In his first meeting with the head coach under whom he went from "Pau's heavy-set little brother" to "Western Conference All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year," Marc Gasol decided he wanted to give Lionel Hollins a little reminder of the good ol' days they spent together in Tennessee. I suspect the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets would've preferred a simple Hallmark card or Edible Arrangement, because this piping hot dish by the Memphis Grizzlies center was a bit too cruel to be kind:
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This, somewhat remarkably, was Big Spain's only assist of Wednesday's game, but boy oh boy, was it a doozy.
Gasol slips a screen for partner-in-pick-and-roll-crime Mike Conley and flashes to the left block. As he receives the ball when Conley hits him on the roll, Gasol realizes that Nets wing Joe Johnson has slid across the lane to impede his path to the hoop. Rather than stop and pop or try to power through the seven-time All-Star, though, Gasol takes a nifty little dribble to his right, side-steps into the paint and fakes like he's going to put up a short hook before deftly dropping the ball over his shoulder with a no-look feed to Tony Allen — Johnson's initial mark, who has taken advantage of the lack of attention paid to him in the far corner by cutting along the baseline to the basket — for a too-easy deuce. Protect the ball, reward the cutter, get the bucket and do it with a considerable amount of style. Simply beautiful.
While Gasol showcased his point-caliber court vision and soft touch with the ball to set Allen up for two early in the third quarter, he chose to use a bit more brute force to get his own offense at the expense of Nets rookie big man Cory Jefferson later on in the contest:
Our apologies to Mr. Jefferson, but ... let's take another look at that, shall we?
Good gravy, Marc Gasol.
The Spaniard finished up with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds, two steals, one block and that one glorious assist in 30 1/2 minutes as Memphis mostly cruised to a 103-92 victory over former coach Hollins' Nets at Barclays Center on Wednesday. Zach Randolph led the way for the Grizzlies with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go with 14 rebounds and three assists, while Allen (13 points, four rebounds, two steals) and noted sketch comedy enthusiast Courtney Lee (18 points, 3-for-4 from 3-point range, three assists) did damage on the wings and Dave Joerger's defense forced 19 Nets turnovers that led to 22 Grizzlies points, helping Memphis improve to 27-11, the third-best record in the West.
New addition Jeff Green made his Grizzlies debut, and while he didn't exactly set the world on fire with his shooting, needing 11 field-goal attempts to score his 10 points off the bench, but he did show flashes of the athleticism and positional versatility that could make him a valuable rotation contributor for a Grizzlies team looking to be able to match up with the myriad threats that the Western Conference playoffs figure to present, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press:
"We're never going to be a small-ball team, but we do have to be able to match up small ball with all the teams in the West," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. [...]
[Green] sees how he can be a perfect fit in Memphis.
"I mean, I'm surrounded by threats," the 6-foot-9 forward said. "It's a great feeling to have. Coach just wants me to go out there and just play my game and just be aggressive."
Hollins, for his part, seems to be looking for a bit more aggressiveness out of his Nets, who dropped their seventh straight to fall to 16-23 on the season, just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 seed in the East's playoff race. With Kevin Garnett suspended after his headbutt of the Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard and Deron Williams once again inactive as he works his way back from injury, high-priced Nets Johnson (eight points on 3-for-12 shooting in 38 minutes) and Brook Lopez (11 points on 5-for-9 shooting, four rebounds) failed to carry the day, and Williams replacement Jarrett Jack (10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, six assists) had a miserable time trying to create for himself or others against the Grizzlies' stout defense.
Brooklyn couldn't match up with Memphis on the interior, getting outscored 66-40 in the paint and allowing 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 22 second-chance points for the Grizzlies. There weren't many bright spots for the Nets, save for the continued production of second-year man Mason Plumlee (15 points on 7-for-9 shooting, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block), but even he couldn't muster up much to say in his team's defense after yet another loss, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post:
“It’s tough, man,” Plumlee said. “No one is feeling sorry for us. We just have to get it together and get a win. Whatever that means — less turnovers, getting to the free throw line, being more aggressive. At the end of the day, you can point at everything, but we have to find a way to win.
“As a player, you know what it takes, and we have to go out and win. It’s simple … you’ve just got to win.”
While Hollins' new team keeps searching for ways to win, his former charges kept on rolling, winning their second straight and improving to 12-7 on the road ahead of a matchup with the suddenly surging Orlando Magic in Central Florida on Friday. And while Gasol's typically a reserved sort, he had to admit that Wednesday's win was a little bit special, according to Mahoney:
"It was good to beat him, honestly," Gasol said. "I know how competitive he is and he knows how competitive I am."
He sure does. I'm betting he could've done without the reminder, though.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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