Game On: Hornets @ Grizzlies

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Published: January 14, 2012

The Hornets try to get back to winning basketball against the struggling Grizzlies.

The Hornets lost a tough one last night against the Wolves – an ugly, physical affair that left both Jack and Landry holding body parts in pain throughout the evening.  Now, they get to take a night flight to Memphis and face a wounded bear – though the beast is injured in a way to help the Hornets, with Randolph out and Rudy Gay and Mike Conley struggling with various minor injuries.

As a result of these issues, the Grizzlies have not been living up to expectations after an unexpected playoff run last year.  Their offense has dropped from average last year(16th in the league) to a rock-bottom 27th, and they were experiencing those problems even before Randolph got hurt.   And who is the primary culprit?  Rudy Gay.  Yeah, that’s right.  I’ve been saying it for years, but Gay does not help you.  He’s taking 17 shots a game – five more than his closest teammate – and averaging an  Ariza-like 1.036 points per shot.  His best year ever?  1.23 points per game, or slightly worst than David West in his best seasons.  I love West, but would anyone take a team seriously if he was their primary – and really, only, scoring option?

This, of course, means that we’ll be treated to yet another low-scoring defensive slugfest tonight, with the Grizzlies and Hornets sporting almost equivalent defensive numbers for the year.

The Hornets will continue to play without Ariza and Gordon, while Jack and Landry are banged up a bit.  They will need to rely on that deep frontline of Okafor, Landry, Kaman, Smith, and Ayon to rebound errant shots and dig it out.

Question for you:  Do you like Summers starting over Aminu?  Offense for Defense?  I’m not sure I’m a fan.

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