Recap: Grizzlies 109 - Rockets 97

Bleh. Ugh. Ew. The list of AIM words to describe this game can go on and on, but despite how bad it was, we couldn't have really expected anything else. Think about it: no T-Mac and no Rawn. Why not just put 3 guys on Yao and leave everyone else wide open? That's what I would have done, but the Grizzlies took their chances with single coverage and wound up successful. Marc Gasol shut Yao down, and while we didn't get him the ball enough, the Grizz deserve credit. We saw this generosity and immediately recognized it by giving up 109 points to a team that played it's star only 24 minutes off the bench. Yuck.

Three Up:
Von Wafer - Von stepped in to the starting lineup in place of Ron Artest and played well, shooting 7-12, netting 15 points.

Luis Scola - My Friend From Argentina went 16/15, shot well, and chipped in 3 assists. The only reason I'm not calling out his terrible defense of Hakim Warrick is because I've become used to it by now.

Rafer Alston - He shot 50%, had 8 assists, made four threes, and had four rebounds. Not much else to say about the man.

Three Down:
Luther Head -- This may not be his fault seeing as I blatantly cursed him earlier this season. But he shot 1-8 and, get this, was an incredible -27 while on the floor. -27? This statistical disaster must be addressed and dissected. Paging John Hollinger, Mr. John Hollinger.

Yao Ming -- It wasn't like Yao had a terrible game, it was just that we A) Couldn't get him the ball, and B) Marc Gasol is 7'1, 280, which is large. He's going to have off-nights like this. 4 rebounds is pretty embarrassing, though.

Defense -- Losing Rawn hurts, but this was essentially the same team that shut down opposing offenses last season when T-Mac missed games. So to give up 109 points to a bunch of Chuckers and Darko is pretty lousy.

Stats of the Night:
Luther Head +/- while on the floor: -27

Greg Buckner +/- while on the floor: +20

Number of shot attempts by Yao Ming: 8

Number of shot attempts by Marc Gasol: 10

Number of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks combined by Chuck Hayes: 3

Number of fouls by Chuck Hayes: 5

Number of turnovers by the Grizzlies: 6

Number of fans in attendance: 10,691

Number of fans who were fooled into thinking that they had tickets to a Toby Keith concert: 8,507

Almost-Injury of the Night: The Basketball Gods took a look at our roster tonight and gave us a break.

T-Mac = Ewing Theory?: Ron Artest's absence throws off the Ewing Theory Watch for tonight.

Rudy Gay/Shane Battier Trade Update: Um, Shane brings intangibles...(sigh).

Violet Palmer Is a Female Referee: Yes.

Next Game: Tuesday vs. Atlanta