game. With every major offensive player around him back, I see no reason why he shouldn’t play great again.

Another surprise, the play of guard Tony Allen, should continue as well. A member of the first all-defense team last year, Mr. Grit and Grind shows no signs of slowing down and should continue to wreak havoc on opposing backcourts.

Another factor helping the Grizzlies is that stars Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay will look to be one the NBA’s best 1-2 punches. Moreover, studs Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Sam Young, and Darrell Arthur are young, hungry, and back for more.

Finally, the condensed season definitely helps younger team like the Grizzlies. Every team in the NBA will be playing 5 or more games a week for months, which is bad news for Western Conference rivals such as San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Those teams feature older players whose bodies are not built for such a packed season. Not a problem for the Grizzlies.

So, Grizzlies fans, the countdown to December 26 starts now. San Antonio better be ready.

Grit, Grind,

Owen

There are a number of my past experiences and personality faults that I could heap the blame for this increasingly gloomy outlook upon, such as not experiencing a winning football season until I was eighteen, the Bartman game, or my being a generally negative person. However, with the radical change in my attitude, between May, when I was writing about how optimistic I was about sports in general, and now, when I’m back to bitching about everything, there can only be one true culprit: David Stern and the NBA lockout.

With every passing day, Z-Bo’s legs are getting older, and his vertical leap is losing millimeters that he can ill-afford to spare. He’s arguably our city’s biggest sports star, and he’s not exactly going to drop 60 points in Rucker Park or create headlines about potentially playing overseas. Therefore, with every week that we are unable to heap praise on him for carrying the team, being a good dad to his daughter that sits a few rows behind the bench, and having a generally amiable and attractive personality, the probability that articles about Z-Bo and drug-related incidents appear in the CA increases.

This was going to be our year, we were going to have excitement around the franchise from June until October based on practices, summer league games, and Tony Allen’s tweets, be a very good team all season long, and eventually make a deep run in the playoffs. We have a very small window of opportunity with this team until veterans start noticeably aging, young supporting-cast talent gets bigger contracts elsewhere, and the front-office reminds us that they are just as capable of drafting Hasheem Thabeet with the second overall pick as they are signing Tony Allen and Z-Bo. We have this very small period for potential success, and Stern and Co. are in the process of sealing our window shut as tight as if it were in a Vegas hotel. I have no solution in mind, no suggestions to make, only less hope, a growing despair, and a kind of hopeless frustration whenever I see lockout news.

I like the Plex when I can find it, those consumer arenas arranged by the Leisure Industrial Complex, whether it’s a suburban galleria sucking the human plankton into itself from the exit ramps, or a metro area monolith stuffed with escalators to convey the herd to the multiple price-pointed retail outlets, food court stalls and movie screens, or a red-bricked pedestrian mall reclaimed from urban blight and dolled up to commemorate some location of inflated historical import.
-Colson Whitehead on the World Series of Poker

For those who wish to gawk at 1,000 more words of these needless descriptions that convey only arrogance, skinny jeans, and lensless, thick-rimmed glasses here’s the link:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6754551/part-1

If you actually like this piece, then who am I to judge? Maybe there’s some literary value there, and I’m just too low-brow to see it.

While this first piece was going to be a mean-spirited screw-you to UT fans filled with gloating about the recent commitment of Brian Kimbrow to Vanderbilt and the phenomenal work that James Franklin has been doing this offseason, I could not come up with anything well-written or witty enough to provide a good time-waster for you, so this will serve as a teaser for the ten or so of you out there who still check this site despite our record low one post in the past month. I’m going to try to do or read something interesting enough to entertain you in the next week, so keep checking back for self-indulgent posts.

As for important occurrences in this world, I cannot provide much of an update as I remain pretty ignorant of all news not reported by ESPN, Vandysports.com, or Bill Simmon’s wonderful new venture Grantland.com. I believe that interest rates fell again and have come back a bit to a strong 3% on the ten year; the job market still sucks; public servants need to learn how to appropriately nurture their images through twitter; and Obama is from Hawaii for sure. My somewhat inconsequential news sources listed above show that LeBron and D-Wade are punks, James Franklin may work out better than Malzahn would have, and Bill Simmons likes hockey again. I don’t have much purpose for writing this other than we have been silent for about a month and have a dedicated following of about twenty-three good men who surely miss our musings.

In conclusion, be expecting a guest posting from Will Aldridge in the near future, go Grizz, don’t trade Mayo straight up for Kyle Korver, and for the love of everything good, Heisley, re-sign our assistant coaches before we start losing assistants to basketball powerhouses Lemoyne-Owen or Southwest CC. And go Dores, win us a championship!

Big Shot Bob