Player Ratings
Eddie Griffin
We've all been waiting, hoping it was going to happen ever
since David Stern made his stunning announcement on draft day. And well...
today it did. Eddie Griffin broke out of his offensive shell today and went
nuts, hitting 8 of 10 from the floor, including his only three point
attempt. Griff was the go-to guy on the floor today, and he came out to
score. We talked to Eddie's cousin again, and he told us that Eddie was
upset about his performance yesterday, and that he would be looking to score
more, and be more aggressive today. Looks like he made it happen.
Defensively, he continued to shine, playing admirably in stretches against
Shane Battier, and tallying a couple of blocks again. Has great position on
the boards, finishing the game with 7, all defensive. 20 points, 7
rebounds, 2 blocks. Grade: A
Dan Langhi
Whereas Eddie stepped his game up a few notches, Langhi seemed
to have lost everything in the space of one day. He did try to assert
himself again on offense, but was ice cold from the floor. Try as he might
to create, nothing was falling for Dan. Spent a lot of the evening guarding
Stromile Swift, and had some suprisingly good defensive plays, but was
getting beat when he was forced to guard a littler guy. Most of his shots
came from the perimeter, and when he drove, his shots looked forced and out
of sync. Only shot 3 for 12 from the floot to finish with 6 points, 2
steals, and 3 assists. Grade: D
Terence Morris
Morris also looked much more assertive on offense this
time. We saw him showing his range with some long range jumpers, including
a 3 from the baseline. Love to see more of that. Managed to grab 4 boards,
and dished out 2 assists. Grade: B
Sean Colson
If not for Colson, we don't win this game. Definitely the
team leader out there, Sean kept the team in sync, and kept the offense
running smoothly. Hit 2 strait 3 pointers at a key point in the game to
turn the tide in our favor, and his consistant outside shooting forced
Memphis to spread the defense. Shot 4 for 5 from three point land, on his
way to 16 points. Compliment that with 8 dimes, and we're talking about a
great offensive showing. Grade: A
Darren Kelly
So many heroes. Darren Kelly was phenomenal off the bench.
He came in and hit 5 for 8 from the field, on his way to 13 points. The guy
has an amazing ability to play the passing lanes. I noticed that yesterday,
but it was even more confirmed today as he had 6 steals! Quick in
transition, and fun to watch, Kelly made another good impression today. We
asked Jim Boylen after the game if we could talk to some of the players, and
he immediately turned around and grabbed Darren. "You'll wanna talk to this
guy," he said. 13 points, 6 steals, 3 rebounds, 4 assists. Grade: A-
Omar Sneed
Another gutsy performance by Sneed. Man the guy plays hard.
Actually shot the ball very well for someone that muscles around so much.
Hit a couple of nice fadeaways, and made a good contribution in every major
category. 12 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. Grade: A.
Venson Hamilton
Saw some decent playing time today, and did a fair job.
Ended up with 6 points and 3 rebounds, and played some pretty good defense.
Would like to see him get a little more involved, but seems to be a good
garbage player. Grade: B-
Alex Jensen
With Langhi suffering, the Rockets went with Alex Jensen a lot
more today. And the crowd loved them for it. Folks around here haven't
forgotten the Boy Wonder, and he have them a good show. Showed a lot of
hustle, and even tangled it up with Battier, Jensen got himself into 3
categories... 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Grade: B
Axel Dench
Not much action for Axel, and he didn't do much with it. True
to his word, he shot, and made one. And well, of course he fouled, too...
2 points. Grade: D-
Rodrick Blakney
Didn't turn the ball over like crazy today. Quiet, but
effective enough. 2 points, an assist, steal, and a rebound. Grade: C
Saul Smith
Finally got in the game. Ummm... yeah... Finished the night
with a trillion. (to those who don't know, that's minutes played, followed
by 9 zeros. Grade: F
Seneca Walls
Invisible. Trillion. Grade: F
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First Quarter
I showed up just in time to see Sean Colson force a turnover. The score was still 0-0, and the Rockets were streaking my way on the break. Dan Langhi hit a nice outside jumper and we were on our way. Eddie Griffin had an early steal back the other way, and Langhi ended up with the ball. He made a nice move getting into the lane, but couldn't finish. At the other end of the court Shane Battier pulled up and nailed a jumper, and put the Grizzlies on the board. For most of the first quarter it was all Rockets. Langhi hit another jumper, and then while Memphis was trying to get back up, Darren Kelly stole the ball, passed to Colson, who passed back to Kelly for a beautiful layin. Then Omar Sneed got into the action by hitting a nice turnaround, then getting a rebound which became a perfect assist to Kelly for a reverse layup. You couldn't help but notice that the offense was MUCH more crisp today. And the defense was just fine. Swift made a great move getting to the basket and thought he had a dunk, but then, all of the sudden, there was Eddie swatting the ball out of his hands. It must have fired him up, cause on the other end, he took it hard to the rack, but was fouled on the attempt. The Grizzlies called timeout. The score was 15-10, us.
After the timout Vensen Hamilton saw some action. He received a good pass from Colson down low but couldn't hold on. He was playing good defense, and managed to tie up Battier for a jump ball. Terence Morris attempted a 3 that must have rolled around 4 full circles in the rim before popping out, but he does have that range. Sneed got going again with a nice jump shot, then two consecutive steals, each with an assist to Colson, first a 3, then a beautiful fadeaway. Man, Colson has a smooth shot. By now we're having our way with them, capped by a scarily Hakeem-esque Dreamshake by Hamilton to put us up 26-12. Hamilton showed his range with a nice baseline jumper, and Memphis worked it way back to 30-22 before we called a timeout. A Morris block was called a goaltend, and he didn't like the call. The coaches had to calm him down, but that was the first negative emotion I've really seen out of him. Both he and Griffin are real low key for youngsters. The rest of the quarter was the Dan Langhi brick show. Still 30-22 at the buzzer.
Second Quarter
T-Mo started off the second quarter with a nice drive. Then there was a lot of sloppy play from both teams. The Grizzlies went on a 13-2 run, and
nothing was going right for the Rockets. Finally, the Rockets called timeout, with the Grizzlies up, 35-32. They ran a play for Langhi, but he
couldn't get it to fall. I noticed that he really like to dribble across the top of the key from the left side, and pull up for a jumper. I bet I've seen him take that shot 6 or 8 times the last couple days. But it just wasn't falling for Dan. Then some tight D by Griffin forced some missed
shots, and Colson got the team going with 2 consecutive 3 pointers. Griffin was all over the boards. Langhi started to hesitate on his shot, and still nothing would go. But Griffin was playing great defense at the other end. He's very patient. He got another block, and changed Battier's shot, forcing a miss. Langhi missed another 3, and that was about it for him. Then Griffin started to assert himself on offense. First he tried to post up, but he airballed. But then he nailed a nice jumper from the top of the key, and he started looking to shoot. Swift hit a baseline jumper with Sneed in his face to make it 42-39. Coming back the other way Colson threw a arrow pass to Griffin who took it up one handed for a SWEET dunk that got the whole crowd going wild! I was watching to see how he would respond, but he was real business like about it. The Grizzlies tried to regroup with another timeout.
Battier came in and scored, but Colson responded at the other end with his own shot. Dench had come in but he fouled immediately, and when the
official blew the whistle, the Rockets put University of Utah alum Alex Jensen in. The crowd went CRAZY! Dench went up for a 3 and missed, but
Jensen came down with the rebound. Bedlam. "THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT! Oh, Alex Jensen got a rebound..." Sneed missed with seconds to go, but got his own rebound for the putback just as the half ended.
Third Quarter
Sneed was the first to score in the second half, on a nice baseline jumper. Then Langhi hit with a deep baseline shot of his own. Here's something for crispee. On the next Rockets posession, I distinctly heard Coach Boylen calling for "3 Shakes," and the ball was given to Langhi, while the others cleared out so he could ISO, a la Cuttino. Battier started yelling, "Watch the Shake! Watch the Shake!" It was a glorious moment. Of course, he blew the shot, but it was great to watch. Timeout called. 52-53 them. Things got sloppy again for a little while, until Griffin put in a nice little baby hook under the basket. Sneed stole the ball coming back, and got it to Griffin, who missed a short jumper, but Sneed put it back in. Then the Grizz responded with a 3 to make it 56-57, them. Jensen replaced Sneed, and as he came in the crowd once again erupted in cheers. Mo was doing a great job rotating on defense. He rebounded the ball, and passed to Colson, who made a nice pass to Griffin for a layin. T-Mo stole the ball from Battier, but then lost it again. It became a highlight dunk for Shane. Back the other way Griffin hit an 18 ft baseline jumper. Next Rockets possesion, Jensen drove hard to the basket and was fouled. The crowd went wild. He made one. The Grizzlies missed, and Jensen came down with it. Cheers all around. He passed to Griffin, who hit a nice turnaround J. On the other side of the court, Jensen knocked the ball loose before the shot, almost a block. The rafters were shaking and the sound was deafening. T-Mo made a nice move to the basket but was blocked by Swift. Lots of "oooo's" from the crowd, but not much emotion this time out of Morris. Next time down, he makes a GREAT pass to Dench for the go ahead bucket. As the quarter expires, T-Mo misses a shot from the top of the key. The score is 66-63,
us.
Fourth Quarter
At the start of the 4th, Griffin makes a nice pass to Jensen for a nice reverse layup, and the crowd is in pandemonium. Kelly followed that up
with a 15 footer. Griffin continues to impress with his defense. He breaks up the play at the other side, and the Grizzlies are forced to reset. The refs call a foul on Jensen, and it's the Rodney King riots all over again. T-Mo hit a deep 2, and Griffin got another block. Jensen airballed, and the crowd cries foul... literally. Next possesion we have great ball movement. T-Mo is the recipient, and he nails a baseline 3. And on the very next possesion, Griffin nails a three. Rod Blakney came in and banked one in, and the Grizzlies had had enough. They called timeout with the score 80-72.
Blakney missed a layup, but Jensen was there with the putback. The crowd started chanting "MVP, MVP" But on the next possesion, as he was going up
for a rebound after a Grizzlies miss, the refs whistled Jensen for over the back. It was a horrible call. I swear people got up to rush the court, but Jensen waved them off. They obeyed. Hamilton got embarrassed by Swift to make it 85-78, and they put Griffin back in. His first shot he was wide open, but he bricked it. It got sloppy again until Colson hit a sweet 3 from the corner. T-Mo must have gotten a little excited cause then he
airballed a wide open 3 from the top of the key. They ran an ISO for Colson, but he held on too long, and ended up with a 24 second violation.
The coaches weren't too happy. Swift beat Morris at the other end to make it 88-86. Houston called timeout. The Grizzlies played great defense
toward the end. Kelly had the ball, and he drove, but was stripped by Battier. Kelly is fast, and he stole it right back, and zipped it to
Langhi, who got it to Griffin just in time for a slam it home before the buzzer. Final score: Rockets 90, Grizzlies 86.
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