Erick Blasco's Sunday Review: Dec. 14 Edition

Of the five NBA teams who fired their head coach earlier this season, three of them played, and each of the three lost Sunday. With his own head coaching job on shaky footing, Marc Iavaroni led his Grizzlies to a fourth straight victory. With Mo Cheeks getting canned the day before, Iavaroni’s winning streak couldn’t have come at a better time.

True, Memphis’ four-game winning streak hasn’t been the most challenging of endeavors. Three of the wins have come at home, with the Heat, Bulls, and hobbling Rockets far from elite. Yes, Memphis’ only road win has come over the inept Thunder (do they even count as a win?). But the Grizzlies four-game surge is the longest streak they’ve been on in three seasons.

Impressively, they’ve done it with defense. Miami shot only 36.4 percent, and scored only 86 points on Sunday, in becoming the Grizzlies fourth consecutive victim, losing 102-86. Memphis held Dwyane Wade to 17 points and four turnovers on 5-16 shooting, while shutting down Shawn Marion to seven points on 3-12 shooting.

The Grizzlies also held Chicago and Houston under the century mark during their streak.

Now this isn’t some epiphany the Grizzlies are having where they’re suddenly a lockdown defensive team. The Grizzlies did give up over 100 to Oklahoma City, and faced a Rockets team without Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady. And with their incredibly young roster, the Grizzlies will still make defensive mistakes throughout the year.

What it does show is that the crop of young players the Grizzlies have will speed up their rebuilding process.

Rudy Gay has always been a terror in the open court, but he’s beginning to become a better half-court defender and scorer. O.J. Mayo lit up the Heat for 28 points, five rebounds, and four assists without a turnover, and has been the creative number-one scorer they’ve lacked for a while. Marc Gasol can already rebound, pass, and defend better than Darko Milicic. Mike Conley is becoming a better shooter, which will serve him well in the future.

The Grizzlies, unlike the Timberwolves and Thunder, are making progress. That paints a rosier picture for their future, and could save Iavaroni’s job.

The teams that already ousted their coaches didn’t fare as well.

The Timberwolves played with more heart than they did during the end of the Wittman era, but as has been the case for much of the year, couldn’t find any offense to unseat the Lakers, losing 98-86.

Al Jefferson was ineffective against the Lakers front line, and the team doesn’t have another creative offensive player to compensate. Kevin Love grabbed 10 rebounds, but shot 1-5. The team needs a raw perimeter scorer desperately; someone like O.J. Mayo.

The soft Raptors were forced to overcompensate on clogging the lane to stop Chris Paul. However, any time Paul kicked the ball out, that pass, or the subsequent pass, found wide-open teammates behind the three-point line. The Hornets shot 12-33 from behind the arc, but Rasual Butler and James Posey paired up to go 10-19 on threes, sparking New Orleans’ 99-91 victory.

It doesn’t matter who is coaching the Raptors, with their personnel, they’re doomed to either give up layups, or to over-help and give up threes.

The Thunder waited until the fourth quarter to be competitive in a 109-104 loss to the Spurs. Too many times this year, the Thunder have fallen behind by double digits in the first half and have been unable to recover.

The Thunder don’t play as if they have a gameplan or points of emphasis when they take the court. That’s because P.J. Carlesimo never really had any overaching plan. It showed when he coached, and it shows now that he’s gone.


Notes

How big has James Posey been for the Hornets? He went 7-11 against the Raptors, 6-10 from three, grabbed 10 rebounds, and scored 20 points. He shoots better than Peja Stojakovic in the clutch, and does every other basketball related activity better than Peja.

New Orleans should look to move Peja for a wing that can create off the dribble, start games with Morris Peterson or Rasual Butler, and finish them with Paul, West, Chandler, Posey, and the acquired shooter. Peja’s proven he’s not reliable in the money season, and he hurts New Orleans’ overall defense.

As young talented teams are to do, the Heat have as many bizarre losses as they do impressive wins. They don’t have many talented and experienced defenders on their roster, and they don’t have many creative scorers either.

Shawn Marion isn’t a main offensive option, and he’s struggled this year, averaging only 12.5 points. Meanwhile, Michael Beasley doesn’t defend well enough to start. In games where Dwyane Wade struggles, the Heat will assuredly struggle.

The Lakers didn’t play their A-game against the T-Wolves, and had troubles in their 12-point win. Everyone keeps saying that they’ll turn it on for Boston, but therein lies the problem. Do great teams coast, only to turn it on when they need to?

That arrogance can cost a team, as usually they aren’t disciplined enough to always execute against the best teams. It’s what’s cost the Pistons the past three seasons. The Lakers have the offense, the talent, and the energy to win a title. Everything now is about the details.

Reports of the Spurs’ demise have been greatly exaggerated. Tim Duncan is still the best big man in the game, and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should be fresh over the next three quarters of the season after missing time with injuries.

San Antonio's role players have to be precise for them to be special, but its Big Three and defense can overcome any team, aside from the Lakers. The Spurs need more shooters, and a Robert Horry-type defender to be a true championship contender. Right now, they won’t score enough to win a game in the low 90s against Los Angeles.