Game Preview: Utah Jazz (23- 48) vs Memphis Grizzlies (42-28)

Wow this is so exciting the last game of the season! I can't believe that we have made it through an entire season once again. I am getting so excited for locker cleanout tomorrow. All the stories that will come out will be soooo exciting to hear. Oh wait what we still have 10 games left after tonight's game, oh okay.

Ty Corbin accidentally said there are 72 games in a season and I found it funny. I guess the number of games in a season can be included in Ty Corbin's "numbers game"

From a coach’s perspective, why do teams come out with low energy?
Well, you, 72 games. 70s-plus games in the NBA season.* You know, you collectively, guys, it’s some nights you don’t feel your best, and so y–some nights it’s one or two guys, you can play or you can coach around that.

But when it’s a group of guys, and you have a key guy out, then where do you go when you try and push the guys to get ‘em through it. And sometimes you start off slow and you can get it going. We just never, last night, couldn’t get a consistent flow going…We just couldn’t get over the hump because we didn’t have a long run of the energy that we needed.

* Not a typo.

Yes I know Ty knows how many games are in a season but we can still have a little laugh at it, I am sure he is :)

Last Wednesday the Jazz played the Grizzlies in Memphis and lost. This Wednesday the Jazz look to get revenge as they take on the Grizzlies at home in Salt Lake. The Jazz however are 0-2 against the Grizzlies this season and have lost three straight and six of the past seven games against Memphis. The Grizzlies have lost 10 of 11 in Utah. So the Jazz do have the possibility to beat the Grizzlies tonight.

The Grizzlies beat the Jazz by 10 (96-86) last week. Trey Burke was great in the last game against the Grizzlies he finished with 16 points (3-4 from three) and 6 assists. It will be interesting to see if Memphis adjusts to Trey and limits him tonight or if he can have another big game against Mike Conley. Enes Kanter also had a nice game against the Grizzlies in their last meeting having a 12 and 12 game. Despite Kanter's efforts, Memphis's bigs Randolph and Gasol easily outplayed the Jazz's bigs finishing with 41 points and 21 rebounds.

After being called out by Gordon Monson and Kurt Kragthorpe I imagine the Jazz will come out with a much needed energy boost. Or maybe they don't pay attention to what's written about them and they'll play how they normally would play.

Monson said:

After Monday night’s showing, the Jazz locker room was solemn and dark, frustrated and confused. A crisis of confidence was thick as a brick. Modest solutions to numerous problems were apparent, but no one knew exactly how to implement them.

They had been given lip service before, but nobody appeared to be about that action, boss.

And

Jefferson said Corbin and his coaches are not giving up, they are "coming in here fired up, ready to go."

That’s admirable.

But sometimes, it just doesn’t work.

Sometimes, the message, along with the game, is lost. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the physical and the psychological don’t mesh. Sometimes, the melon doesn’t get put back in proper alignment. If the embryonic Jazz are lacking ripened talent, OK. If they are getting straight up beat, OK. If they are lacking effort and energy, that’s not OK. It’s a players’ problem, but it’s more than that. It’s a coaching problem, a problem that must be solved.

If Corbin knows and the players know what the problems are lets see if they can actually find solutions. Gordon asks if we have the talent I think he knows the answer is yes by the way the rest of the article is written. I know we have the talent too. Good for Monson for writing what the rest of us have been thinking.

Whether Monson's and Kragthorpe's articles will prove to motivate or be ignored will sound be found out.

The game tonight is on ESPN. Remember last time the Jazz were on ESPN, playing the Spurs? the announcers had lots of fun questioning what we have questioned about rotations and game plans all season (or for 3 seasons). I wonder what they will say tonight. I only bring it up because sometimes its nice to hear your feelings validated from a national source. Then again these same guys have been wrong about the Jazz in the past so who knows :) (i. e. picking GS, Houston, Denver etc to beat the Jazz in the playoffs).

Good luck Jazz. I hope you win or lose whatever is best for the players and the future of this squad.

Starting Lineups

Utah Jazz

PF-Enes Kanter

SF- Richard Jefferson

C- Derrick Favors

SG- Gordon Hayward

PG- Trey Burke

Memphis Grizzlies

PF- Zach Randolph

SF- TayShaun Prince

C- Marc Gasol

SG-Courtney Lee

PG- Mike Conley

Injuries

Utah Jazz

Alec Burks (ankle)- DOUBTFUL

Andris Biedrins (shoulder)- OUT

Memphis Grizzlies

Quincey Pondexter - Foot- Out for Season

Tony Allen - illness- day-to- day

Game Info

Grizzlies vs Jazz coverage

Grizzly Bear Blues