Sunday, December 7th, 2003 -- The Pyramid -- 4:00EST
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vs.
(10-8) ....... |
....... (10-7)
Complete Standings
Starting Lineups
<IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/lorenzen_wright.jpg" ALT="Lorenzen Wright"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/pau_gasol.jpg" ALT="Pau Gasol"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/james_posey.jpg" ALT="James Posey"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/mike_miller.jpg" ALT="Mike Miller"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/earl_watson.jpg" ALT="Earl Watson"</IMG>
vs. <IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/damon_stoudamire.jpg" ALT="Damon Stoudamire"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/jeff_mcinnis.jpg" ALT="Jeff McInnis"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/rasheed_wallace.jpg" ALT="Rasheed Wallace"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/zach_randolph.jpg" ALT="Zach Randoph"</IMG><IMG SRC="http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/dale_davis.jpg" ALT="Dale Davis"</IMG>
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Matchups to Watch
Bonzi Wells and Wesley Person Square Off Against Their Former Teams
Pau Gasol (18.1ppg 8.4rpg 1.6bpg) and Zach Randolph (21.6ppg 10.7rpg 1.0spg) Battle At the PF Position
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Head Coach:Hubie Brown
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Those who wanted to see Bonzi Wells and Wesley go at it against their old teams didn't have to wait long. This is the second game for each player since being swapped last Wednesday. Wells has already made a comment to Portland combo guard Jeff McInnis that he will drop "fifty" on the Blazers today. While that seems to be an overexaggeration, Bonzi has made a habit of burying his old teams. The Ball State SG already put in an impressive performance against the Wizards, scoring 12 and adding 6 assists after receiving a standing ovation from the supportive Memphis crowd. Jason Williams is still sidelined with a strained back muscle, and Earl Watson will again take his place in the starting rotation. The Grizzlies, 4-3 at home, are riding a four-game win streak coming into the game.
Keys to Victory
The Grizzlies will attempt to limit Portland's enormous frontcourt while hoping one, two, or all of their impressive swingmen get hot from the field. Randolph usually overpowers our big men with relative ease. Might there be a Jake Tsakalidis sighting? Bonzi Wells usually comes to play against ex-employers, so hopefully we'll feed him the ball, but continue to run our patented balanced attack while our bench wears on Portland's questionable depth.
Head Coach:Maurice Cheeks
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Wesley Person also turned in a successful debut at the Rose Garden, scoring all eight of his points in the 4th quarter in the Blazers' downing of the Knicks, 88-81. Person was also well-received by Portland fans and has already done some publicity work with the team. Third year forward Zach Randolph has historically given the Grizzlies trouble, scoring 20 and pulling down 16 in the Blazers 93-87 defeat of the Grizz on November 5th. Portland is carrying a three-game win streak of their own into the game, although they are winless on the road this season.
Keys to Victory
Dump it down low. Memphis has obvious problems stopping Randolph. Stick Ruben Patterson on Wells and hope for the best, because the SG spot is arguably the largest discrepency of talent in the matchups. The Blazers outrebound opponents this season by +5, while Memphis' rebounding is -5. The Blazers outrebounded Memphis 50-37 on November 5th.
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Official Memphis vs. Portland Game Thread (12/7)
