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Travis Andrews: Could Kelly English’s Menu Help The Memphis Grizzlies Win Tonight? ➡

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Chef Kelly English has been known to be a huge Grizzlies fan. So big in fact that several of his menu items have been named after big moments in recent Grizzlies franchise history. This year English’s new Second Line restaurant is opened in midtown and has been hosting some playoff watch parties. Along with the parties have come a few new Grizzlies themed menu items including:

“Milk a Horse” Punch
Grizzlies guard Tony Allen has made no secret of his plans to shut Kevin Durant down, comparing Durant’s chance of scoring to the chances of deriving drinkable milk from a horse. In honor of Allen’s promise, Kelly is making a top secret version of bourbon milk punch, debuting tonight.

I.B.Y.A. Shrimp
Those letters stand for the phrase Grizzlies power forward/center Zach Randolph shared with the Thunder’s center Kendrick Perkins last year. The phrase got Randolph ejected from the game, thanks to the minor expletive it contains (If you’re really curious, check it out on YouTube). These cornmeal-fried shrimp come slathered in Duke’s Mayo, Crystal Hot Sauce, ground chili, and sliced green onions. Maybe Randolph meant to be ejected to get over to The Second Line early!

Second Line: I.B.Y.A Shrimp

Second Line: I.B.Y.A Shrimp

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Chris Herrington: No bluff: Thunder are Grizzlies’ best rivals ➡

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Chris Herrington has been killing writing for ESPN’s TrueMemphis feature on the TrueHoop blog. Today’s post talks about the rivalry that has developed between the Grizzlies and Thunder and some of the best moments over the last few years between the two teams. Go read the whole column. It’s fantastic.

A few highlights:

On Thursday night, at Memphis’ FedExForum, these teams will play for the 30th time over the past four seasons, including three playoff series (counting this one). The Grizzlies hold a 15-14 edge in that span, but the clashes between these two teams have provided much more than that. The series has given Grizzlies fans six overtime games and the franchise’s first Game 7, and has paved the way for a first trip to the Western Conference finals.

In Memphis, this became known as “The Tony Allen Game.” A February rematch in Oklahoma City, in which Allen had 27 points (still his high with the Grizzlies), five steals, three blocks, zero turnovers and brilliant late-game defense on Durant, rendered it “The First Tony Allen Game.” Following the overtime win Monday, Allen turned a postgame interview into an impromptu sideline soliloquy, warning of the dangers of the Ibakas and Sefoloshas of the world, but not before a now-familiar rallying cry: “It’s all heart. Grit. Grind.”

Memphis’ crowd seems more unruly. The Grizzlies used to try T-shirts come playoff time — the “whiteouts” and “blue-outs” and what have you — but had to spend too much time before games shaming reluctant fans into putting them on. The lockstep look didn’t fit, especially with unofficial Tony Allen T-shirts erupting into a local cottage industry. People preferred the towels. They lend themselves to more boisterous, physical expression.

Allen might not make sense as a cult hero in every NBA city, but he fits in colorful, big-hearted but rough-edged Memphis, where he’s embraced his “The Grindfather” persona so fully that he displays the nickname on a vanity plate on the front of one of his cars.

Royce Young: Grizzlies withstand magic of Durant to even up series with Thunder ➡

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The Grizzlies tied the playoff series with the Thunder 1-1 last night with an exciting overtime win in Oklahoma City. There were so many awesome moments including Tony Allen’s outstanding defense on Kevin Durant, Beno Udrih’s unexpected success of the Grizzlies’ bench, and Kevin Durant hitting an impossible 3 point shot while getting fouled to send the entire city into a panic attack. Here are some highlights:

Article

The Thunder have been a top-five offense the last four seasons, but it’s pretty clear how to slow them down. Disrupt Durant, disrupt the offense. What can often look like an unstoppable attack with Russell Westbrook’s frenetic, relentless style combined with Durant’s free-flowing efficiency, the Grizzlies just turned the Thunder into long distance shooters. The Thunder took 30 3-pointers, hitting just nine, as Memphis completely upset the rhythm of OKC’s offense. Allen’s ball denial and bulldog defense was at the middle of all that, upsetting any comfort the Thunder had.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsghcdpE0Ws


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE8k3FTBOoQ

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Zach Lowe: NBA Playoffs Winners and Losers, So Far ➡

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Winner: Tony Allen

I will never forget chatting with Tony Allen two seasons ago about how he squirmed around pin-down screens designed to free Kevin Durant for jumpers. He didn’t accept the fundamental basis of the question — that it was a hard thing to do. “You just do it,” he would say. I would counter: “OK, so, there is one large man running at you with the singular goal of blocking your path, and a slithery 7-foot scorer directing you into that large man’s chest. What is the best strategy for avoiding that large man?” And he would respond, again and again: “You just do it. You don’t get screened.”

The Thunder ran a version of that play for Kevin Durant in the waning seconds of overtime Monday, when they trailed by two points. They used Serge Ibaka as the screener, a larger man than they normally use. And Allen, true to his word, just would not get screened:

Winner: Beno Udrih

Udrih wasted away with the miserable Knicks and barely played for Memphis, but with Nick Calathes suspended, he suddenly finds himself running the Grizz second unit and hitting his typical pull-up jumpers. One suggestion: Maybe he shouldn’t play without Gasol also around as a facilitator; the minutes Udrih played with Gasol sitting in Game 2 were terrifying.

And couldn’t help but mention this..

Winner: Mila Kunis

So, this Mila Kunis Jim Beam ad campaign … I mean … it’s pretty good … right? Am I the only one sweating?

Danny Chau: NBA Playoffs Overnight: Thunder-Grizzlies, Explosions Everywhere ➡

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Grantland is always great–and during the Western Conference Finals last year they wrote a lot of awesome stuff about Memphis and what a great basketball city it was.

Well its that time of year again and Grantland is back at it. And how could they not be with a game like the Grizzlies and Thunder played on Monday.

The Article

TL;DR

Our KD, who art falling down
Splashing is thy game
Thy finger guns
Thy foes be sonned
Shots fall as they do with Kevin
Give us this day a shot so cray
And forgive Perk his trespasses
As he made the basket for an extra five minutes
To end it not in regulation
But delivered us to OT, Amen

—netw3rk

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Scott Polacek: Memphis Grizzlies Clinch Final Playoff Berth in West with Win over Suns ➡

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From the article

While some of the seeding still has to be worked out in the final days of the regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies became the 16th and final team to clinch a postseason berth with an impressive 97-91 road victory over the Phoenix Suns. The loss officially eliminated the Suns from the playoffs.

Memphis will finish the regular season with a showdown against the Dallas Mavericks. The loser of that game will get the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

What that basically means is the two teams will be fighting for the right to avoid a first-round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.

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Video

http://youtu.be/JMLAOolHaiE

Chris Herrington: That’s Zach Randolph’s music! ➡

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Chris Herrington posted his second article on TrueHoop’s TrueMemphis series today and it was excellent as expected. Annointing Zach Randolph as my generations Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler really couldn’t be anymore perfect and you’ll be proud that you and ZBo ball the same city home. But I can’t summarize it close to as well as Chris explained it–so read it.

With the Grizzlies staggering toward the season’s finish line and a once presumed certain playoff spot very much in doubt, the curtain is threatening to close on what’s been one helluva show. But if the Grizzlies are fortunate enough to enter the postseason this spring and Lawler makes his annual appearance, my mind will flash to the future, a decade or more from now. The Grizzlies will be in the playoffs again, and during a third-quarter timeout it’s not Lawler making an entrance but Randolph.

Maybe he’ll perform the Blake Griffin choke-slam of 2013 with a plant in a Clippers jersey or have a stare-down with a Kendrick Perkins look-alike. Maybe, poetically, it will be a co-conspirator in a Blazers jersey who knocks off Randolph’s headband and cowers in the presence of his mean-mugging, provoking a mass “Z-Bo” chant for old-time’s sake and again turning FedExForum into a Monday night card at the Coliseum, Southern Heavyweight Title on the line and the hometown hero about to rally.

Chris Herrington: Grinding it out ➡

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TrueHoop, ESPN.coms NBA blog, has a series called TrueCities where writers from NBA cities across the country are invited to contribute posts regarding their local NBA teams.

The Grizzlies have never had a feature on the TrueCities series, but Chris Herrington from the Commercial Appeal has announced he will be contributing to the TrueMemphis feature of TrueHoop. Chris is the one of the best and has a great understanding of the importance of the Grizzlies in this city. I know he will portray what is so special about this team and this city to TrueHoop’s national audiesnce.

Chris’s first TrueMemphis recaps the Grizzlies season so far and explains to the nation how exactly we got where we are after appearing in the Western Conference Finals last season.

That sounds like a good spin, but it was also what the front office believed. With what they inherited and what they added, the Grizzlies have assembled a team that should be capable of competing with anyone in the postseason. If they can get there.

Kerry Eggers: Hollins keeps life, NBA in perspective ➡

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Lionel Hollins is at it again. I think people might start to to forget about the issues he had with the Grizzlies front office, but he just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut and let it go.

Hollin pauses, then adds, “Don’t take this the wrong way. I mean no disrespect to Dave Joerger (his successor as Memphis coach). But anybody (the Grizzlies) hire, if he lets the players play the way they want to play, they’re going to win. They know how to win. When I got there, they didn’t know how to win.”