Grizzlies 99, Wizards 94

These are the Memphis Grizzlies I remember from the past few months. The Grizzlies that win 3 out of 5 games. The Grizzlies that avoid the "bad quarter." The Grizzlies that got balanced production from most if their starters. These are the Grizzlies that I like. Tonight's win over the Wizards was crucial for the team. We pulled our record back over .500, secured a much-needed road win and actually won the second game of a back-to-back.

You know your team has played well when it's hard to pick an MVP. Is it Zach Randolph, who scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds? Is it Marc Gasol, who scored 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and hit 10 of 11 field goals? Is it Rudy Gay, who scored 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and scored 7 of the Grizzlies' last 11 points to put the game away? Is it OJ Mayo, who scored 17 points (15 in the 2nd half) and dished out a game-high 8 assists? It's hard to choose. That is a sure sign that we played as a team tonight.

LJ's keys to the game were to 1) have OJ score more than Mike Miller and 2) play with energy. He nailed both. Mayo netted 17 points while Miller managed just 6. Figuring out energy is slightly more difficult, but I'll try. The Grizzlies finished with a +3 rebounding margin. Our top three bench performers, Marcus Williams, Sam Young and Hamed Haddadi, were a combined +37 on the +/- scale (which measures the team's net points while a the player was on the floor). Do those two numbers definitively say that we played with energy? Maybe; maybe not. But since it's my blog, I'm going to say yes. Deal with it. So there you have it, we fulfilled both of Luke's keys to the game.

Great win tonight, Grizzlies. Let's keep the momentum rolling when we play the Bobcats on Friday. Go Grizz!

Owen