:::CONFERENCE BATTLE::: | WIZ | .::VS::. | GRIZZ | 02/08/06

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Grizzlies Set Opening Night Roster



Memphis, Tennessee, November 1, 2005- The Memphis Grizzlies have released their final roster for the opening night game against the Miami Heat on November 2nd. Grizzlies.com has a view of the roster including probable starters. They also spoke with Grizzlies and Miami Heat team members to get their thoughts on tonight's game. Read the quotes below.


MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH MIKE FRATELLO

On how Jason Williams fits into the Miami Heat...
It’s tough to get inside someone else’s locker room. They key to anyone fitting in any place is the acceptance of the other players, that’s all that matters, how his teammates accept him, his effort toward trying to be a part of what they’re trying to get done. I don’t think they’re going to have any problems at all. Jason loves to win, he had some close friends on the team prior to going there, I think that will make the transition that much easier. They got themselves a tremendous point guard.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES SHANE BATTIER

On tonight’s game...
It would be good for us to start the season off with a win. I’ve never won on opening night here with Memphis so it would be a good milestone check off of my list. We have to play well against the good teams. You can’t make the playoffs if you don’t play well against the top teams in the league. So we need to come out here, especially at home, and take care of business. It’s fun, but it’s one of 82 games. There’s no extra motivation for us, we’re looking at this as a game that we have to win for the Memphis Grizzlies.

MIAMI HEAT JASON WILLIAMS

On tonight’s game...
Not at all…I’m just doing my job, playing basketball, doing what I can to help my team win.

MIAMI HEAT DWYANE WADE

On playing the Grizzlies tonight...
They’re a tough group, especially at home. They play well, shoot the ball well, they get out in transition, they’ve got guys who can spot up around the three-point line, like Eddie (Jones) and Dahntay’s (Jones) is shooting the ball well, so this is a tough group. They have a solid low-post player in Pau (Gasol), so this is going to be a tough game for us. It’s a great test for us early in the season to start on the road in Memphis.




Wizards Set Opening Night Roster



Washington, D.C., November 1, 2005 -The Wizards announced their 15-man roster for opening night on Wednesday, Nov. 2 against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Center. One time all-star Gilbert Arenas has really came along with the team as he had one of his best seasons as a pro last year with Washington. This is what some of his teammates and head coach had to say about Arenas before the upcoming season.

Antawn Jamison: “He’s grown a lot. He’s understanding the game. He’s understanding how to get his teammates involved. He’s just showing great maturity as a basketball player and as a professional off the court. It’s good to see Gilbert doing the things that he’s doing. He’s definitely the person that makes this team go, and he realizes that. This is a situation where he is accepting the responsibilities, also.”

Brendan Haywood: “I think he’s become a better basketball player. Off the court, I think he has matured mentally. I think that is the biggest thing for him. He’s such a talent—it’s all about how he matures as a person, not just as a basketball player.”

Head Coach Eddie Jordan: “Gilbert’s grown tremendously. He has grown as a person, as a teammate, and as a heck of a player. He has gone from just a guard, to a leader as a point guard. He’s has become a more efficient player. He’s become a trustworthy teammate. There’s just not enough to say about him. He’s certainly deserving of All-Star and All-NBA status.”





RECAP OF OPENING NIGHT COMING SOON....

[Bosh4]

this is going to be sick good luck guys

[Jing]

oh shit man

superb job so far, greate job presenting the preview

duo-dynasty or something?

[ShAuN]

WHOA. This LOOKS AWSOME. The presentation is Awsome.

[Heiks]

Looks amazing, I love the gifs. I guess it was bound to happen after the disappearance of Seraph and your trinasty.

Good luck!

[Keo]

I love the gifs for the Starting Lineups. Great work! Can't wait..

[Avrah3]

Good luck with the dynasty.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

123
120

Wizards hold off Raptors behind Arena's 44



Top Left: Joey Graham taking the jumpshot from the right wing Top Right: Chris Bosh pulling up for a jumper over Michael Ruffin
Bottom Left: Arenas taking it to the rack in the first half Bottom Right: Arenas again being unstoppable on the offensive end with the two hand jam

Wizards Box | Raptors Box

TORONTO, Nov. 2 (Ticker) -- The Washington Wizards escaped with a victory in their season opener. Gilbert Arenas had 44 points and the Wizards held off the Toronto Raptors 123-120 on Wednesday night. Antawn Jamison added 27 points for the Wizards, who were repeatedly beat on the offensive glass down the stretch. The Raptors couldn't take advantage though as they kept missing open shots. "We played poorly," Jamison said. "We didn't rebound. They pretty much got 20 points off offensive rebounds, but nothing was gift wrapped. We just stay poised. We didn't let our play affect us." Chris Bosh had 32 points for the Raptors, but just 10 in the 2nd half as the Wizards did a better job on him in the post. Down by three with 9.3 seconds left, newly acquired point guard Mike James waited until the clock ran down and launched a 3-point bomb from the top of the key that clanked off the front of the rim.

Toronto only shot 29% (4-14) from downtown during the entire game. "We had a chance to tie the game. We missed shots down the stretch," Peterson said who shot just 5-14 from the field during the game. "This team needs me to step up in crucial situations. I did not do that. I had a couple of turnovers down the stretch, missed a couple of shots and I can't do that. I take this loss upon myself." The trio of Arenas, Jamison and Larry Hughes helped Washington reach the playoffs for the first time since 1997 last season, but they lost Hughes to free agency this past summer. Coach Eddie Jordan said his team probably won't click right away as he brought in newcomers Antonio Daniels, Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins into the new system. "We're still trying to find our way with each other," Arenas said.

Arenas also dished out 13 assists and finished 16-for-33 from the field. He also was able to get 4 steals in the contest. "I've been pretty much underestimated my whole career," Arenas said. "Last year I got some recognition, but I don't care about that. I care about the success of this team." After Toronto's Jalen Rose made a 3-pointer to tie the game up 57 ticks remaining, Gilbert Arenas nailed a 3-pointer right back to put his team back up by three points and the lead never changed after those three points were made with 38 seconds left in the game.



104
105

Jones Clutch in Karma Victory Against Former Team



Top Left: Wade was one of the few bright spots in the Heat offense Top Right: Mike Miller was injured in the 2nd half after an outstanding first half
Bottom Left: Jones being pressured by former teammate Wade Bottom Right: Gasol taking the fadeaway jumper over Haslem

Heat Box | Grizzlies Box

MEMPHIS, Nov. 2 (Ticker) -- Many people came to see Miami Heat stars Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade and the return of former Grizzlies Jason Williams and James Posey, but it was former Miami Heat guard Eddie Jones and Mike Miller that stole the show. Jones scored 25 points including the go ahead 3-pointer at the buzzer and Miller collected 12 points off the bench on 5-5 shooting despite being injured early in the 2nd half as the Grizzlies pulled off a close 105-104 victory over the Heat. It was the Grizzlies first ever win in a season opener since moving to Memphis back in 2001-02.

Jones, who connected on 4-of-6 shots from the arc, was instrumental in Memphis' 18-5 third-quarter burst that helped them stay in the game Rookie Pau Gasol also had a good game with 16 points and 8 rebounds. "We've worked very well this week," Gasol said. "It's great to see the team playing well; it was nice to get that first win of the season. It's still too soon, but we should be happy." Jason Williams, playing his first game against his former club, had only seven points and four assists in 27 minutes for Miami and James Posey finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds in 32 minutes.

Shaquille O’neal sparked the Miami offense with 28 points, while Wade and Walker finished with 21 points apiece. "We've only been together for over a week and we don't expect miracles, I hope nobody expects miracles, they don't happen overnight," Wade said. "We are still working on what lineups to use and such." The Heat had a 104-102 lead with 14.2 seconds left remaining in the game with the Grizzlies using one of their two timeouts. Memphis went with a lineup of Stoudamire, Jackson, Jones, Battier and Gasol. Jones inbounded the ball, to throw off the Heat defense thinking he wasn’t going to be the one to take the shot. “The whole time we knew we wanted Eddie to take the last shot because he was obviously our hottest guy with Miller out,” Coach Mike Fratello said. After Jones inbounded the ball to Stoudamire, Damon came off a screen and Walker came over to help leaving Jones wide open. Stoudamire fed Jones the ball on the left wing and he knocked down the 3-point basket all nylon with the buzzer sounding. “It was a great play, great shot, great moment,” Jones said. “We played our hearts out in this game and it was great that we played as a team to win this game. Stoudamire pass was perfect and I knew I had to make the shot in order for us to win so there was no turning back.” The Grizzlies play the Orlando Magic on Friday night for their first game away from home. After the game, it was known that Mike Miller injury was to his back and was later called back spasms. He is unlikely to play against the Magic on Friday.




UpComing Games:

@


Key Matchup: Damon Stoudamire vs. Steve Francis

Francis had a horrible first game against the Pacers only scoring 6 points and dishing out just 3 assists as his team loss by 22 points. Stoudamire on the other hand had a pretty good game with 16 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, but he also shot 6-19 from the field in the win against Miami. With both of these players coming off bad shooting nights, you may expect both of them to possibly light it up in this game. Stoudamire has been known to score as he had a 50-point game last season. Francis is a very explosive guard who can attack the basket at will so this will definitely be the matchup to watch in this game.



@


Key Matchup: Caron Butler vs. Kirk Hinrich

This will be a very strange matchup with the 6'7 Butler going up against the much smaller Hinrich. Kirk Hinrich has been playing solid basketball for the Bulls ever since becoming a solid starter in the rotation. The Bulls are going with a smaller lineup with Duhon, Gordon and Hinrich so it will be very interesting to see how this matchup fares out.

[Bosh4]

Nice recaps man 2 great wins there

[-BHZMAFIA-]

this is going to be sick good luck guys

Thanks and Bosh had a big game against the Wiz, but still the Raptors loss (nothing new)

oh shit man

superb job so far, greate job presenting the preview

duo-dynasty or something?

WHOA. This LOOKS AWSOME. The presentation is Awsome.

I love the gifs for the Starting Lineups. Great work! Can't wait..

All props go to Mark for the graphic designs, it seems like he just keeps getting better and better lol. And yea we are going to do a duo dynasty because its going to be much easier sharing the file.

Looks amazing, I love the gifs. I guess it was bound to happen after the disappearance of Seraph and your trinasty.

Good luck!

Good luck with the dynasty.

Yea, Seraph said he was going to be real busy with work, but after the new years he was going to be back, but he hasn't been back since so I don't know whats going on


Thanks everybody for the comments, we can guarentee you that this dynasty will go alot faster than what the trinasty was doing It's less work plus we have a little more time now to get the games done so expect another update VERY soon.

[Heiks]

I love the recaps, great wins you both!

[The X]

as the saying goes, 2's company and 3's a crowd....I think this should work a lot better with just the 2 of you....am interested to see how this dynasty develops and see some of the innovations that Mark mentioned might happen....

[Jing]

nice man nice
and just wanna tell ya mafia, that i am gonna move the team logos to imageshack and i'll get you all the links for them, cause my photobucket account's bandwidth got overloaded.

[LegoTP]

Awesome. I'm lovin the pics. (the recap too )

[Mark.]

Thanks for all the feedback guys

Lol just realised its the Bulls I play next not the Knicks, ill try fix that up tomorrow.

Abyway look for another update very soon

[KIG1]

This is going to be sick!
Keep this up

[kibaxx7]

Wow this will be the bomb Great wins guys...

[Arcane]

awesome fresh start to this dynasty.

great karma factor for grizz game as well

[-BHZMAFIA-]

103
89

Pau Caliente‘: Gasol Nears Double-Double in Grizzlies' win



Top Left: Steve Francis going up over Gasol for the posterized dunk Top Right: Gasol couldn't be stopped against the Magic defense
Bottom Left: Mighty Mouse trying to prevent Howard from the easy two points Bottom Right: Eddie Jones getting the fastbreak layup

Grizzlies Box | Magic Box

ORLANDO, Nov. 4 (Ticker) -- The Memphis Grizzlies have found out early in the season that things are a lot better when you hit shots. The Grizzlies, who are use to having slow starts at the beginning of the year, warmed up nicely against Miami in their home opener and tonight they did the same thing in a visit to Florida, hitting 47 percent from the field, including 7 3-pointers, in a 103-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night. Eddie Jones hit three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to get the Grizzlies' offense running early and Pau Gasol had 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to spark Memphis to its second straight win of the season.

"We are just executing a lot better this season," Memphis coach Mike Fratello said. "Eddie (Jones) was hot for awhile and Pau answered some big hoops when we had to have them in the fourth quarter." The Grizzlies' improved shooting has helped their defense tremendously this season. "I think we all are starting to become more calm at the beginning of the year," Jones said. "We the team being more calm and focus, its just like playing in the middle of the season because it seems like we have been playing for a while with the way we are executing. We still have a lot of room to improve though." Steve Francis, Dwight Howard and Deshawn Stevenson all had 17 points apiece for the Magic (0-2), who have lost both games at home. Damon Stoudamire was able to overmatch Francis play scoring 22 points, dishing out 9 assists and getting 5 steals as well. “I just wanted to make sure I came out strong tonight, because during the home opener, I wasn’t shooting well at all from the field, at least tonight I felt a little more comfortable,” Stoudamire said.

The Magic struggled to sustain any offense throughout the game. They had spurts of production in both halves, but each was short-lived. "I didn't like our offensive execution at all," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "I didn't expect us to come flying out of the gate to start the season, but I have faith in these guys. We've got to work harder and execute better at the offensive end." Neither team could sustain an offensive run in the first half that ended with Memphis in front 51-49. Battier sparked an 11-2 run that gave Memphis a 65-56 lead with 7:39 left in the third quarter. The forward started the rally with a jumper and a three-point play. Battier finished the game with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Mike Miller didn’t play in tonight’s game due to back spasms.


117
112

Washington Close It Out with an 18-9 Run



Top Left: Bulls trying to re-adjust late in the game during the run Top Right: Caron Butler going up to grab one of his 7 boards
Bottom Left: Butler finishing with the two handed jam Bottom Right: Duhon had a good game at the PG spot in 40 minutes of play

Wizards Box | Bulls Box

CHICAGO, Nov. 4 (Ticker) -- Something that the Washington Wizards from last year learned, was how to substain leads and fight back late in games. "There's going to be more of that this season," Gilbert Arenas said after Saturday's 117-112 victory over the Chicago Bulls. "Y'all are going to come in here and say a lot of things about the years going back. With Arenas coming off a 40+ point game in the season opener, he finished with another double-double and scored 28 points in the game. "We don't have the same team we had last year -- or the year before," Arenas said. "It's a different team. We got the same winning attitude, but we want to improve even more."

The Bulls led most of the 1st half despite shooting horrible from the field. The Bulls shot just 38 percent for the game, but they outrebounded the Wizards on the offensive boards 24-13. The Wizards still ended up closing the game with a 18-9 run for their fourth straight win and seventh in eight games. Mainly the entire Wizards team was on key tonight as they had six players in double figures and two of them coming off the bench. Arenas and Jamison stepped up big time to help lead the 18-9 run in the 4th quarter for Washington as they combined for 21 of the teams 39 points in the quarter.

Jamison scored 28 points to tie the game-high with Arenas and he added 15 rebounds before fouling out late in the 4th quarter. Caron Butler scored 18 points against his shorter opponent Hinrich on 6-10 shooting from the field, but Hinrich surprisingly didn’t let the height matchup bother him as he finished the game with 26 points on 8-21 shooting. "We've found a way to lose games instead of finding a way to win them," Chandler said. "It's unfortunate because we shot horrible in the game and we just have to make up for that in the future."



UpComing Games:

@


Key Matchup: Lebron James vs. Shane Battier

One of the best offensive players in the league against one of the better one-on-one defenders in the league. Battier has established himself so far in the first two games of the season averaging 15.5ppg and 6rpg. Lebron has been putting up numbers of his expectations with 25, 6 and 6. He now has help with the team by adding Larry Hughes who had 35 points in their season opener against the Pacers. The addition of Larry Hughes has pretty much helped Lebron get better shots and he is now able to be more affective. This will definitely be one of Battier's toughest matchups of the season. Tonight will be the first "Retro Night" for both teams.



@


Key Matchup: Steve Francis vs. Gilbert Arenas

Steve Francis has to meet up with Arenas who has been very hot so far this season averaging a double-double in both of his games. Steve Francis hasn't really been playing very well to begin the season have subpar games. Damon Stoudamire was able to light him up for for 22 points and was also able to get 5 steals with 3 of them coming from Francis. Tongiht will be the first "Retro Night" for both teams.

[Heiks]

Great recaps and screens! Can't wait for Retro Night.

And WTF? Kirk Hinrich played as a forward?

[Mark.]

Yeah well IRL Hinrich has been used started at SF but its more just a 3rd Guard, ah back to the old days of 3 guards and 2 forwards.

I noticed that they benched Duhon in their latest game though.

[KIG1]

nice recaps and screenshots

[Jing]

nice job on the recaps!
mark, your wizards logo isnt showing up, its just coming up with the score itself.
i frankly dont know why, but it seems like it could be because imageshack is being stupid in itself again.

oh boy retro night!

[kibaxx7]

More wins Nice.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

100
108

Butler, Jamison keep Wizards hot as Magic fall to 0-3



Top Left: Chucky Atkins gave the Wizards great bench production Top Right: Francis had another off-night shooting 6-16 from the field
Bottom Left: Dwight Howard getting the big slam over two defenders Bottom Right: Jamison had his midrange game going against Orlando

Magic Box | Wizards Box

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Ticker) -- You would think that Gilbert Arenas was once again the key part to tonight’s victory, but it was Caron Butler who stepped up when Arenas was in foul trouble for most of the game. Butler scored 26 points to go with 10-17 shooting, and Antawn Jamison added 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for Washington in its home opener. The Wizards, coming off their first playoff appearance in eight years, improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 season, which was also the last time they played in the NBA Finals. "As long as we're winning," Jamison said. "Last year we did up-and-down the court, no defense. It's good to watch, but there were a lot of opportunities we let slip away. But if we've got to play 70, 80 games like tonight where the defense really has to take over, I'd rather take that. You don't put yourself in the hole. You don't rely on your offense throughout the whole game."

It helped that the visitors were the Magic, who have yet to find their shooting touch. They shot 44 percent from the field, but just 21% from downtown. Orlando is 0-3 for the first time since starting 0-6 in 1990-91. "It happened again," said Steve Francis, who scored 15 points. "When we really need a basket, we really kind of look discombobulated out there, to where we really don't know who to get shots from. It has to improve in order for us to win a game." Grant Hill added 21 points and 4 rebounds for the Magic. Despite Arenas being in foul trouble, he scored 8 points in a late run that kept the Wizards ahead for good.

"It's early in the season," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "Probably the defense is ahead of the offense for most teams. You just have to take it as it comes." Grant Hill was the only one keeping the Magic in the game, but Orlando as a team couldn‘t score. "We struggled some offensively," Orlando coach Brian Hill said. "We were a little hesitant against their defense. Obviously, you want to get that first win. You don't want to go too many without it."


100
107

LeBron scores 34, but Cavs fall to Battier, Grizzlies



Top Left: Lebron going up with the reverse layup Top Right: Gasol shooting the hookshot over former teammate Gooden
Bottom Left: Gooden trying to set a pick for James Bottom Right: Larry Hughes stripping Jones from the basketball

Cavaliers Box | Grizzlies Box

MEMPHIS, Nov. 5 (Ticker) -- The Memphis Grizzlies relied on Pau Gasol inside early and Shane Battier along with their 3-point shooting late. Gasol scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds to help lead the Grizzlies over the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-100 on Saturday night. Gasol made 10-of-19 shots from the field for Memphis, which won its third consecutive game of the season to go 3-0. Shane Battier led the team with a season-high 29 points and Eddie Joens finished with 20. Memphis shot 49 percent from the field and made 11-of-22 3-pointers. "You have to identify your team and try to figure your team out," Memphis coach Mike Fratello said of having the outside shooting of Jones, Battier and point guard Damon Stoudamire. "We're not as big and muscular as other teams, but we can shoot the 3. That's a plus."

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 34 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Larry Hughes finished with 19 points before getting injured late in the 4th quarter with a collision into Grizzlies center Lorenzen Wright. Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each had 13 rebounds apiece to go along with 12 and 10 points. Memphis were down 85-83 entering the final period, but 3-pointers by Jones and Battier were part of a 13-2 run to open the quarter and give Memphis its biggest lead at 96-87 on Wright’s tip-back dunk with just under eight minutes left. Cleveland eventually cut the lead to 103-100 on two key free throws by Drew Gooden with 18.2 seconds remaining, but Cleveland could get no closer.

In the first half Gasol worked inside and could not be stopped. Not only was he scoring, hitting all six of seven first half shots, but he was also finding open teammates, finishing with four assists for the game. "Pau created a lot by catching the ball in the post and driving it at their guys, then kicking the ball out," Jones said. "That created a lot of opportunities for people. The shots were there. "I don't think we're going to be a straight-up 3-point shooting team. If the shots are there, we'll take them," he said.




0-2 @ 3-0


Key Matchup: Ray Allen vs. Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones has been having one of his best years as a pro in Memphis avearging 21ppg, 3.7rpg and 1.3spg. Him and Gasol have gelled very well together and he has acutally helped Pau become even a better passer than he use to be by making the outside shots from the double teams Gasol recieves. Jones is a veteran defender so he has matched up with Allen many times in his career and he understands most of his moves. Allen is averaging 22.5ppg, 4rpg and 6.5apg to lead the winless Supersonics.

3-0 @ 0-3


Key Matchup: Shane Battier vs. Paul Pierce

The Celtics have started the season off on the wrong note losing their first 3 games. Pierce has been doing his yearly damage averaging 24.7ppg, 9.7rpg and 4apg in the three losses. Battier stepped up big against Lebron James in his previous matchup against an elite player so it will be interesting to see how well he plays against Pierce. Shane scored 29 points in the win over Cleveland.

2-2 @ 3-0


Key Matchup: Corey Maggette vs. Jared Jeffries

Jared Jeffries has been trying to adjust to the starting role with the Wizards and he finally had one of his better scoring outings with 15 points, but still shot 6-15 from the field. He also played pretty big down the stretch for the Wizards against Orlando. Maggette will have the speed advantage over Jeffries and he loves to take the ball strong to the rack and draw the foul. His jumpshot is also pretty solid. He is averaging 19.5ppg, 8.3rpg and 4.5apg in 4 games with the Clippers.