And according to ESPN’s John Hollinger, they can thank rookie Xavier Henry for slowing down Kobe Bryant for much of the game.
Memphis’ Xavier Henry checked the Lakers’ superstar for most of Tuesday night with little help, and the result was a 9-of-25 shooting night for Kobe and a 98-96 win for the Memphis Grizzlies.
While he wasn’t on the floor at the end for L.A.’s deja vu final possession — for the second season in a row in Memphis, Kobe kicked out to Ron Artest for a 3-pointer that missed at the buzzer — Henry was the protagonist during a stretch of 11 straight misses by Bryant midway through the game that allowed the Grizzlies to build a double-digit lead.
Henry wasn’t getting double-team support, either. He was one-on-one against Bryant for much of the night and, thanks to his size and discipline, largely held his own. The effort was so good Henry’s coach compared him to another player who has been known to limit Bryant.
“I remember when we interviewed [Henry] in Chicago,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said, “and I went away saying, ‘That’s Shane Battier all over again.’ He’s poised, he’s mature [and] he understands the big picture of what’s going on. That’s what you like to see in all your players coming into the league.”
It was a sweet win for the Grizzlies, who have been been the butt of jokes since the dreadful trade that sent Pau Gasol to L.A. and allowed the Lakers to win consecutive titles. Owner Michael Heisley continued his unintentional comedy act by trying to nickel and dime Henry after this year’s draft.
The Grizzlies are now 8-10 on the season and are sitting in the #10 spot in the West. The Lakers’ third loss sends them to 13-5 and the #4 spot in the conference.
One thing’s for sure – Larry Brown will have his team competing. But with the loss of Raymond Felton to free agency, Charlotte turns to D.J. Augustin as its starting point guard, while Shaun Livingston is expected to back him up. Unless the light suddenly goes on for one of these guys, the Bobcats are going to struggle to make the playoffs in the much-improved Eastern Conference. I think their main competition for the #8 spot is the Knicks, which should be interesting because the two teams play such different styles. Cap-wise, the Bobcats won’t have any financial flexibility until 2012 when Boris Diaw, Eduardo Najera, and (probably) Gerald Wallace come off the books. The Bobcats are in no man’s land. They’re not good enough to compete for a title, but just good enough to miss landing a sure-fire star in the lottery.
I feel bad for Steve Nash, who will likely go down as one of the greatest players never to play in a Finals. The former back-to-back MVP lost Amare Stoudemire to the Knicks, and the Suns replaced him with Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick. I do like the addition of Childress, but if they’re asked to play power forward, Turkoglu and Warrick are going to have a lot of trouble on the defensive end. If Phoenix can keep the incredible chemistry that it developed last season, the Suns could finish a few spots higher and compete for a playoff spot, but without Stoudemire’s finishing ability, the team is going to be overmatched most nights. Payroll-wise, the Suns will have the flexibility to add a good player next summer, but it will mean the loss of Jason Richardson, who is in the final year of his deal. Sadly, I think the days of Nash playing for a legit contender are over. It was fun while it lasted.
