NBA Breakdown : Jan 27

NBA Breakdown

I, very wrongly, predicted the Memphis Grizzlies to be this season’s dark horse in the West. This meant much of my early season viewing of NBA League Pass was spent watching Darko Milicic brick left-handed hook shots, Rudy Gay fouling and Pau Gasol getting schooled in the low post.

What struck me most was the amount of playing time Damon Stoudamire was getting. The veteran point guard was starting on a team that had just taken Mike Conley at four in the draft and had Kyle Lowry, who impressed over the off-season.

With the two youngsters sitting on the bench, Mighty Mouse (still one of my favourite nicknames) was hardly excelling. His shot was inconsistent, he struggled to penetrate opposition defences and he looked old on D, regularly getting beaten off the dribble by younger PGs or shot over by bigger ones (Damon is only 5ft 10in).

Stoudamire has not played since the December 30 loss 111-87 to the Spurs and although the Grizzlies fortunes have not improved, at least they are looking forward.

Reports on ESPN.com today suggest Stoudamire has reached a tentative agreement with the Grizzlies regarding a contract buyout with the Suns and the Celtics reportedly interested.

I understand the need for a level-headed veteran to be a backup point guard for these two teams chasing a title but after watching Mighty Mouse this season, I am not convinced he is the way forward.

Speaking of the Grizzlies, their 125-120 overtime win over the Clippers last night included a career-high 34 points for Rudy Gay. The 21-year-old is one of the rising stars of the league and is averaging 21PPG in January. Gay contributes both offensively and defensively and has improved considerably since last year. The more experienced he gets the more he will improve and hopefully he will be able to cut down on some of his silly fouls. As solid as Shane Battier is, the Rockets, as well as some of the teams who passed on Gay in the 2006 draft, must be feeling pretty stupid now (especially the Hawks – Shelden Williams??, who has scored a total of three points in January).

Last night also saw the Hornets destroy the Spurs 107-78 in San Antonio. The victory took their record to a Western Conference-leading 31-12 record and legitimised them as a real force to be reckoned with. Chris Paul was as efficient as ever with 17 points and 11 assists and David West dropped 32 points of 15-19 shooting. The Hornets lack of depth casts doubts over how they will do if one of their stars gets injured, or in a long tough play-off series but a few more wins like this and we’ll have to start talking about them as title contenders. Chris Paul is also looking like a serious MVP contender. As for the Spurs, they are finally starting to look old – people have been saying it for years but now it could well be true. Don’t count them out yet but they are not playing the type of basketball they have played over the last few seasons.

Dwyane Wade scored 35 points as the Heat ended their 15-game losing streak with a 98-96 home win over the Pacers but with Shaq injury-plagued and Dwyane still suffering it is likely the Heat will be battling out for Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and co. in the summer. However they will finish with a better record than the Wolves, the Sonics and probably those damn Grizzlies too.