Memphis Grizzlies’ Mario Chalmers On Fire: A Week in Review

"“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. …his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” – Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451"

“He’s on fire!”

Though once supremely jubilant, the true power of the phrase petered out long ago. Our current basketball culture has completely squelched the excitement of the phrase that once ignited a generation of basketball fanatics who loved this game.

Nov 16, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mario Chalmers (6) celebrates with guard James Ennis after making a three point shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Oklahoma City 122-114. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

In the not too distant past, there was a time when  Tim “Boom Shaka-Laka” Kitzrow’s  blazing exclamation rang out above the ringing and buzzing of every other 16-bit machine in the arcade. With his signature exuberant shout, he proclaimed a basketball player had achieved a shooting streak so scorching hot that he would be virtually unguardable while swishing  heat-check shots from midcourt. The NBA JAM “on-fire” status of the early 90’s indicated that a player had successfully hit three consecutive shots while holding the opponent scoreless during that same span. While that era’s notion of catching fire demanded a player to meet a peculiarly specific set of criteria of a certain difficulty,  these days the phrase is bandied about far too flippantly in praise of basketball that is far too unworthy. Rather than being preserved  to only denote an uncommonly impressive shooting display, now we hear or see some variant of the phrase (and/or an insufferable amount of accompanying flaming fire emojis) anytime a pedestrian wing player so much as manages to connect on an unguarded 3-pt attempt during garbage time. Yet for a team like the Memphis Grizzlies, a team so devoid of 3 point shooting that capable shooters are seemingly repelled away from the roster by an invisible force akin to dueling North ends of magnets, fans still might not expect to hear even the most lax or liberal usage of the “on-fire” decree.

Then on one awe-inspiring Monday night at the Grindhouse, a hero emerged. For the City of Memphis,  it was a hero more unlikely and more brilliantly incandescent than the Human Torch himself. On an evening already slated to celebrate the Bluff City’s basketball legacy, the same man who once crushed an entire city’s basketball dreams with one fell shot, donned a vintage Memphis jersey, and emphatically won over every corner of Grizz Nation with a stirring performance that won’t soon be forgotten. As much as any basketball player has ever been, Mario Chalmers was absolutely ON FIRE.

November 16th: THE ‘RIO CHALMERS GAME

In an anticipated matchup with Russell Westbrook and the visiting Thunder, the Grizzlies didn’t disappoint. The Memphis Grizzlies easily overcame a 40 point/14 assist outburst from Westbrook by dropping a previously unimaginable 122 points. As well documented by the time you read this, Chalmers lead the way for the Grizzlies with an explosive 29 points off the bench that included 4 of 7 from downtown and 13 of 15 from the charity stripe.

Every Grizzly who played bolstered the huge win: Marc Gasol (17/6/6), Mike Conley (22/4/9/2 with 8-13fg, 80% 3pt), Jeff Green (20/5/1/2/1), everyone. As a team, the Grizzlies shot an exceptionally un-Grizzly-like 70.6% on three point shots. Here is a list of every player who shot 50% or better from beyond the arc for the Memphis Grizzlies during this basketball contest: Jeff Green, Mike Conley, Jamychal Green, Matt Barnes, Mario Chalmers. That’s every single Memphis player who attempted a 3-point shot, hitting at least half of his attempts or better.

November 20th: Memphis Grizzlies vs Houston Rockets

Nov 16, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) gestures after making a three point shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Oklahoma City 122-114. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Conley had a game-high 26 points as he lead the Grizzlies to a convincing win over James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Granted the Rockets just fired their coach and are not exactly at their best, this was a strong win for Memphis who lead by as many as 20 at one point and never looked in doubt. With Zach Randolph out, Jamychal Green filled in and got the start at power forward and played well. Other encouraging signs for the Grizz included the outside shooting and steady play from Matt Barnes and Vince Carter coming off the bench. Marc Gasol messed around and got 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, notching his first career triple-double. It was a good day.

November 21st: Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs

In 2011 the Grizzlies shocked the NBA world by upsetting top-seeded Spurs back when Zach Randolph was the best power forward in basketball. Since then, wins against the Spurs have been pretty hard to come by. Both teams were down a star, Lamarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph both sat out this time. Considering the Spurs’ ageless triumvirate of Tony Parker, Manu, and Timmy refuse to ever decline in skill, winning in San Antonio continues to be a tall order for the Grizzlies. As the Grizzlies await the return of players recovering from injury who can work into the rotation and jell with new players, trust that the Grizzlies’ best basketball of the season still lies ahead.

5 Takeaways From The Past Week of Grizzlies Basketball

1.Mario Chalmers has found an NBA home with the Memphis Grizzlies

The plan to improve the back-court’s depth by bringing aboard ‘Rio has been wildly successful so far. His scoring and outside shooting garnered a fair amount of attention this week, and his ability to drive and kick and find open teammates will also have a notable impact in helping this team get better looks. Having a reliable ball handler who can also defend both guard positions coming off the bench means the team can afford to actually rest Mike Conley without trying to make guys like Courtney Lee or Jeff Green bring the ball up court, when they clearly play better off of the ball. Having said that, I do hope we still get to see Marc Gasol improvise a little point-center when he decides to dribble up court and run the occasional unexpected fastbreak.

2.Vince Carter’s Still Got Game

VC finally got some meaningful minutes this past week as Coach Joerger slowly works the elderly forward into the rotation. Carter looked pretty solid during the Grizzlies dominating performance against the Rockets, as he knocked down two of four three pointers and also picked up a few rebounds and a couple of blocks in only 18 minutes of play.

3.Jamychal Green can ball, if you haven’t noticed yet.

Jamychal Green started twice last week in the absence of Zach Randolph, and while Jamike won’t be putting Z-Bo or anyone else out a starting job anytime soon, he held down the fort. Green continues to impress with his energy and tough rebounding. Green brings this unpredictable and fun to watch “X” factor that the Grizzlies have not enjoyed from a reserve player since James “Bloodsport” Johnson left the team. Longtime Memphis fans might recall shades of Bo Outlaw watching Green’s hustle and intensity off the bench. Maybe for nostalgia’s sake Jamychal will consider sporting Outlaw-style goggles and James Johnson temporary neck tattoo. Probably not though.

4.The Grizzlies Should Make the Sounds a Permanent Look

The Memphis Grizzlies are typically regarded in high esteem for the logos, fonts, and color schemes created to represent the team and promote its brand identity. As recently as this summer nationally prominent basketball writer Zach Lowe reviewed and ranked the Memphis Grizzlies’ logo among the very best in the NBA. But I say take all that, and the custom hues of Beale Street Blue, Memphis Midnight Blue, Grizzlies Gold, and take the Grizzly claw clutching the basketball, really anything with a bear on it, and throw it all out with the garbage and incinerate it. Make a permanent change to be the Memphis Sounds from here on, sticking with the ABA era design styles. I, like the Clippers, obviously don’t know the first thing about completely re-branding on a whim or how difficult it is to do that in the NBA. All I know is that the team that wears Beale Street Blue and gold got thrashed in 30 pt and 50 pt losses recently, while the team that comes out wearing bright red retro Memphis Sounds jerseys averages 122 points a game  and remains undefeated this season.

5.Courtney Lee’s Finding an Offensive Rhythm Again

One bright spot from the Grizzlies’ loss at San Antonio was the resurgent play of Courtney Lee. C-Lee came out firing, and, after slumping for the past couple weeks, seemed to find his shots more easily. He finished with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting against the Spurs on Saturday night.

And One:

One possible theory on why the Rockets fired their head coach Kevin Mchale:   

Who got next?

November 24th: Tuesday night the Memphis Grizzlies take on Southwest division rival the Dallas Mavericks. Watch to see how Mike Conley wins a point-guard matchup with Deron Williams, who seems to have revived his career with new breath in Dallas.

November 25th: On Wednesday your Memphis Grizzlies look to add a second win in as many weeks against the rudderless ship that is the Houston Rockets of late.

November 27th: Following Thanksgiving the Atlanta Hawks visit FedExForum to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Hopefully the Grizzlies can once again take the W from the Hawks. 

November 29th: The Memphis Grizzlies have the pleasure of happily welcoming the 76ers to the FedExForum. At the time of this post, nearly a whole month into the NBA season, Philadelphia is still seeking its first victory.

What do you think of the Grizzlies’ progress this season? Like my re-branding vision for the Memphis Grizzlies?  Please feel free to join the discussion by adding your comment.