22-year old forward Darrell Arthur had a nice February for the Grizzlies.  He played in 12 games in February and he averaged 20.1 minutes, 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game while shooting 51.9% from the floor.  Arthur has now played in 58 games (7 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 18.6 minutes, 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Arthur has played so good this season that the Grizzlies now have confidence that he will be starting for them some time down the road.

The Grizzlies only shot 37.5% from the floor last night and they were outscored 36-25 in the 4th quarter and those were the big reasons for the loss.  Zach Randolph led the way for the Grizzlies last night with 24 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot on 7 of 25 shooting from the floor.  Mike Conley also filled up the stat sheet with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Darrell Arthur (12 points) and Tony Allen (10 points) also pitched in for the Grizzlies last night.  The Grizzlies are now 33-28 on the year.

The Grizzlies mauled the Kings as they rushed out to a 97-64 lead after three quarters before calling off the dogs.  Zach Randolph (23 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist) and Marc Gasol (21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes) led the way for the Grizzlies last night.  Darrell Arthur shot 7 of 8 from the floor as he finished up with 17 points and 3 rebounds in only 15 minutes off the bench.  O.J. Mayo (13 points), Sam Young (10 points) and Hamed Haddadi (10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 21 minutes off the bench) also had solid games for the Grizzlies last night.  The Grizzlies are now 33-27 on the year.

The Memphis Grizzlies have acquired 32-year old small forward Shane Battier and 22-year old rookie point guard Ishmael Smith from the Rockets for 24-year old center Hasheem Thabeet, 24-year old power forward DeMarre Carroll and a first round pick.  Battier played in 59 games (all starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 30.8 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 744 games (619 starts0 in his first 10 years in the NBA and he is averaging 33.2 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Battier will take over as the starting small forward for the Rockets until Rudy Gay is ready to return to action.  Battier is a good defensive player and he’s very unselfish on offense while being a good three point shooter.  Ishmael Smith played in 28 games (3 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He is only shooting 38.6% from the floor so far this year so he has some things he still needs to work on.

Hasheem Thabeet was a high first round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft but he just wasn’t good enough to earn a spot in the Grizzlies’ rotation.  He played in 45 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he averaged 8.2 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Thabeet played in 113 games (13 starts) in his two years with the Grizzlies and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 0.9 blocked shots per game.  DeMarre Carroll played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he averaged 5.6 minutes, 1.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Carroll has now played in 78 games (1 start) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 10.7 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Carroll has only shot 39.8% from the floor and 63.6% from the free throw line so far in this NBA career.  Thabeet, Carroll and a first round pick seem like a pretty steep price for Shane Battier but give the Grizzlies credit for trying to win right now.

The Grizzlies turned up the D last night as the T-Wolves only shot 37% from the floor and that was the big reason for the win.  Zach Randolph led the way for the Grizzlies last night with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.  Mike Conley also had a outstanding game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Sam Young (16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) and Tony Allen (16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in with solid games last night. The Grizzlies are now 32-27 on the season.

The Grizzlies got punished in Denver last night as the Nuggets built up a 102-76 lead heading into the 4th quarter before calling off the dogs.  Tony Allen led the way for the Grizzlies in this game with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.  O.J. Mayo (21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 30 minutes) and Zach Randolph (12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals) also had decent games for the Grizzlies last night.  Marc Gasol, Sam Young, Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur each pitched in with 10 points apiece last night.  The Grizzlies are now 31-27 on the year.

The Memphis Grizzlies are 31-26 on the season which has them in 4th place in the Southwest Division, 15.5 games behind the Spurs.  The Grizzlies are 9th in the Western Conference as of right now but they are in good shape.  It won’t be easy without Rudy Gay for the next month or so.  The Grizzlies are tied with the Jazz (who at #8 in the Conference).  The Grizzlies are only 1 game behind the Nuggets and 1.5 games behind the Hornets and Trailblazers.  If the Grizzlies get hot I can see them getting all the way up to be the #5 seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs.  If they don’t get hot, they could still miss the playoffs.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  23-year old Mike Conley is playing the best basketball of his career right now.  He has played in 57 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 35.9 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  The Grizzlies need Conley to keep playing well as he’s making the offense go.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  24-year old Hasheem Thabeet has regressed in his second season in the NBA.  He has played in 43 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 8.1 minutes, 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Grizzlies are so upset with Thabeet that they are willing to trade him for pennies on a dollar if another team wants him.

The Grizzlies have signed 26-year old SG/SF Rodney Carney to a 10-day contract.  Carney played in 25 games (1 start) earlier this season with the Warriors and he averaged 13.2 minutes, 5.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  He has now played in 297 games (48 starts) in his first five years in the NBA and he is averaging 15.5 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  This was a good signing for the Grizzlies as Carney is a decent bench player.

The Memphis Grizzlies will be without 24-year old shooting guard Rudy Gay for at least the next four weeks due to a subluxation of his left shoulder.  Gay has played in 54 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 39.9 minutes, 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  To survive without Gay, the Grizzlies need 25-year old Sam Young and 29-year old Tony Allen to step up.  Young has played in 53 games (21 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 17.6 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He will likely move to small forward with Tony Allen playing shooting guard.  Allen has played in 49 games (8 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  With the trade deadline looming, I wouldn’t be suprised to see the Grizzlies add either a small forward or shooting guard to help out off the bench until Gay returns to action.

The Grizzlies finished strongly last night, outscoring the Sixers 25-16 in the 4th quarter to prevail.  Mike Conley led the way for the Grizzlies last night with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Zach Randolph also had a great game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot last night for the Grizzlies.  Sam Young (12 points), Rudy Gay (11 points) and Tony Allen (10 points) also pitched in for the Grizzlies.  The Grizzlies are now 31-26 on the season.