The HHB has to say it---yes, we know that teams are contractually required to send streamers flying from the rafters after any victory, but shouldn't the Grizzlies Wednesday night 98-90 win over the "Hawks" resound with a clunk instead of a gong?
The Grizzlies played OJ Mayo (42) minutes, Rudy Gay (38) minutes, and Mike Conley (45) minutes. I suppose when you have only won (23) games all season, you empty all barrels in making sure you get one you should get.
And they should have gotten this one by a lot more, because the Hawks countered with (42) minutes of RFM and (39) of Mo Evans and that's about it. Zaza played, but was more interested in getting his timing back and testing the resiliency of his injured back--both of which looked pretty good to us.
The Grizz went so hard after this game that they even began to double team Murray late in the game, especially after RFM seemed to start to finally hit empty on his internal combustion engine--Back to back (40) minutes games can do that to a guy.
Even still, the game was in doubt until the last couple of minutes, a testament to the fantastic effort that the Bottom Eight did against a talented young team that played their best players and played them a lot to have to put away the Hawks deep reserves.
So, in order to give the effort it's full due, we will indeed testify.
Make it Plain, Brother!
The #1 thing that the HHB took from this game, fair or not, is that Mayo, while being obviously talented, showed his back side in dealing with Flubber West.
Look, we all know that Flubber can get on your nerves---he really doesn't serve any other useful purpose than that---but the HHB, who has been highly critical of Flubber's minutes of late, was thrilled that he was our nuisance out there, especially when he very clearly got under the skin of the talented rookie.
But look, a hard foul was one thing--debatable whether it deserved a Flagrant--but to continue to burn about it, pick up another technical yapping about it, and then to take the game away from everyone else so you can deal with it your own way is when you pull down your character trousers and show everyone your rear end.
We failed to say anything notable about Othello Hunter's game against Miami Tuesday night, but we did remember one thing---something that was on display again in the game against MEM. Hunter has a nice way of not lowering the ball below his shoulders around the basket, making him play taller than he is. This is something that Horford can definitely learn from---make yourself as tall as possible around the hoop and don't let those little guys have a chance to make a play.
Our newest bestest buddy, Speedy Claxton looked better against MEM, though he did have one out of control shot---once again we believe that he showed enough to at least get him on the playoff roster.
Thomas Gardner started slow again but found his way later in the game, and we had to laugh when he was shaking his head after his second made basket because it had a "I knew I can play this game" look of relief on it. We're intrigued and would like to see more of him next summer to see if he can develop into a Kareem Rush type specialist off the bench.
Marvin Williams was consistently up and cheering on the bench guys, making him clearly the early leader for Class President on the team.
Mo and Evans were troopers out there---used to being in much more meaningful situations this season, but gave it everything---We appreciated their hard work and making this game a lot harder to win than the young men in MEM might have thought before the game.
Lunar Shuttle Tickets, Lunar Shuttle Tickets
The NBA schedule for the playoffs is out, and while you may find this elsewhere, here is everything we have on the matter---and now, it's yours---enjoy and see you on Sunday!
ATLANTA HAWKS vs. MIAMI HEAT
2009 FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES
Game 1 - Sun April 19 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Atlanta at Miami 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
In addition, Hawks games will be broadcast on 790 the Zone (790 AM) and the Hawks TV Network (Fox Sports South and Sportsouth). Playoff tickets are currently on sale at www.hawks.com/playoffs and by calling 1-(800)-4NBA TIX, or at the Philips Arena Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.
National
Local EDT
Broadcast
Western Conference
L.A. Lakers vs. Utah
Game 1 - Sun April 19 Utah at L.A. Lakers 12:00PM 3:00PM ABC/R
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Utah at L.A. Lakers 7:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 L.A. Lakers at Utah 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Sat April 25 L.A. Lakers at Utah 7:00PM 9:00PM ESPN/R
Game 5 * Mon April 27 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 L.A. Lakers at Utah TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TNT
Denver vs. New Orleans
Game 1 - Sun April 19 New Orleans at Denver 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 New Orleans at Denver 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Denver at New Orleans 12:00PM 1:00PM ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD TBD
San Antonio vs. Dallas
Game 1 - Sat April 18 Dallas at San Antonio 7:00PM 8:00PM ESPN/R
Game 2 - Mon April 20 Dallas at San Antonio 8:30PM 9:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 San Antonio at Dallas 7:30PM 8:30PM NBATV
Game 4 - Sat April 25 San Antonio at Dallas 3:00PM 4:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 San Antonio at Dallas TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD TBD
Portland vs. Houston
Game 1 - Sat April 18 Houston at Portland 7:30PM 10:30PM ESPN
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Houston at Portland 7:00PM 10:00PM NBATV
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Portland at Houston 8:30PM 9:30PM ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Portland at Houston 8:00PM 9:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Houston at Portland TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Portland at Houston TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Houston at Portland TBD TBD TNT
NBA Playoffs 2009 - First Round Schedule
page 2 of 2
National
Local EDT
Broadcast
Eastern Conference
Cleveland vs. Detroit
Game 1 - Sat April 18 Detroit at Cleveland 3:00PM 3:00PM ABC
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Detroit at Cleveland 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Cleveland at Detroit 7:00PM 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Cleveland at Detroit 3:30PM 3:30PM ABC/R
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Cleveland at Detroit TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD TBD
Boston vs. Chicago
Game 1 - Sat April 18 Chicago at Boston 12:30PM 12:30PM ESPN
Game 2 - Mon April 20 Chicago at Boston 7:00PM 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 Boston at Chicago 7:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Boston at Chicago 12:00PM 1:00PM ABC
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Chicago at Boston TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Boston at Chicago TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Chicago at Boston TBD TBD TNT
Orlando vs. Philadelphia
Game 1 - Sun April 19 Philadelphia at Orlando 5:30PM 5:30PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Philadelphia at Orlando 7:00PM 7:00PM NBATV
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Orlando at Philadelphia 8:00PM 8:00PM ESPN2
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Orlando at Philadelphia 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Orlando at Philadelphia TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TBD TNT
Atlanta vs. Miami
Game 1 - Sun April 19 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Atlanta at Miami 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Additional scheduling information will be furnished as soon as possible
consistent with the need to fulfill league obligations.
If First Round series are completed in six (6) games or less, the
Conference Semifinals may move up to begin on either Saturday, May 2 or
Sunday, May 3.
*If necessary
All games, except those televised by ABC Sports, are available to be
televised locally.
TBD - To Be Determined R - ESPN Radio
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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2 comments:
I'm going to have to break out Thomas Gardner's college stats this summer to remind everyone he didn't make shots at that level either, aren't I?
Yup--I blame Larry--his enthusiasm has me interested to see if he can match lofty standards created by Rush, which tells you about how far my interest goes on the guy-when your possible ceiling is a player who has averaged between 6 and 7 ppg for his career.
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