The Memphis Grizzlies are finally in the playoff hunt and they have a really deep roster.  With that in mind, the rookie players are going to do a lot of sitting and watching the rest of this year.  19-year old shooting guard Xavier Henry has played in 38 games (16 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 13.9 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.5 assists per game.  The Grizzlies gave Henry more than he could handle early this year so look for the Grizzlies to let him do a lot of watching and learning the rest of the year.  24-year old PG/SG Greivis Vasquez has also had a rough time so far this year for the Grizzlies.  He has played in 54 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 12.3 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  Vasquez is only shooting 37.1% from the floor and that just isn’t good enough to get him on the floor for the Grizzlies right now.  22-year old point guard Ishmael Smith came over in the Shane Battier deal with the Rockets last week.  He has played in 1 game off the bench for the Rockets and he worked 9 minutes in which he had 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.  Smith has now played in 29 games (3 starts) overall this year and he is averaging 11.7 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while only shooting 38.8% from the floor.

24-year old shooting guard Rudy Gay got the big max contract over the summer and he’s rewarding the Grizzlies for their faith in him so far this year. Gay has played in 12 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 42.1 minutes, 23.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is also shooting really well from everywhere on the court hitting 50.2% from the floor, 41.7% from three point range and 87.5% from the free throw line so far this year. The Grizzlies might want to watch his minutes so that he doesn’t get burned out but other than that everything looks good for Gay right now.

The Grizzlies have not been playing their rookies much so far this year. 19-year old SG Xavier Henry has played in 10 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 13.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. 24-year old point guard Greivis Vasquez has played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 7.7 minutes, 2.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Henry & Vasquez both have nice upsides and bright futures for the Grizzlies but they are likely going to brought along slowly.

The Grizzlies just didn’t play enough D to win this game last night. Rudy Gay (26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots) and Marc Gasol (26 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Grizzlies in this game. O.J. Mayo also filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night. Mike Conley (16 points), Zach Randolph (12 points) and Darrell Arthur (10 points) also had solid games offensively last night. The Grizzlies are now 2-4 on the season.

The Grizzlies shot 51.2% from the floor last night but they were outrebounded 48-39 and it cost them big time. Rudy Gay was outstanding for the Grizzlies last night as he finished up with 35 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. O.J. Mayo also filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night. Mike Conley continued his fine play last night with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals. Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur had 10 points apiece in this game for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are now 2-3 on the year.

The Grizzlies never had a shot last night as they trailed 73-46 at the half. They didn’t play and D as the Lakers shot 51.2% from the floor and the Grizzlies were outrebounded 59-36 which helps explain the beatdown they took. Rudy Gay was on his game though as he finished up with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Mike Conley had another solid game for the Grizzlies last night with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Marc Gasol only played 28 minutes last night but he still finished up with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Darrell Arthur and rookie guard Xavier Henry pitched in with 10 points apiece in this game. The Grizzlies are now 2-2 on the year.

22-year old forward Darrell Arthur is playing very well so far this year for the Grizzlies. He has started all 3 games for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Arthur is also shooting 60% from the floor so far this year as he’s playing at a high level for the Grizzlies this year. Arthur has been filling in for the injured Zach Randolph and he has kept the Grizzlies on course.

The Grizzlies have signed 23-year old starting point guard Mike Conley to a 5-year, $45 million dollar extension to his contract. Conley has played in 3 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 37.3 minutes, 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game. He picked an outstanding time to be playing by far the best basketball of his career in securing that kind of contract from the Grizzlies. Conley has played in 218 games (190 starts) in his career with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 30.1 minutes, 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Only time will tell if this was a smart move for the Grizzlies or not.

The Grizzlies played great defense last night holding the T-Wolves to 34.8% shooting from the floor which negated the fact that the Grizzlies were outrebounded 57-43. O.J. Mayo led the way for the Grizzlies last night with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot last night. Rudy Gay also had a outstanding night finishing with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals last night. Darrell Arthur got another start in Zach Randolph’s spot at power forward and he responded with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Mike Conley only shot 5 of 15 from the floor but he still finished up with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 7 steals per game. The Grizzlies are now 2-1 on the year.

The Grizzlies outscored the Mavericks 22-15 in the 4th quarter tonight and that helped them overcome the fact that they only shot 38.8% from the floor. Rudy Gay led the way for the Grizzlies by stuffing the stat sheet with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. O.J. Mayo also filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot tonight. Darrell Arthur got a start at power forward in Zach Randolph’s spot and he finished up with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assits, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes on the floor. Marc Gasol wasn’t supposed to play tonight but he started and finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. The Grizzlies are now 1-1 on the year.