Tonight the Celtics will be in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. Memphis has been alright to start off the season. They’re 18-16 which has them at 10th in the Western Conference.
The Grizzlies has a rough season last year because they were plagued by injuries. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each dealt with their own issues. This season, the team is back at full strength but hasn’t gotten back to what it was a few seasons ago.
The Celtics should have good opportunity to bounce back after Thursday’s loss against the Rockets. The Grizzlies are rather cold as they’ve lost 7 of their last 10 games. Memphis is also 29th in the league in scoring, averaging a mere 101 ppg. They’re also dead last in rebounding at 39 per game. The Celtics struggled to defend and rebound against the Rockets so this is a good game for them to fix those things.
The recent history between these two sides has been all Celtics with the C’s winning 5 straight over Memphis. Neither of the games last season were close. I feel like the C’s should be able to take care of business tonight.
Mike Conley Could be the Next Celtic Killer
Mike Conley is probably the most underrated player in the league. He’s averaging 20 ppg this season along with 6 assists. His numbers are actually quite similar to Kyrie’s. The amount that people sleep on Conley alone could be a reason he could light the C’s up tonight. Everyone has been gunning for the Celtics this season because of all of the hype that was around them coming into the year.
Conley also fits the role of a lot of the guys that have already given the Celtics a hard time this season. He’s a speedy guard that loves to come off of screens. 40% of Conley’s shots come off of pull ups. He’s made 45% of the pull ups he’s taken from mid range and 34% of them from deep. Not the most impressive numbers in terms of percent, but he is still someone that the C’s need to look out for. The pick and roll has given them nightmares this season and that’s the thing Conley does best.
Skilled Bigs Everywhere
The Grizzlies have one of the original skilled big men in Marc Gasol. Gasol is averaging just over 4 assists each game this season, which is 3rd amongst centers behind Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis. Gasol is also Memphis’s second leading scorer this season with 16 ppg. Gasol was one of the first bigs to make an effort to shoot threes. There have been plenty of centers that have been stretch bigs, but Gasol learned to shoot threes throughout his NBA career.
On the green side is Al Horford. Horford is known for his playmaking ability from down low. He averages 3.6 assists per game this season. The thing about him is that he doesn’t always end up getting the assist, but he makes the best pass for the situation. Like Gasol, Horford has made three point shooting something he’s looked to improve on since coming into the league as a post player. This season Horford has made 33% of his threes. One of the most unique things that Al brings to the game is his ability to actually run the point. We’ve seen plenty of times where he’ll end up being the one to bring the ball up so Kyrie or some other guard can play off ball.
The match-up between Gasol and Horford should be interesting to watch.
Getting Past Memphis’s Tough Defense
The Celtics are ranked 4th in the league in defensive rating, and the Grizzlies are just behind them at 5th. Memphis has held opponents to 101.7 ppg which is the second lowest in the league. Like I said earlier, Mike Conley is underrated scoring. Well, he’s also underrated on defense. Back in 2013 he made the all defensive team which is something people forget about. His match-up against Kyrie will be fun to watch because they’ll be going at each other on both ends. Marc Gasol was also on the all defensive team in 2013 when he won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. So, Memphis has a solid defensive background in the front and back court with those two guys. This won’t help the way Celtics not named Kyrie Irving have fared on offense lately. Tonight could be a true defensive battle, and that’s something that’s always fun to watch, especially in crunch time.
Thanks for reading!
Parquet Press 