Analysis: Grizzlies say they've put their issues behind them
One week after coach Lionel Hollins peppered his troops with a piercing, profanity-laced lecture, the Grizzlies have strung together roughly 10 quarters with the steady effort and focus he demanded.
They will close a four-game road trip this afternoon against the Los Angeles Clippers seeking consecutive victories for the first time since Nov. 20-26, when the Griz won a season-high three straight games.
Consistency with execution and lineup chemistry eluded the Griz throughout the season's first quarter. That partly explains why their record (9-14) is one game worse than it was after 23 games last season.
Collectively, the Griz insist their issues with selfishness and lapses in mental toughness are behind them. They were guilty as charged by Hollins, and took his words as constructive criticism they hope will help provide a boost into the second quarter of the schedule.
"It's obvious the problem is us. It's blatantly obvious," Griz leading scorer Rudy Gay said. "We need to play defense. We need to execute and we haven't been doing it. We're getting closer. But getting close doesn't count. We need to get W's and I mean put more than a few of them together."
There also is no question that becoming a playoff team this season weighs more on team owner Michael Heisley's mind.
"We've got a better team than we had last year but we've got to go out and compete," forward Zach Randolph said. "We've got to learn how to win games. We have to learn to sustain that lead to be a playoff team that we want to be."
The Griz were supposed to not only field a better team but avoid the slow start similar to the one that derailed last season, right? Instead, Memphis already owns separate losing streaks of three, four and five games.
Hollins & Co. could point to three reasons outside of perceived personal agendas: Defense, late-game execution and O.J. Mayo's prolonged affliction on offense (as a starter and reserve). That is not to assess unmitigated blame toward Mayo for the Grizzlies' slow start. His career-low 12 points on 40-percent shooting have come in a career-low 29.5 minutes per game.
Mayo's dip in scoring also coincides with a decrease in field-goal attempts in each of his three NBA seasons. He's averaging 11.3 shots per game, which is down from 14 last season and 15 during Mayo's rookie campaign.
But the Mayo bench situation has been underwhelming even though the Griz reserves averaged 27.8 points in the 10 games since Mayo became a reserve.
Hollins and Mayo agree that Mayo has made the most sacrifice of anyone on the roster. Hollins and Mayo agree that Mayo needs to play with more confidence as his move to the bench was based on the 6-3 guard's scoring mindset.
Mayo also insists he still is on board with what Hollins is preaching.
"That's our man," Mayo said of Hollins. "We've let the owner, we let everyone know this is the guy we want to play for. We've been in a lot of winnable games. We've just got to start winning. Whatever our role is, whatever the dynamic of the team is, we've got to accept it and go hard. We feel like we're a good team. We've just got to stick to the script."
Point guard Mike Conley echoed Mayo's sentiments.
"We haven't stopped buying in. It's just a matter of going out and doing what needs to be done," Conley said. "We've got to stop worrying so much about ourselves and worried about the team. We've got to get to the point where everybody's comfortable and what's expected of them on the court."
Say this about the Griz as of late: They are re-establishing their identity.
Part of the Grizzlies' struggles defensively had to do with their lack of strong rebounding. Early-season injuries to Randolph and Marc Gasol limited the Griz on the boards.
Suddenly, though, Randolph is rounding into form.
He's averaging 20.4 points and 14 rebounds over the past five games. The Griz are 5-1 when Randolph amasses at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. And Memphis is again leading the NBA in points in the paint with 48.3 points inside after scoring 51.4 in the paint in 2009-10.
Perhaps more importantly, Randolph's work on the boards has helped the Griz make a noticeable defensive improvement in their last two games. Memphis has allowed 96 points on 42-percent shooting compared with the first 21 games, when opponents averaged 103 points and shot 46 percent.
Points allowed and opponents' shooting undermined the fact that Memphis leads the league in forced turnovers (16.8) while ranking third in steals (8.8) and points off turnovers (19.1).
"I feel like we're playing a lot better," Conley said. "We've been playing the basketball that we played in preseason and wanted to bring into the season."
Memphis, of course, finished 8-0 in the preseason. In the last two seasons, more than 75 percent of NBA teams with winning preseason records earned a playoff berth.
Postseason teams also have other characteristics, and at least one the Griz must improve upon. With little room for error in the West, losing games seemingly in hand (such as Nov. 5 at Phoenix) and against weak Eastern Conference teams (such as Nov. 19 at Washington and Nov. 27 at Cleveland) is no longer an option.
"We've got to be more mature," Gasol said. "We say sacrifice, one team, one goal -- all that stuff. They're big words but we have to put it into action. Every change we make we're doing for the best of the team. We all know that and we have each other's back. We all still believe we have what it takes and that's what is important."
