Game to pay attention to: Grizzlies vs. Jazz
Who's to say it took until last year's playoffs for Pau Gasol(notes) to find his defensive edge? Look at what this man is doing to Greg Ostertag in that picture! He's about to send ‘Tag to get another Hanna-Barbara tattoo. Brutal.
I like Houston and Phoenix, that could be a very good game; but both teams are coming in on the second night of a back-to-back, so things could fall apart. Boston and Miami could be interesting with all these C's in street clothes, and Golden State in Minnesota should be fun, but I'm down with the Grizz and Jazz.
The Grizzlies are also coming in after a win last night in Portland, an up and down game that could have gone either way but prevailed due to Memphis' length and depth.
Tonight? They're up against the somewhat long Jazz, who don't have much by way of depth but I'm sure are keen to right what has been a wrong in terms of home performance. The Jazz are 12-6 at home this year, which is solid enough, but far below Utah's typical standards. Utah has beaten the Grizzlies 10 straight times, but has lost three in a row over the last week.
Big Wednesday, 10 games, comment away.
Utah Jazz: 18-16, 92.6 possessions per game (14th), 106.9 points scored per 100 possessions (14th), 104.9 points allowed per 100 possessions (10th).
Memphis Grizzlies: 93.5 possessions per game (10th), 110.5 points scored per 100 possessions (sixth), 111 points allowed per 100 possessions (28th).
All statistics courtesy basketball-reference.com.
