A Great Grizzlies Season!

The Grizz just completed the best season in franchise history. Lots of thoughts and questions fill my head as the Grizz season comes to a close, but 1 stands out above the rest:

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2012-2013 Memphis Grizzlies.

I have said before that blogging about the Grizzlies is a form of therapy. It gives me the opportunity to vent frustrations to my 3 readers (my mother, my father, and sometimes my wife). It's been almost a year since I blogged about the Grizzlies, and that was after a very frustrating Game 7 loss to the Clippers last season.

Since that opening round loss, opportunities to vent about the Grizzlies have been few and far between.

Smiles were common among Grizz fans this year. Check out these fans, watching a game at Smitty's Bar in Sausalito, CA.

Sure, this season hasn't been without frustrating moments. For example, there was losing the season opener to the Clippers. Then there was losing home court advantage in the first round to the Clippers on April 13. Also, there was losing on a Chris Paul buzzer beater in Game 2 against the Clippers. Pretty much every loss to the Clippers stood out this season as a very frustrating moment.

Thankfully, the Grizzlies only lost to the Clippers 5 times this season.

And despite those frustrating losses, unlike in previous Grizz seasons, the great moments have far outnumbered the sad ones. Here were my highlights from 2012-2013:

• The sale of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera and his re-commitment to Memphis
• The Grizz record for November was 12-1, including national TV wins against the Knicks (NY's first loss) and the Heat
• I personally attended 4 Grizzlies wins including
• Two wins against the Warriors in Oakland (including Golden State's home opener!)
• A win against the Lakers in the Fedex Forum the day after Thanksgiving
• A win in Sacramento's awesome arena after eating Papa Johns in the parking lot

The Grizz swept the Warriors this season, and I was witness to two victories!

• I won over $100 in Vegas when the Grizzlies covered against Denver in December and Portland in April
• The Grizzlies hired John Hollinger, my favorite NBA writer, as their VP of Basketball Operations
• The Grizzlies won four straight in the playoffs against both the Clippers (top 3 least favorite team) and Thunder

On April 3, 2013, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trailblazers 94 to 76, and the Venetian Sports Book has never been the same.

This was a Grizzlies season filled with great moments that I will not soon forget. In the next few weeks, there will be time to think about the future, but for the moment, I will enjoy the 2012-2013 Grizzlies, who outlasted all but 3 other teams in competition for an NBA Championship.

Heart, Grit, & Grind.

The Hangover: The 5 Most Disappointing Moments in Memphis Grizzlies History

Every once in a while, the Grizzlies transcend greatness to produce a heartbreaking disaster of a moment that inevitably leads me to binge drink, sulk, or binge drink and sulk.

I'm not a good loser to begin with. For example, in a recent game of Risk, when my armies were almost conquered, I attempted a last ditch effort to trade my assets to a neutral opponent, not to save my own skin, but just to piss off my conqueror. The trade was so insultingly desperate and dishonorable, that my trade partner wouldn't accept, even though he had nothing to lose but his pride. This was a slight step up from knocking the board off the table to end the game.

Combine me being a sore loser with the Grizzlies being great at losing, and you have a match made in Grizz  Country.

The Grizzlies' recent record-breaking playoff loss to the Clippers provides a historic entry into the annals of Grizzlies disappointments, but where does it stack up? Answering questions like these is how I spend my summer. Let's count down the 5 most disappointing moments in Grizz history because that will be fun.

To evaluate the most disappointing moments in Grizz history, I have assessed the expectations, the missed opportunity, and the psychological toll on the fans at the time of the event. This toll is very high as evidenced by this blog.

To give you an idea of what these criteria mean, consider 2 events that did not make the cut:

1) The 2003 LeBron James lottery: At the time, fans were resigned to losing the 2003 pick, which was #1 protected, due to the Grizzlies' low odds. There was only a brief period during the lottery when Grizz fans had glimmer of hope.

2) The 2011 playoff loss the the OKC Thunder: Game 7 and the triple OT Game 4 were both disappointing, but the Grizz still exceeded expectations by any standard. It's hard to be disappointed about the 2011 Grizzlies.

Both of these events were run-of-the-mill disappointments, and the Grizz live by a higher standard.

Here's the top 5:

5) The 2007 NBA Draft Lottery

You can't blame the Grizz for losing the 2007 NBA draft lottery. They did everything they could to produce the best possible outcome. They led the league with 60 losses, setting a franchise record for losses in post-Vancouver history. As a result, the Grizz had the best odds of winning a top pick. Also, Jerry West brought his lucky golf trophy to the selection process. A #1 pick for the Grizz in 2007 was preordained.

Not only that, but there were two consensus superstars in the 2007 draft, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. At the time, winning the first or second pick was viewed by all as a ticket from mediocrity to a decade of winning and success. That presumption turned out to be 50% right, but that didn't impact our disappointment at the time.

The Grizzlies 'won' the fourth pick, and I didn't speak for 6 straight hours. My wife still complains about it.

4) The Selection of  Hasheem Thabeet in the 2009 NBA Draft

At the time of Thabeet's selection, many were disappointed. Thabeet was high on most folks' radar for his 'bust' potential. Today, we can discuss Thabeet among the all time busts. The disappointment factor was increased when the Grizz barely missed on winning the #1 pick to take consensus superstar Blake Griffin and then selected Thabeet at #2 over several more desirable prospects, like Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, and Stephan Curry. (James Harden turned out to be the correct choice, but wasn't a sure bet at the time.)

Grizz fans' acceptance of the Thabeet selection was similar to Star Wars fans' acceptance of the Prequels. We knew in our hearts it wasn't right, but we wanted so desperately to believe everything would work out for the better. Ignoring our instincts doesn't make this moment less disappointing. Our disappointment was met with front row seats to Thabeet's atrocious rookie campaign, which was only surpassed in mediocrity by Thabeet's sophomore campaign.

3) The Game 1 Loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the 2012 Playoffs

The Grizz fought for home court advantage, and lost it in Game 1 by giving up a 27 point lead in the fourth quarter. This was a nightmare. I can barely speak about it. Let's move on.

2) The 12 Game Playoff Losing Streak from 2004-2006

By 2006, I was quite confident that the Grizzlies would win one playoff game.  It was kind of like how I felt when the Grizzlies were up by 27 in Game 1 against the Clippers, but the outcome was even more disappointing. When you lose 12 straight playoff games to start your playoff career, you start to develop a complex.

This year, the Knicks beat the Grizz playoff losing streak by losing 13 straight, but the Grizz still own the record for most losses to start a franchise playoff history. Take that Knicks!

PS the Grizzlies won 50, 46, and 49 regular season games in the stretch where they went 0-12 in the playoffs. The Grizzlies opponents lost a combined 19 playoff games in the years they swept the Grizzlies. (Dallas lost in the finals.)

1) The Trade of Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and salary cap flexibility.

This trade was terrible in 2008, and the Grizzlies were a laughingstock. This was the biggest disappointment because the Grizzlies inflicted this upon themselves, enabled the Lakers to compete for championships, and Grizz fans had to listen to ridicule from just about everyone in the world for 3 straight seasons, until the improbable emergence of Marc Gasol.

See You Sunday

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The Return of David Loves the Grizzlies

This past week, pain been runnin deeper than the ocean...

And a lot of people have been talking about what the Grizzlies need to do to turn this thing around. More Tony Allen. Fewer jump shots. Better execution. No more setting records of futility. More Grit/Grind. Stop drafting terrible centers from Tanzania.

I have heard it all, but what the Grizz truly need is a rally post from the Bay Area's #1 Grizzlies Fan Blog. So here you have it. I have shared a pic below of me in my #1 rally cap as well as a pic of me with JCN, and calling it Grizz in 6.

The NBA Lockout: Where Amazing Happens

It's time to end the 2012 lockout of DavidLovesTheGrizzlies. I have come to an agreement with myself that I will keep 100% of blog related income which comes to $87.38 over 5 years.

In my first post back after 7 months, I choose not to discuss this awesome lockout in a Wojnarowskian piece condemning owners' tactics, ridiculing the players' tactics, and condemning the lawyers' lawyering.

Nope, I had a productive time off - moving to a new apt, getting married, and buying a new couch - so I thought I'd be productive in my first post back and help the League come up with a new marketing slogan for the 2012-2013 season.

Of course, my efforts quickly spiraled towards bitterness, which turned into sadness, then to anger, and then back to bitterness. But that's life as a Memphis Grizzlies fan!

I dressed up as the NBA Lockout for Halloween!

Anyway, as I was researching ideas, I realized several recent slogans were appropriate and could be reused easily:

• "Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?" (Maybe in the Minnesota District Courtroom!)
• "Last Season was Last Season" (I'm confused.)
• And whatever slogan the League used for those commercials where all the players' heads were inflated to 10x their normal size. (Savvy move headed into the lockout.)

Meeting these nice German ladies lifted my spirits. We chatted about what a great year Dirk had.

Since this is a blog, I wanted to come up with my own ideas, so I did what any respected Blogger would do and polled my friends for ideas. Here's what we came up with:

5. The NBA: Where Amnesty Happens

4. The NBA: Can't We All Just Get Back to Hating LeBron?

3. Where Will A Luxury Tax Paying Team Use Its Biannual Exception This Year?

2. The NBA: Cuz You Aren't Really Watching Hockey Right Now, Are You?

1. The NBA: Proving Games Really Don't Matter Until April Year After Year

Honorable Mention goes to my buddy Curt who suggested we reuse the Memphis Grizzlies' 2006-2007 slogan "Tell your kids they're going to Dunkyland."

Remembering that slogan briefly made me forget that we have already missed over 2 weeks of games.

If you've got a better slogan, please add it to the comments below. I love this game!

Believe Memphis

When I went to work on Friday, I told friends that April 29th would be either the best or the worst night of my life. The first Game 6 in the history of the Grizzlies had all the makings of another Grizzlies letdown. Within 2 seconds of defeating the top-seeded Spurs in Game 5, the Grizzlies blew a defensive possession and the Spurs made improbable shots to force a 6th game.

Losing the series after leading the Spurs 3-1 and leading Game 5 by 3 with 2 seconds remaining would fit perfectly into the Grizzlies' 10 year narrative of unprecedented losing and unmatched embarrassment.

But the Grizzlies won.

These Grizzlies are unlike any Grizzly before them.

For the first time in franchise history, the Grizzlies exceeded expectations. For the first time in Grizzlies playoff history, the team embarrassed someone else. For the first time in Memphis history, fans have more to be proud of than a well-played game here and there and some delicious BBQ nachos.

For once, the Grizzlies seized an opportunity and changed their narrative.

These Grizzlies' narrative is about winning now and winning later. It's trading Thabeet and locking up Zbo. It's selling out the FedEx Forum. It's the volume of emails, texts, and phone calls that prevent me from watching games on DVR delay. It's the Facebook message from someone I haven't spoken with in 6 years congratulating me as if I had done something other than endure 10 years of loyalty to a despicably bad sports team.

The Grizzlies are finally good.

All Heart, Grit, Grind

It's been 5 years since the Grizzlies were last swept out of the playoffs. At the time, the Grizzlies set a record for mediocrity, being swept for the third consecutive season (out of 3 total playoff appearances).

On Sunday, Memphis returns to the playoffs as an eighth seed, battling the four time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, who completed the 2010-2011 season with the second best record in basketball.

Yet somehow, I am encouraged. While there's little hope that the Grizzlies' season will extend beyond the next two weeks, there is something different about these Grizzlies that inspires.

Something that made this season unashamedly entertaining despite modest results.

It's All Heart, Grit, Grind.

So here I am in my Tony Allen Tshirt, in Napa Valley California, purchasing a celebratory beverage to drink when the Grizzlies win their first playoff game in franchise history.

Go Grizz.