I’ve been on a Grizzlies hiatus for the past week or so as my wife and I welcomed our second child and first son into the world. Tonight was my first game back since the Orlando game on January 25th. Am I resentful that I sat through this desultory dud of a game while missing the packed-house nail-biter against the Lakers? You bet!
I’m hoping that the insistent demands of a nocturnal infant will force me to be a more concise and efficient post-game blogger. Let’s find out:
1. Playoff Hopes Taking a Hit?: As of this writing, the Grizzlies are 10th place in the Western Conference — two games out of the eighth and final playoff seed, three games from the fifth seed, and, amazingly, only 4.5 games out of the third seed, all with nearly half a season still to play. In other words, still very much in the thick of a very tight playoff race.
But I think you’d have to be less confident about this team earning a playoff birth after the past week. Not only have the Grizzlies lost four of their past five games, but have lost very costly home games to the Hornets and Rockets.