The Feed: Miami Heat vs. Memphis Grizzlies [11/11/12]

Recap:

The Memphis Grizzlies took out the reigning NBA Champions, Miami Heat 104 to 86 in a game full of surprises. There was no way the Heat were going to beat the Grizzlies in the FedEx forum tonight. If you were to describe a perfect game played by a NBA team, Memphis would be the epitome of such play.

Remember when outside shooting was an issue for the Grizzlies, well you can scratch that off. They went 58 percent from behind the arc, hitting 14 of their 24 three point attempts. Wayne Ellington is responsible for all of that, coming off the bench, he knocked down 7 threes, to go with his total 25 points, 3 assists and a contagious energy that lifted the rest of his teammates up.

Rudy Gay led all Grizzlies with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Zach Randolph and Mike Conley Jr. added 18 points each, to go with their 12 rebounds and 9 assists respectively. Memphis dominated this game, never allowing Miami to take the lead. Every time the Heat went on a little run or have a  slight shift momentum in their favor, the Grizzlies would come back with a big play, crushing all of the Champs' chances.

Besides LeBron James (20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists) and Chris Bosh (22 points and 8 rebounds), no one on the Heat found a scoring touch. Dwyane Wade was entirely out of it, going 3 of 15 for only 8 points. It definitely didn't help that their bench got outscored 41 to 26 by Memphis or the fact that they couldn't hit their free throws (22 of 36, 61 percent).

Offensive End:

Mike Conley Jr. takes the Grizzlies to a whole new level when he is on the court, he is much better at pushing the ball than Jerryd Bayless and plays with way more effort. Marc Gasol only attempted 6 shots today, they have to get him more touches. Not only can he put up big numbers, his passing ability, especially in the high low with Zach Randolph is a sight to behold.

Obviously the pure size of this team killed the Heat inside, the attention one big can draw opens up the floor for Memphis. In this game particularly, it led to a lot of threes.

Miami shot 38% from the field, they couldn't buy a bucket. They did outscore the Grizzlies 42 to 40 in the paint. Playing a smaller four, made one of Memphis's big man to always leave the inside, allowing easier points in the paint. Surprisingly, they grabbed 15 offensive rebounds tonight, which is about 8 more than their average.

Defensive End:

Memphis individual defense was great, they have a starting five that is versatile on both ends and can hold their own one on one. They do have a problem with transition defense, they are just not quick enough. Having two bigs that is not particularly athletic is going hurt in this department, but this is not a team that will turn the ball over a lot. Size do factor against a smaller Heat, the Grizzlies held them to only 86 points, 21 points less than their average (the highest ranked offense in the NBA right now, per 100 possessions).

Miami's interior defensive rotation was stellar, they certainly weren't prepared for the 14 three pointer outburst, but it was amazing to see how fast this team rotates. There was one possession where Marc Gasol had the ball in deep position, and out of no where 3 red jerseys came out to contest him. Heat players that guarded Z-Bo fronted him really well, limiting his touches.

Notes:

• LeBron James and Lionel Hollins are the two people that I have noticed to have the most teeth in the NBA. One would ask why I know such things, well personally, I have less than the average amount of teeth because they are irregularly big, so big that I had to remove extra teeth for braces. So I know a few things about teeth.

The Feed: Los Angeles Clipper vs. Atlanta Hawks [11/11/12]

Recap:

The Los Angeles Clipper pummeled the Atlanta Hawks 89 to 76 for their third straight victory today. This was a tight defensive game to begin with, neither team shot over 50 percent from the field or got 40 points in the first half. However, everything changed in the second half, well, at least for one team.

Blake Griffin led all scorers with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He took advantage of the size difference between the two teams, adding his numbers into the total 50 points they had in the paint to Hawk's measly 22. Atlanta did try to go to the post early with Josh Smith (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a couple ill-advised three point attempts), who was guarded by the smaller Caron Butler, but they strayed away the strategy after a Clippers defensive adjustment.

In the second half, specifically in late third quarter with the Hawks up 53 to 48. Los Angeles went on a wild run, outscoring their opponent 31 to 12 in a game that has been neck to neck from the start. Atlanta gave up 10 turnovers in just the fourth quarter, completely shifting the momentum to the Clippers direction and it stayed until the expiration of the game clock.

Offensive End:

Atlanta ultimately lost this over the little things, missing their free throws (44 percent, 7 of 16), and turning the ball over 22 times to Clipper's 13. Three point shooting kept them in to the game, they hit 4 more threes than the Clips (5). They should have not went away from posting Josh Smith and Al Horford up and revert to their kick out shooting game. Al Horford needs more touches, he should at least attempt 15 shots a game, he only got 10 and even less against the Heat.

The Clippers started with transition post ups, it allows Blake or DJ to get very deep position before the ball hits them. Atlanta came on to the third quarter to fix that, so Los Angeles started to take jumpers. Once those started falling, they spaced out the floor, moved the ball quick and attacked the basket.

Defensive End:

Both teams were strangling each other with their defense. Nobody got to their ideal pace in the first three quarters. After halftime, the Hawks changed up their defensive strategy a bit, playing better interior defense that deterred the Clippers from posting up.

In the fourth quarter, Atlanta was just sloppy, giving away easy buckets, especially in transition.

Los Angeles was consistent through and through, against a team without a true super star, their individual defense stood out.

Notes:

• Shaq was at the game to watch DeAndre Jordan, who he called on National TV to be the BEST center in the West, the Dwight Howard trolling will forever go on. 
• When the sideline reporter went to interview him, his son said that his dad can't talk to you because he works for TNT, a cute little funny moment.