HOME STRETCH
After wrapping up a frustrating road trip over the weekend in L.A., the Wine & Gold come home to close out the regular season with three straight, beginning with a Wednesday night meeting with Memphis.
The Cavaliers dropped their third straight on Sunday afternoon, surrendering a 26-point lead after putting up an 80-point first half. Paul George scored 23 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, including what turned out to be the game-winner with seven seconds to play. Cleveland has now dropped eight of 11 and finds itself in the 5th-seed in the East Playoff picture with three games to go.
The Grizzlies have been simply decimated by injuries all season long, going with their 50th different starting lineup in a recent loss to the Spurs. Memphis has dropped nine of its last 13, including each of the last two by a combined 17.5 points per.
The Cavs have won two straight over the Grizz, including a seven-point win in Memphis back in early February. The Wine & Gold close out the regular season this weekend, with a big matchup against the Pacers on Friday night followed by the finale on Sunday afternoon against the Hornets.
THE SON ALSO RISES
Scotty Pippen Jr. has made the most of his opportunities in Memphis and has been even better as the season wraps up – coming to town averaging 18.0ppg over his last three games.
After appearing in just six games with the Lakers last year, Pippen passed his audition for the shorthanded Grizzlies as a sophomore, notching double-figure scoring in 13 of his 18 appearances this year.
He was solid in his lone appearance against the Cavs back in February, finishing with 10 points, four boards, four assists and three steals.
Pippen will have his hands full on Wednesday night, taking on a red-hot Darius Garland, who’s putting up some of his best offensive numbers in almost a month – averaging 27.5ppg over the weekend in L.A.
Garland – who also registered five steals in each game – has also handed out at least seven assists in six of his last eight outings. The 5th-year man from Vandy had a quiet night against the Grizzlies in the February win – (9 points, 7 assists) – but averaged 27.7 points and 11.7 assists in the previous three meetings before that.
FINISHING STRONG
One of the few recognizable names for a Memphis team that’s experimenting with lineups over the season’s final weeks is Brandon Clarke – a five-year veteran who’s coming off his first start of the season.
After a long rehab from a torn Achilles tendon, Clarke – who’s averaged double-figure scoring in all five years in the league – made his season debut on March 27. And he’s been good since then, tallying double-figure scoring in four of his last five outings, shooting 58 percent from the floor. In eight career meetings against Cleveland, the former Gonzaga standout is shooting 62 percent from the floor.
Evan Mobley is also playing some good ball down the stretch – hitting the 20-point plateau in five of his last six outings.
Over that six-game stretch, Mobley is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 boards per, shooting 61 percent from the floor.
Mobley missed the contest against Memphis in February, but doubled-up in each of the previous two head-to-head meetings.