Grizzlies-Bobcats Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Apr 19 2012 1:57PM

The Memphis Grizzlies are back in the playoffs, but they want to advance further than they did last season.

The bar is set much lower in Charlotte.

Memphis' push for home-court advantage in the opening round of the postseason continues Friday night when the Bobcats try to end a franchise-record 18-game losing streak with their fifth straight home win in this series.

After making the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006 and winning their first-ever postseason series, the Grizzlies (37-25) clinched another playoff spot Wednesday with a 103-91 victory over Western Conference-worst New Orleans.

Memphis, though, is not satisfied with just being one of the top eight teams in the West. The Grizzlies have their eyes on a bigger prize after knocking out San Antonio in the West quarterfinals last season before pushing Oklahoma City to seven games in the next round.

"We have high expectations for ourselves," guard O.J. Mayo said Wednesday after scoring 15 points. "It's obviously the highest of expectations is to win a ring. Last year, we could just be happy to be there. This year, we definitely have a different focus. And we feel like we're supposed to be there."

The question now is where Memphis, which has won 12 of 16, will open the postseason. Currently fifth in the West, the Grizzlies have an outside chance to move up a spot if the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers fall.

While the Grizzlies prepare for what they hope is a deep playoff run, the lowly Bobcats' only hope is to win one of their final five games to avoid the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

If Charlotte (7-54) can't win another game, it will finish with a winning percentage of .106. The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers went 9-73 for a .110 winning percentage.

"We don't want to set that record," guard Gerald Henderson said after the Bobcats lost an 18th straight game Wednesday - 100-68 to Chicago. "That's something that we're thinking about and we've talked about. We just want to win. That's my sole goal."

But if the Bobcats are going to avoid that dubious distinction, they'll likely have to start shooting with more accuracy. They shot a season-low 29.8 percent against the Bulls, surpassing a mark set two nights earlier (30.3 percent) in a 75-67 loss to the Hornets.

"That's been our problem all year," said Bobcats coach Paul Silas, whose team is converting a league-worst 41.4 percent.

Charlotte, though, has hit 48.8 percent while winning six of eight against Memphis.

The Bobcats won 96-82 in the Grizzlies' last visit to Time Warner Cable Arena on Jan. 10, 2011.

Memphis forward Rudy Gay, who finished with 13 points in that defeat, is scoring 24.5 per game - 5.4 more than his season average - over the last eight contests overall.

"I'm going to keep going out there and being aggressive," Gay said. "That's what I do. I'm a scorer by heart, and you can't score without shooting."

Memphis, 14-18 away from home, closes the road portion of its schedule Friday.

The Bobcats have dropped 11 in a row at home since a 107-103 victory over Toronto on March 17. That was also Charlotte's last win anywhere.

Conley scores 20 as Grizzlies beat Bobcats 85-80

By Steve Reed
Posted Apr 20 2012 10:56PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies needed a spark late and Mike Conley provided it.

Conley scored nine of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Grizzlies came alive defensively, hanging on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 85-80 on Friday night and avoiding a humiliating loss to the worst team in the league.

The win assures the Grizzlies no worse than the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a shot to still move up to fourth.

The Grizzlies overcame an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit and a career-high-tying 32-point effort from Gerald Henderson of the Bobcats, who extended the franchise record with their 19th straight loss.

Conley admits it was "much tougher" than expected.

"We knew they were playing for pride and we've been in that situation on the opposite end and we knew we were going to get their best effort," Conley said.

For the Bobcats (7-55), the misery continues.

On the 25-year anniversary of Michael Jordan scoring a NBA playoff-record 63 points against the Boston Celtics, the team Jordan now owns took a step closer toward cementing a dubious spot in league history. If the Bobcats lose their final four games they will finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

"Everyone knows what we're playing for," Henderson said. "We don't want to set that record. There was a little more sense of urgency in our play tonight."

Conley credited the win to the team's defense in the fourth quarter that forced seven turnovers.

Henderson's 3-pointer got the Bobcats within three points with 20 seconds left, but he turned the ball over in the lane with 10.8 seconds left on the next possession. Conley was immediately fouled and hit two free throws the seal the victory.

"We gave it away," Henderson said. "We had some possessions where they just took the ball from us. That led to some fast break dunks. You know, against a team like that, you have to execute on offense and you can't give them easy buckets coming down the stretch."

Said Conley: "Defensively we put a lot of pressure on them and made them take tough shots down the stretch."

Zach Randolph added 14 points for Memphis (38-25).

It was a frustrating night for Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, who expected a little more from his team against a Bobcats team that has been beaten on average by nearly 14 points per game this season.

"I finally found a group that both had chemistry out on the court and played with a little bit of energy and a little bit of enthusiasm and wanted to just be out there and play," Hollins said.

The Grizzlies outscored the Bobcats 28-15 in the fourth quarter, primarily in pick and rolls in the offensive set and run-outs.

"We didn't even try to throw the ball in the post," Hollins said. "We just attacked them in the pick and roll, pick and roll, and we were able to get layups and dump offs. That was the key to the game. We did a much better job defensively as well in the fourth quarter of stopping their guys from scoring."

The took a 17-4 lead behind 11 points by Henderson, leaving fans to wonder if the losing streak might finally come to an end. But the lead was short-lived as Marc Gasol scored six straight points and the Grizzlies led 39-37 at halftime.

Charlotte took a 65-57 lead into the fourth quarter, but it didn't take long for the Grizzlies to erase that deficit.

Conley began driving to the hole and soon the game was tied at 71.

Ex-Bobcat Dante Cunningham had uncontested fastbreak dunks on consecutive possessions. Marreese Speights added another dunk off a feed from Conley with 5:25 left. Conley, who had seven assists, then hit another driving layup to push the lead to eight.

The pesky Bobcats cut the lead to three points on two occasions, but couldn't get any closer.

"This was one we needed," Conley said. "This was a big win for us. We locked up the fifth spot and now we have a shot at the fourth seed, so we needed this win."

Despite the loss, Bobcats coach Paul Silas was proud of how hard this team fought.

"This is the experience we need," Silas said. "We really are not an experienced team but any team that we play we have to believe we can be as tough as them and we were tonight. We didn't back down. We didn't give up. We just kept going at it."

NOTES: Memphis' Rudy Gay and Charlotte's Bimack Biyombo had to be separated after coming face-to-face in the game's final 45 seconds. Both were given technical fouls. ... The teams combined for 40 turnovers. ... Henderson has scored 20 or more points in four of his last seven games. ... Conley is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds over his last three starts.

Notebook: Grizzlies 85, Bobcats 80

Posted Friday April 20, 2012 10:10PM

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Mike Conley scored 20 points and Zach Randolph added 14 off the bench as the Memphis Grizzlies picked up an 85-80 come-from-behind win over the abysmal Charlotte Bobcats Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Gerald Henderson led all scorers with a career-high 32 points for the Bobcats who have lost 19 straight.

QUOTABLE: "We just had guys that stepped things up defensively and the glass hard. Our pick and roll was really hitting it tonight. We found a group that really wanted it out there and just went with them. This was a little closer than we wanted, but we got the win."
-- Memphis guard Mike Conley

THE STAT: Points off turnovers. The Bobcats committed 22 turnovers and allowed the Grizzlies to convert them into 27 points. Charlotte had seven turnovers in the final quarter which got turned into nine points.

TURNING POINT: Turnovers. Memphis went on an 8-0 with the score all tied at 71. The first six points were all of dunks including two from former Bobcats' Dante Cunningham as Memphis took the lead for good. Charlotte rookie Kemba Walker had two turnovers in that stretch that led directly to baskets.

HOT: Gerald Henderson scored a career-high 32 points for the Bobcats. The Charlotte shooting guard was 11-for-21 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He added four assists and three rebounds on the night. It's his third 20-point game in the last four contests. He's averaging 22.8 points in that span.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Mike Conley had a team-best 20 points and dished out seven assists while adding two rebounds and three steals. Memphis is now 8-0 when Conley scores 20 or more this season. He is averaging 18.7 points, 6.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.3 rebounds in the three-game span.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Bobcats hosted Faith & Family Night at Time Warner Cable Arena with Christian recording artist Building 429 as the featured performer.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kemba Walker had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in the loss for Charlotte. The rookie point guard is averaging 13.7 points, 4.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his last 12 games. He has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games. Fellow rookie Bismack Biyombo netted seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

NOTABLE: Byron Mullens had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was his sixth double-double of the year ... Jamario Moon is 0-for-7 since being signed by Charlotte earlier this week ... the Bobcats are now 6-3 when leading after three quarters .... Charlotte is 3-13 in games decided by six or less while Memphis is 18-8 in games decided by six or less ... The Grizzlies had 42 bench points compared to just eight for the Bobcats and scored 58 points in the paint ... Lester Hudson was signed earlier today by the Grizzlies, but was inactive for the game tonight ... this was the first win in Charlotte by the Grizzlies since March 10, 2007 ... Memphis is now 13 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005-06 season ... Rudy Gay scored nine points and was held to single digits for just the fourth time this season.

UP NEXT: For the Grizzlies, Saturday vs. Portland, Monday vs. Cleveland, Thursday vs. Orlando. For the Bobcats, Sunday vs. Sacramento, Monday at Washington, Wednesday at Orlando.

• Grizzlies: Arthur, Hudson
• Bobcats: Maggette, Najera

• Grizzlies: Gay, Mayo, Speights
• Bobcats: Biyombo, Mullens

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 13428
• Duration: 2:19