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That was a tough game to swallow.  The Hornets had a solid lead with 5 minutes to go, they had Rudy Gay barking at the referees, and earning a tech, and it seemed like they momentarily relaxed.  One minute later the score was tied.  Then the Hornets were down, and then Posey got a vital rebound with 8 seconds left, turned . . . and led a fastbreak towards the sideline with his head down.  Turnover.  Game.

Wow.

At this point in the season, losses like that are deadly to the Hornets' playoff chances.  Like Niall said in the comments post-game, I'm sure the team will keep fighting, but the margin for error is vanishing quickly.

Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton

Thornton and Collison were fully what we've come to expect and love during the game.  High energy and lots of stat-stuffing.  Thornton, in particular, was an offensive firestorm tonight.  24 points on 16 shots in 32 minutes.  His first play upon entering the game was a sneaky strip of a rebound from Gasol.

That said, both players showed all game long that they could be abused defensively.  In the first half, the Grizzlies posted Collison 6 times - and they resulted in 1 basket, 4 free throws, 2 hockey assists, and one missed shot.  They then did the same thing to Thornton when he came in, posting him with Mayo and Young.  Thornton held his own against Mayo, but Young was muscling him all over the court.  He went 3/3 with an assist during that stretch.

Of course, Thornton was infinitely better than Morris Peterson, who practiced waving at Mayo's shots all night long - from about ten feet away.

David West

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Things are a little bleak for the Hornets heading into tonight's showdown with the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. New Orleans has lost four of its last five, falling four games behind the Blazers for the last playoff spot in the West. John Hollinger's machinery is giving the Bees less than a five percent chance of making the postseason, and they play seven of nine on the road starting Friday.

The Grizzlies have similar troubles. At 30-30, they're just a half game behind the Hornets in the standings, but have lost 11 of their last 16. Their only recent success has come on the road, where they've won four straight (Raptors, Nets, Wizards, Knicks).

The Hornets will be glad to get Darius Songaila back from injury tonight, since the Grizzlies are tough inside: Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combine to average about 36 points and 21 rebounds per game. The Grizzlies are also second in the NBA in rebound rate.

The Hornets lead the season series 2-0, having beat the Grizzlies twice by narrow margins in January. In the first game, James Posey was the hero after dropping the winning layup with one second left. Second time around, Darren Collison dished a franchise rookie record 18 assists and came up big in overtime to seal the deal. You can bet the Grizzlies haven't forgotten those heartbreakers.

Memphis will be without Ronnie Brewer tonight. Due to a hamstring injury, he's played just 12 minutes for the Grizzlies since coming over from Utah at the trade deadline.

Game tips at 7 Central.

Numbers:

Pace: Grizzlies 95.6 (12th), Hornets 94.6 (19th)
Offensive Efficiency: Grizzlies 104.8 (12th), Hornets 104.5 (13th)
Defensive Efficiency: Grizzlies 107.1 (23rd), Hornets 105.7 (19th)

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Marks be blogging, Thornton a force, and behind the scenes with the Hornets' broadcast team
  
• Standings: Hornets four games back of Portland for the 8th spot. The Blazers host the Pacers at 9 Central.
  
• Rival bloggers: 3 Shades of Blue (THN)

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Marcus Thornton. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

At halftime, I was about ready to turn the game off and go play Mass Effect 2.  The only reason I didn't was that I wanted to see if Thornton and Collison could get things in gear in the second half.  By the end of overtime, I was on the phone to my buddy, crowing "Collison took Conley to the Woodshed!"

A 21-point comeback, and two halves that were as consistent as Julian Wright, followed by an overtime that the Hornets couldn't get a offensive rebound in, and the Grizzlies couldn't make a shot.

Darren Collison

Where to start.  He took Paul's rookie record for assists in a game, and scored 17 points on 11 shots, getting a lot of his points from the line.  He suckered Conley into fouling him twice on up-fakes, got into the paint at will against anyone, and fed Okafor the easiest 21 points of his life.   That third quarter was simply a clinic of pick and roll basketball.  Defensively, he was also supremely effective.  Since Conley couldn't guard him without fouling non-stop, Collison frequently found himself guarding Jamaal Tinsley.  That made him essentially free to roam the floor, lay off the three point line, pack the paint on penetrations, and double when needed.  Oh, and Collison's dunk in overtime that put the team over the top?  I was bracing myself for a block from behind when I saw Rudy Gay loping along behind him like a wolf.  Instead, Collison put on a burst of speed and dunked it home, sealing the deal.  Perfect.

David West

One night after being a part of a crushingly bad play at the end of the Chicago game, David West was instrumental on two major plays.  Defensive plays, no less.  On the perimeter.  Seriously.  Twice he got his hand on OJ Mayo's dribble, forcing him into a travel near the end of regulation, and then he poked the ball free for Collison's dunk on the backbreaker play of the game.

Thank you, Memphis

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A tough loss for the Hornets last night, and it doesn't get any easier as they roll into Memphis today to take on a Grizzlies team that has won a franchise-record 11 straight home games. Game tips at 7 Central.

We saw the Grizzlies in New Orleans just ten days ago, when Chris Paul dropped 21, 13 and 6 and James Posey spun around rookie DeMarre Carroll for the last gasp game winner. Unfortunately, Posey will miss this game with that strained Achilles and Paul is questionable after suffering a nasty knee bruise last night against the Bulls.

The Grizzlies are 25-20 on the season, and are themselves just getting into town after a 97-104 loss last night to the Tony Parker-less Spurs in San Antonio. O.J. Mayo led Memphis with an efficient 28 points in that one and new All-Star Zach Randolph chipped in with 19 points and 13 rebounds, but the Grizz were undone by the Spurs' reserves.

Numbers:

Pace: Memphis 96.1 (9th), Hornets 94.4 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Memphis 106.5 (10th), Hornets 104.7 (15th)
Defensive Efficiency: Memphis 107.4 (25th), Hornets 105.5 (19th)

The Gizzlies currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Hornets are tenth, just a half game behind them in the standings. A big game tonight for these division rivals.

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Trading Questions on the Grizzlies
• Rival bloggers: 3 Shades of Blue (THN)
  

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Lee Nailon, the 6-9 forward who played two stints with the Hornets, most recently during that woeful 2004-05 campaign when he averaged a career-high 14.2ppg. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

With the Hornets locked in combat with the Grizzlies for the tail end of the playoff picture, I thought it would be nice to get more insight into the Grizzlies by hammering Chip Crain of 3 Shades of Blue with questions about Gay, Randolph, Gasol, Conley, and it strays to what happened with Allen Iverson to start the season.  Good stuff, enjoy:

Hornets247: Rudy Gay has always been a remarkable athelete, but he's always seemed too willing to take long jumpers rather than drive, and too disinterested in defense to be a franchise player.  Is that an inaccurate observation this year?  Has his game changed this season?

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